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Shivers #20
Babyface & The Killer Mob
You dirty rat!
Join Joey alias Babyface and some goofy goons as they go from the frying pan into the fire. Ya see, this Joey kid wants to be in the mob. Yeah, but he's a kid! So what, he still gets his wish and a lot more. He's a real big kid now with real big problems. A getaway driver who can't drive a car. Face to face with the fact that he's a kid in a grown-up body and everyone wants him dead. Freaky!! NO WHERE TO HIDE!!!
Join Joey alias Babyface and some goofy goons as they go from the frying pan into the fire. Ya see, this Joey kid wants to be in the mob. Yeah, but he's a kid! So what, he still gets his wish and a lot more. He's a real big kid now with real big problems. A getaway driver who can't drive a car. Face to face with the fact that he's a kid in a grown-up body and everyone wants him dead. Freaky!! NO WHERE TO HIDE!!!
123 pages, Paperback
Published August 11, 1996
134 people want to read
About the author
M.D. Spenser
58 books140 followersM.D. Spenser is a children's author, journalist and music critic. Born in the United States, he lives now in the UK.
"The Enchanted Attic," Book 1 of his popular SHIVERS series of novels for children, was republished as an e-book in August 2011. It is available at amazone.com, Barnes & Noble, Sony and iBookstory. Book 2, "A Ghastly Shade of Green," and Book 3, "Ghost Writer," followed shortly afterwards.
The rest of the 36-book series will be published as ebooks over time.
Also, an internet petition is circulating asking that the entire 36-book series be republished in paperback: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/md...
"The Enchanted Attic," Book 1 of his popular SHIVERS series of novels for children, was republished as an e-book in August 2011. It is available at amazone.com, Barnes & Noble, Sony and iBookstory. Book 2, "A Ghastly Shade of Green," and Book 3, "Ghost Writer," followed shortly afterwards.
The rest of the 36-book series will be published as ebooks over time.
Also, an internet petition is circulating asking that the entire 36-book series be republished in paperback: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/md...
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 22, 2024
Okay, I know I said a misc one was next. I assumed I’d read that by now and do the Shivers today. That didn’t happen as I wasn’t in the mood and I honestly wanted to get through some of these for the ripoff round. Thus, I went with what I wanted. I promise to do misc stuff before we end this round or right after.
But until then, let’s just dive into Shivers. This series is a rollercoaster, and this has to be one of the craziest that I’ve read. That’s saying something, of course. I’ll just say the plot first:
Joey is a kid who is sick of adults and being a kid. Also, he wants to be a gangster and part of the local gang, The Killer Mob. Yes. The gang doesn't let him and Joey ends up caught in the middle of a gang war.
He hits his head and wakes up in an adult body, that of the Killer Mob’s getaway driver. So now he has to deal with that.
What even is this book? It's debatable if it's good but I did enjoy it. This feels like a parody of those movies like Big. He doesn't just become an adult, he gets into the world of crime.
It leans into all the tropes, with a lot of “see?”. The writing is not good here, as it tries way too hard to be cheeky and has wonky sentences. This is from ghostwriter Bob Knotts and his last two i did had fine writing. Even he falls prey to the mediocrity of Spenser.
It has the usual moral of the Kid learning they aren't ready for adult hood. Fine message that is done okay but feels weird when paired with the gangster stuff. It again fells like a parody, especially since being a gangster is his real goal.
A lot of guns to fill the Edge qouta but no one is really shot. Feels toothless given what we've been through lol. He meets another kid in his situation, a girl in body of the Mob boss wife.
There are implications that are thankfully only slightly implied but…yeah. Anyway, I appreciate that it's constant danger with no real filler like in so many of these.
It still feels like nor quite enough happens, with mostly threats. The logic is weird as he's in this body but it's unclear if this is freaky Friday or what.
The twist lazily ignores that. It sorta fits but given how crazy this was from page 1, it's odd to end how it does.
It's an odd one. Wonky for sure with some rough writing. But it's fun with the break neck pace and gangster action. It's out there and as long as you don't take it seriously, you can enjoy it.
For its flaws, it has an odd hook that makes it fun. One of the tighter ones but exactly the best either. So there ya go.
Next, we head to Spinetinglers for a book that exists. See ya then.
