Bullies in the Headlights - Matthew Buckley

by Tristi Pinkston | More from this Blogger

26 Jan 2008 09:00 AM

"Bullies in the Headlights" is the sequel to Matthew Buckley's first LDS comedy novel, "Chickens in the Headlights." "Bullies" doesn't have much to do with chickens, although they are mentioned briefly at the beginning of the book. Rather, this time around we're following the Buckley boys as they team up against the Hagbarts, a family of noisy, obnoxious, mean kids who reminded me somewhat of the Herdsmans from "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever."

Matthew is, of course, the main character. He wakes up with dread on his first day of school, recalling how, at the end of the school year, he and his brother Simon had made the Hagbarts look really bad. Now that school is going to be back in session, Matthew just knows that the Hagbarts have something evil, wicked, and vengeful to do in return.

The Hagbarts do start the year up right with some taunting and pummeling, but Matthew is actually feeling pretty good about the day. Allen, a new boy, has just moved in and he's invited Matthew to come over to play Ping Pong. Maybe this year won't be so bad after all. But as the Hagbarts begin to increase the pressure, the Buckley boys realize they have to increase theirs as well, and come up with such ingenious ploys as getting the Hagbarts to stand in a certain spot when the high-power sprinkling system comes on, and painting them with black walnut juice.

The two sets of brothers take turns getting the upper hand until the unexpected conclusion, showing that you just never know what life's going to bring you.

I didn't enjoy this book quite as much as "Chickens in the Headlights," but it was amusing. This book is a finalist in this year's Whitney Awards.

(This book was published in 2007 by Covenant.)

Related Blogs:

Jokes to Make Your Kids Giggle

Some Humor to Lighten Your Day

The Healing Balm of Laughter

Learn more about Tristi Pinkston

I've been a blogger for Families.com since August of 2006.

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