In Burns's (The Siren Novels) comical kickoff to a new series, a nondescript 12-year-old boy winds up in reform school due to a deadly apple incident.
Seamus Hinkle is the type of kid who can leave math class every Fish Stick Tuesday at exactly 11:17 to use the restroom without his teacher raising an eyebrow. That is, until he flings an apple to try to break up a fight and kills a teacher instead. Seamus's parents enroll him at Kilter Academy for Troubled Youth, a seemingly military-strict institution that whips rabble-rousers into shape. But the moment his parents leave, Seamus learns that Kilter is actually a training academy for professional mischief makers. Students earn coveted demerits for lying, stealing and cheating, and dreaded gold stars for goody two-shoes deeds like tattling. Seamus is certainly not ready for the Kilter faculty's all-too-eager meet-and-greet, hailing him as "Kilter Academy's very first murderer." As at any school, there are cliques: Biohazards use bodily functions to freak out others; the Artistes create disturbing works of art, and the Athletes do whatever it takes to win. And a variety of menacing devices are available for purchase. But there's a mystery hidden here, too. Faculty members are not always what they seem, and it takes more than a few pranks for Seamus to rise to the top of his class. This is ultimately a story of friendship, forgiveness and fighting for one's convictions. Boys and girls alike will enjoy the mischief--and may even pull a prank of their own. --Molly McLeod, middle school librarian