But until then, let’s just dive into Shivers. This series is a rollercoaster, and this has to be one of the craziest that I’ve read. That’s saying something, of course. I’ll just say the plot first:
Joey is a kid who is sick of adults and being a kid. Also, he wants to be a gangster and part of the local gang, The Killer Mob. Yes. The gang doesn't let him and Joey ends up caught in the middle of a gang war.
He hits his head and wakes up in an adult body, that of the Killer Mob’s getaway driver. So now he has to deal with that.
What even is this book? It's debatable if it's good but I did enjoy it. This feels like a parody of those movies like Big. He doesn't just become an adult, he gets into the world of crime.
It leans into all the tropes, with a lot of “see?”. The writing is not good here, as it tries way too hard to be cheeky and has wonky sentences. This is from ghostwriter Bob Knotts and his last two i did had fine writing. Even he falls prey to the mediocrity of Spenser.
It has the usual moral of the Kid learning they aren't ready for adult hood. Fine message that is done okay but feels weird when paired with the gangster stuff. It again fells like a parody, especially since being a gangster is his real goal.
A lot of guns to fill the Edge qouta but no one is really shot. Feels toothless given what we've been through lol. He meets another kid in his situation, a girl in body of the Mob boss wife.
There are implications that are thankfully only slightly implied but…yeah. Anyway, I appreciate that it's constant danger with no real filler like in so many of these.
It still feels like nor quite enough happens, with mostly threats. The logic is weird as he's in this body but it's unclear if this is freaky Friday or what.
The twist lazily ignores that. It sorta fits but given how crazy this was from page 1, it's odd to end how it does.
It's an odd one. Wonky for sure with some rough writing. But it's fun with the break neck pace and gangster action. It's out there and as long as you don't take it seriously, you can enjoy it.
For its flaws, it has an odd hook that makes it fun. One of the tighter ones but exactly the best either. So there ya go.
Next, we head to Spinetinglers for a book that exists. See ya then.
August 5, 2025
Shivers Summer is winding down like your aunt’s above-ground pool in mid-August and much like that algae-green death trap, I am very ready to climb out. Today we’re talking Babyface & The Killer Mob, Shivers book #20, aka the one where Freaky Friday tries to carjack The Sopranos. This one’s a weird ride, but like pre-Yeezus Kanye warned us back when he still had a grip, ""Don't rush to get grown, drive slow, homie". And you know, the spoilers are coming.
Let’s get this out of the way, this is the first Shivers title I’ve read that wasn’t penned by M.D. Spencer, but by Robert Spencer Knotts. And boy does it feel ghostwritten. The voice is different, the pacing is weird, and somehow “rub out” is used like nine hundred times in a book for children.
We meet Old Joey, yes, that’s what he calls himself, who lives in a crime-riddled Miami neighborhood that feels like GTA Vice City but with fewer rocket launchers and more adult men threatening to literally kill a child on page six. Joey wants to be a gangster, and he’s constantly surrounded by the Killer Mob, which sounds like a 90s rap group.
After messing with the wrong mobster, Joey gets kidnapped, and they’re about to give him the ol' cement shoes special. Yes, like actually pour cement around his feet. This is a children’s book. Before he can go full Jimmy Hoffa, rival gang The Muscle Gang shows up for a shootout. It’s less John Wick and more like that laser tag birthday party where everyone cries. Somehow, no one dies, but Joey wakes up and surprise! He’s now in the body of adult mobster Babyface, who’s apparently the Vin Diesel of Miami, a legendary getaway driver… who does not actually know how to drive.
The bulk of the book is Joey-in-Babyface’s-body narrowly avoiding getting "rubbed out" by everyone from the Killer Mob to the Muscle Gang to, presumably, the ghost of Eazy-E. At one point they make him go shopping with the mob boss’s wife, which leads to the twist: Sondra, the wife, is also a 13-year-old kid who made a wish to be a mob wife. She lives like one block away from Joey’s house. Because of course she does.
There’s even a moment where Joey breaks the fourth wall and says:
“But this is crazy,” I cry. “Stuff like this just doesn't happen in real life. I feel like I'm a character in a book or something! It's like science fiction!”
Is that self-aware satire or just lazy writing? You decide. I’m too busy trying to figure out how this was marketed to children.
These two cursed children trapped in adult bodies get kidnapped again. There's another shootout. Someone probably says “rub out” again. Then Joey wakes up right back at the first shootout. It was all a dream. The cops come and arrest everyone, and somehow it’s all thanks to Joey? Unclear. Logic left the building around the same time as sentence structure. Sondra, aka Patty the 13-year-old is never mentioned again. Hopefully, she's doing alright.
