By Louis Sachar

Published: 2015

AR level: 5.0

AR points: 5.0

I suggest 3rd through 7th grade.

Maybe all I need to tell you is that the author of Fuzzy Mud, Louis Sachar, is the author of Holes. Maybe that’s all you need to know to want to read this. Or, maybe you’re like me. Maybe you love contemporary science fiction based on what could really happen. As a former employee of the CDC, I’m a sucker for any book with an epidemic as an external conflict.

Even if that’s not your thing, Fuzzy Mud will still be your thing. Intriguing characters and a well-paced plot will keep readers going to the end. I recommend for any reader, but especially those who are less inclined toward magic and fantasy and wanting more science-based plots!

Description from B&N:

Be careful. Your next step may be your last.

Fifth grader Tamaya Dhilwaddi and seventh grader Marshall Walsh have been walking to and from Woodridge Academy together since elementary school. But their routine is disrupted when bully Chad Hilligas challenges Marshall to a fight. To avoid the conflict, Marshall takes a shortcut home through the off-limits woods. Tamaya, unaware of the reason for the detour, reluctantly follows. They soon get lost. And then they find trouble. Bigger trouble than anyone could ever have imagined.

In the days and weeks that follow, the authorities and the U.S. Senate become involved, and what they uncover might affect the future of the world.