Jolted

Newton Starker's Rules for Survival

Newton's Rules for Survival

Check the weather constantly.
Check the sky before exiting a building.
When thunder roars, run indoors.
Beware of cumulo-nimbus clouds.
Do not take a bath during a lightning storm.
Do not under any circumstances become angry. Count to ten. Breathe in. Breath out.

For over two hundred years, everyone in the Starker family has died after being hit by lightning, leaving only two-- Great-Grandmother Enid, whose secret to a long life is to grumble about everything, and fourteen-year-old Newton. Determined to break the curse, he enrols in the Jerry Potts Academy of Higher Learning and Survival in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, where students must navigate the outdoors, the very place Newton's mother warned him about.

Newton knows that information is power, and so he steadfastly follows his rules for survival. He obsessively checks weather reports before venturing anywhere. He never takes a bath or answers the phone during a lightning storm. But life slowly amps up, and before Newton knows it, he is weathering storms he can't control, including battling Violet Quon, who is equally resolved to get her picture up in the Hall of Heroes, and preparing for First Year Expedition, which is his chance to prove he's the ultimate survivor.

Newton's aiming for the sky... with potentially disastrous results.

Nominations

2010:
Silver Birch Award (Ontario Young Reader's Choice)
Diamond Willow Award(Saskatchewan Young Reader's Choice)
2008:
Saskatoon Book of the Year Saskatchewan Book Award
Fiction Book of the Year Saskatchewan Book Award
Children's Book of the Year Saskatchewan Book Award

"Jolted is funny and smart and fast paced!"

Globe and Mail

"In brisk chapters, Slade offers readers plenty of humor (often at Newton's expense), as well as asides that include e-mails, character background and recipes. Slade's portrayal of Newton's sweep of emotions as he deals with his perceived fate--fear, fury, dogged determination--is especially convincing."

Publishers Weekly

"The book has tongue-in-cheek humor, a budding romance, some gross recipes, and even a fantastic porker. Its message of taking control of one's fate will appeal to every kid."

School Library Journal

"Part coming of age tale, part adventure, part fantastical fiction, Jolted defies genre classification. The entertaining plot moves along smartly as Newton struggles to adjust to his environment and conquer his "electric" demons."

CM Magazine

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