The Amazing Wilmer Dooley: A Mumpley Middle School Mystery

by Fowler DeWitt

Student scientist Wilmer Dooley and his friends—and enemies—are back with another hilarious mystery to solve in this zany, action-packed sequel to The Contagious Colors of Mumpley Middle School .Wilmer Dooley can’t wait to be a seventh grader. But first, he really can’t wait for the 45th Annual State Science Fair and Consortium. It will be a blissful summer weekend spent hanging out with Ernie and impressing Roxie with his dazzling project on bacteria.But Wilmer’s dreams come crashing down when he arrives at the dilapidated Sac à Puces Palladium, Lodge, and Resort-Like Hotel. First, his old biology teacher, Mrs. Padgett, is a chaperone—and she absolutely despises Wilmer. Next he learns that the fair’s final activity involves being stranded in the dark woods and trying not to get eaten by bears. And worst of all, his arch nemesis, Claudius, is there—and he’s brought along his equally rotten cousin Vlad.Wilmer quickly begins to suspect that the two are planning something horribly sinister. But as he grows more and more concerned, the other kids begin behaving more and more strangely...almost as if they’re being brainwashed. And when Wilmer discovers the diabolical scheme that’s afoot, it’s even more terrible than he had imagined—and he may be too late to stop it.

Genres: Middle Grade, Science Fiction

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2014

Reviews

[Pop Bop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Builds Quickly To A Satisfying Finish

This is one of those books that takes a little while to get its sea legs. I was discouraged at the outset because Wilmer felt a bit like a humorless drone, and some of the gags seemed tired and shallow. Well, it was more a case of volume 2 blues, where the author had to bring new readers up to speed quickly. Once that was done and the story started to develop the book took off with a bang.

Soon to be seventh grader Wilmer is a super, no an amazing, scientist. His Dad is an exceptionally amazing absent minded scientist. His Mom is an insanely inept experimental cook. Wilmer's best pal Ernie is a laid back dude and Wilmer's secret crush Roxie is a Girl Friday budding school news reporter. Mortal enemies come in the form of cousins Claudius and Vlad. Apart from Mom and Dad, (who appear mostly in cameos offering bad food or bad advice, respectively), everyone is at the grotesquely run-down "Resort-Like" Hotel Sac a Puces for the state science fair.

In the first volume in this series Wilmer saved everyone at his school from certain death, so Wilmer is already an amazing celebrity as well as an amazing scientist. As events get weirder and weirder, and as it becomes clear that something diabolical is afoot, Wilmer and the gang are called upon to figure it all out and do something amazing once again.

The appeal here isn't the plot, which is sort of standard issue. (Although, there are some satisfying twists and turns to the mystery's conclusion.)Character interaction is top drawer, (Wilmer and Ernie are funny together, Wilmer and Roxie are awkward in a very appealing way, Wilmer and Claudius/Vlad are all sneers and stink eyes, and so on), and there are some very funny throwaway lines.

One particular appeal is that book is scaled to entertain a fairly wide audience. By that I mean a younger reader could follow the plot and get a lot of the jokes and silliness. An older and more experienced reader will get the more subtle jokes and probably appreciate the good natured ribbing of some of the adults and teachers and the like.

So, you get some laughs, some action, some zany humor, some sly amusing business, and a nice bunch of kids. A good find.

Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wilmer Dooley is engulfed in ANOTHER mystery. This time, while he's at the 45th Annual State Science Fair and Consortium, the other participants are acting very strangely. And, they seem to be getting stranger with each hour. Wilmer is fairly certain that Claudius Dill and his cousin Vlad are behind this new conundrum. He tries to enlist the help of his best friend, Ernie, but he seems to be affected by the odd messages being drilled into the kids.

Roxie and a new friend, Harriet as well as Wilmer have escaped the crazy happenings going on. What makes them different than the rest? Well, for one thing, they haven't been listening to the sickly sweet messages being broadcast over the intercom. Could there be some subliminal message directed towards the kids?

Wilmer uses his observation rules, follows the clues, and ends up....solving the mystery? Well, sometimes the most obvious clues are not quite what you're looking for. In the end, though, Wilmer stumbles his way to a conclusion. Is he a hero once again?

[Angie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wilmer is extremely excited to go to the science fair weekend with his friend Ernie and his crush Roxie. He has a whole experiment planned on bacteria. Once he gets there his excitement dims. His rival Claudia his there with his cousin Vlad and Mrs. Padgett, his biology teacher who hates him, is a judge. The hotel where the science fair is being held is in the middle of nowhere and falling apart and there are these strange announcements all the time over the loudspeaker. Wilmer begins to suspect something is going on and has to figure it out before all the kids turn into zombies.

I am sure this book will find fans with younger readers. However, I thought it was pretty terrible. The story was impossible and the characters were terribly unlikable. It was really hard to get through and I almost gave up on it. Definitely not my favorite.

[Shari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some scenes are laugh-out-loud. Humor is right for targeted ages. Love the puns,too.