This book wants to be Goodfellas for tweens but ends up more like Shark Tale with fewer fish and way more felony charges. There's so much happening, yet it somehow feels like nothing happens at all. And that dream ending? You could see it coming from the moment Joey "switched" bodies. Still, it's a wild ride while it lasts, and it's not every day you get middle grade fiction that indirectly teaches kids about mob violence and to be careful what you wish for in the same book.
That said, the cover slaps. A skeleton with glowing eyes in a pinstripe suit, crawling away from a shoot out. Certified banger. But as for the story? Robert Spencer Knotts is 0 for 1. Tune in next week to see if he’s got a comeback arc in the Shivers universe.
Let’s get this out of the way, this is the first Shivers title I’ve read that wasn’t penned by M.D. Spencer, but by Robert Spencer Knotts. And boy does it feel ghostwritten. The voice is different, the pacing is weird, and somehow “rub out” is used like nine hundred times in a book for children.
We meet Old Joey, yes, that’s what he calls himself, who lives in a crime-riddled Miami neighborhood that feels like GTA Vice City but with fewer rocket launchers and more adult men threatening to literally kill a child on page six. Joey wants to be a gangster, and he’s constantly surrounded by the Killer Mob, which sounds like a 90s rap group.
After messing with the wrong mobster, Joey gets kidnapped, and they’re about to give him the ol' cement shoes special. Yes, like actually pour cement around his feet. This is a children’s book. Before he can go full Jimmy Hoffa, rival gang The Muscle Gang shows up for a shootout. It’s less John Wick and more like that laser tag birthday party where everyone cries. Somehow, no one dies, but Joey wakes up and surprise! He’s now in the body of adult mobster Babyface, who’s apparently the Vin Diesel of Miami, a legendary getaway driver… who does not actually know how to drive.
The bulk of the book is Joey-in-Babyface’s-body narrowly avoiding getting "rubbed out" by everyone from the Killer Mob to the Muscle Gang to, presumably, the ghost of Eazy-E. At one point they make him go shopping with the mob boss’s wife, which leads to the twist: Sondra, the wife, is also a 13-year-old kid who made a wish to be a mob wife. She lives like one block away from Joey’s house. Because of course she does.
There’s even a moment where Joey breaks the fourth wall and says:
“But this is crazy,” I cry. “Stuff like this just doesn't happen in real life. I feel like I'm a character in a book or something! It's like science fiction!”
Is that self-aware satire or just lazy writing? You decide. I’m too busy trying to figure out how this was marketed to children.
These two cursed children trapped in adult bodies get kidnapped again. There's another shootout. Someone probably says “rub out” again. Then Joey wakes up right back at the first shootout. It was all a dream. The cops come and arrest everyone, and somehow it’s all thanks to Joey? Unclear. Logic left the building around the same time as sentence structure. Sondra, aka Patty the 13-year-old is never mentioned again. Hopefully, she's doing alright.
This book wants to be Goodfellas for tweens but ends up more like Shark Tale with fewer fish and way more felony charges. There's so much happening, yet it somehow feels like nothing happens at all. And that dream ending? You could see it coming from the moment Joey "switched" bodies. Still, it's a wild ride while it lasts, and it's not every day you get middle grade fiction that indirectly teaches kids about mob violence and to be careful what you wish for in the same book.
That said, the cover slaps. A skeleton with glowing eyes in a pinstripe suit, crawling away from a shoot out. Certified banger. But as for the story? Robert Spencer Knotts is 0 for 1. Tune in next week to see if he’s got a comeback arc in the Shivers universe.
July 18, 2019
Similar to the goosebumps series.
October 15, 2022
Another great book by M.D. Spenser and Shiver series. Recommend.
December 30, 2025
Just like the story was plucked from the sky, the whole plot was told like a moral story for kids not to be bad. it got worst when we got to know that whatever happened was all but a dream.
August 10, 2023
It's a copycat of the Spider Kingdom, but the dream felt more alive, so this one gets a 2/5 star review.
Wouldn't read again after, though.
Wouldn't read again after, though.
July 20, 2015
A young boy, desperate to grow up so he can become a member of the Mafia, gets caught up in the middle of a fire-fight between two rival gangs.
January 9, 2015
it's a god book
April 8, 2014
Pretty good, but not as good as some. Surprising, unpredictable.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews