Chill

It's the sophomore year of high school, and best friends Chill and Sean will soon meet their new English teacher, Mr. Sfinkter, a man who loves to brag about his accomplishments as a published writer and who also seems to enjoy humiliating his students. Sean, who wants to be a writer, doesn't think that the teacher is really that bad, especially after Mr. Sfinkter encouraged him to write a book, and promised him that he would help him get it published. But Chill, who gets picked on by Mr. Sfinkter all the time, knows that he's not a good teacher and is probably even far from being a good person. Chill tries to ignore him and dedicates most of his time to working on a mural he's painting for the school. But one day, Mr. Sfinkter crosses the line and makes fun of Chill's bum leg. Bad move. Everyone in school knows that nobody messes with Chill. With big type and 98 pages, this entertaining novel is perfect for those who don't like lengthy novels. Frizzell mixes the right ingredients to please middle school boys: a mean and abusive teacher, unfairly treated students, clueless school staff, and the cool kids out to teaching a grown up a lesson. Reviewed by: Christian C.