The Flinkwater Factor

by Pete Hautman

Overview

Ginger must save her high-tech hometown from robots gone rogue in this hilariously quirky science fiction novel from National Book Award–winning author Pete Hautman.

Welcome to Flinkwater, Iowa, home of the largest manufacturer of Articulated Computerized Peripheral Devices in the world. If you own a robot, it probably came from Flinkwater.

Meet Ginger Crump, the plucky, precocious (and somewhat sarcastic) genius who finds herself in the middle of a national emergency when Flinkwater’s computers start turning people into vegetables. Mental vegetables, that is. In Ginger’s words, they’ve been “bonked.”

When Ginger’s father is bonked, she recruits her self-declared future husband, boy genius Billy George, to help her find the source of the bonkings. Soon they’re up against a talking dog, a sasquatch, and a zombie, while Flinkwater is invaded by an army of black SUVs led by the witless-but-dangerous Agent Ffelps from Homeland Security. Can Ginger get to the bottom of the bonkings, or will computer chaos reign forever?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781481432511
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Publication date:	09/01/2015
Series:	The Flinkwater Chronicles , #1
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.00(d)
Lexile:	740L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Pete Hautman is the author of National Book Award–winning novel Godless, Sweetblood, Hole in the Sky, Stone Cold, The Flinkwater Factor, The Forgetting Machine, and Mr. Was, which was nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America, as well as several adult novels. He lives in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Visit him at PeteHautman.com.

Editorial Reviews

07/06/2015
Thirteen-year-old Ginger Crump lives in the town of Flinkwater, Iowa, along with a concentration of “Very Smart, Very Geeky people”: Flinkwater is the headquarters of an Apple-esque tech company, ACPOD. Most of the town’s residents, including Ginger’s parents, work for ACPOD, which has several dark secrets that Ginger and her friends unintentionally uncover. Hautman’s story unfolds in five sections, starting when a computer screen saver puts townsfolk into a coma-like state that Ginger calls “getting bonked.” Ginger’s friend and crush, super-genius Billy, figures out how to awaken people from the trance, and the pair’s work continues in episodes involving talking animals, the mysterious Flinkwater Sasquatch, Ginger’s hopes for a first kiss, and a Homeland Security agent with shady motives. Hautman (Eden West) weaves the plot threads together cleverly, but it’s Ginger’s dry humor (“A plague of mysterious comas is one thing. And having my dad bonked was even scarier. But losing net access was like taking away the air”), an equally colorful supporting cast, and the lore (and tech) of Flinkwater that make the story so enjoyable. Ages 9–13. Agent: Jennifer Flannery, Flannery Literary. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

07/01/2015
Gr 3–6—Ginger Crump lives in Flinkwater, IA. That may sound dull and boring, except for the fact that a screen saver or "screenie" is turning people into drooling zombies. Most people in town work for ACPOD, a Silicon Valley-like technology company. This means that most residents are of high intelligence. Ginger quickly figures out how to avoid getting "bonked" by the hidden code. She and her crush, Billy George, have to solve the problem while dodging the authorities who think they are terrorists. Hautman creates fun, smart characters with brilliant minds. Just when they think they have solved the "bonking" problem, a talking dog enters the scene, which takes the story in another hilarious direction, and readers meet even more colorful characters. While all of this is going on, Ginger is also concerned with the simple things such as, when will she finally get to kiss someone? Hautman includes a guide at the back of the book explaining which scientific details mentioned in the chapters are real or science fiction. Is the poop-net real? Readers will likely want to find out. VERDICT Middle grade fans of Carl Hiassen's mysteries will enjoy Hautman's inventive characters and plot.—Kris Hickey, Columbus Metropolitan Library, OH

School Library Journal

2015-06-06
Hautman's latest features wacky adventures in a near-future small town packed with engineers. Flinkwater, Iowa, is a small town where most residents—like narrator Ginger's parents—work in some capacity for a tech company that makes robots. Smart but smarter-mouthed, sarcastic, and high-spirited Ginger recounts five loosely connected episodes in an engagingly conversational tone. First, Flinkwater residents are "bonking" themselves into catatonia while using their tablets and computers. As the naturally curious engineers all bonk themselves in checking it out, Ginger and boy genius Billy must solve the mystery and cure the town. The second story involves smuggling an escaped lab animal to safety, a sad-looking dog with a collar that broadcasts his thoughts as speech. The third finds Ginger's hilariously awkward quest for a first kiss juxtaposed against a light nanotechnology subplot. The fourth and fifth build directly upon each other: in these, the Department of Homeland Security—annoying but till this point harmless and on the scene since bonking emerged as a security threat in the first episode—takes a turn as villain in a convoluted evil scheme; it has high stakes and delightful twists, but it unravels too easily. The book ends with a "where are they now"-style afterword and a parsing of the book's science from its fantasy elements. Fast, funny episodes featuring creative takes on close-to-reality science. (Science fiction. 8-14)

Kirkus Reviews

"Hautman, a National Book Award winner, makes his first foray into middle grade with this quirky, dryly funny offering of a maybe-future."

Booklist

"Fast-paced action, quirky characters, and amusing dialog make this a quick, fun read with a satisfying conclusion."

School Library Connection

"Hautman, a National Book Award winner, makes his first foray into middle grade with this quirky, dryly funny offering of a maybe-future."

Booklist

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