Eric is something of a bully. He picks on his younger brother and is rough with his teammates in football. One day he finds a strange glowing mushroom patch in the forest near his home. Over the next few weeks the mushrooms spread and start to overrun the town. At first no one seems to be concerned except him and a runaway girl he meets. As he tries to discover the origin and meaning of the florescent fungi, he also learns to be a nicer person.Sound hokey? Yep. I think it is supposed to be a RL Stine style kitty horror book. It never really got scary or even really creepy. The town's response to the impending doom was pretty unrealistic. The mushrooms were impregnating peoples homes, growing up through the floorboards, and what does the town do? Throw a benefit concert. The pacing of the book was also a little bit slow. The middle of the book got mired in relationships, without really advancing the action. It is a difficult balance. One good thing about the book that it told the story from the point of view of the bully. I have often wanted to see a book done this way, explaining how a kid justifies being a bully to himself. This one does an OK job of this. Eric doesn't really understand that his actions are as intimidating as they are. He just thinks he is having fun. Still, not a great book and I am glad it is over and I can move on to something else. (264 p)
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