NO COINS, PLEASE.

 

 

Gordon Korman's ninth novel is his first to be published in hardcover binding. Although it is not possible to comment on the physical format

because the advance review copy is paperbound, it is safe to say that this new title will be popular with most of the author's many fans.

Artie Geller, Korman's new hero, is an eleven-year-old Canadian entrepreneur who turns a fairly calm, well-organized Junior tours visit to the

United States into a hair-raising experience for two youthful counsellors, who try desperately to keep track of him and five other boys. Artie

manages to slip away to set up a temporary but lucrative business in each state; for example, in New York he sells "attack jelly," while in

Nebraska he convinces a local farmer to rent him cows so that he can set up a no-frills milk store. Each endeavour is zanier than the last, culminating in the one that brings about Artie's downfall, a gambling escapade in Las Vegas, with the hero disguised as an old man.

Young people who are already Korman devotees or who like a humorous story about people their own age in a modern setting will enjoy this

book. They are unlikely to be troubled by the rather wooden characters or by the repetitive aspect of the plot. Each time the tour enters a new

state, the readers know that Artie will have concocted a new scheme, but they will want to discover Artie's latest crazy idea. Recommended

for purchase by school and public libraries.

Pauline Henaut, Westville Schools, Westville, NS.