The 18th Emergency

by Betsy Byars, Robert Grossman (Illustrator)

When the toughest boy in school swears to kill him, twelve year-old Mouse finds little help from friends and must prepare for this emergency alone

Genres: Fiction, Childrens, Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade, Novels, Humor

119 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Betsy Byars was an American author of children's books. She wrote over sixty books for young people. Her first novel was published in 1962. Her novel Summer of the Swans won the 1971 Newbery Medal. She also received a National Book Award for Young People's Literature for The Night Swimmers and an Edgar Award for Wanted ... Mud Blossom!!

Daughters Betsy Duffey and Laurie Myers are also writers.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I still had my childhood copy. But at least my library had an original, with Grossman's art! What a trip down memory lane. Five stars because I loved it as a child and appreciate it even more now. It's not so much a story about a bully as it is about compassion, and honor, and growing up. But all that's pretty much behind the scenes of the humor and drama. Just about the only thing that dates this is the prices. The mom does outright encourage the boy to watch TV, but some moms do, you gotta admit.

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Three years after The Summer of the Swans earned Betsy Byars the 1971 Newbery Medal, The 18th Emergency was published, a much less famous novel that also features quirky characters and a subtle story you have to work to get your arms around. Sixth-grader Benjie "Mouse" Fawley faces impending doom when Marv Hammerman, a huge brute of a kid, pursues him after school. Hammerman isn't known as a sparkling conversationalist, opting instead to let his fists speak for him. He's beaten up lots of kids, some who weren't sure what they did wrong, but Mouse knows how he landed on Hammerman's bad side. A propensity for writing snide comments in public, a badly timed dig at Hammerman's intelligence...Mouse wonders why he puts himself in these crisis situations.

Mouse's mother doesn't take his predicament seriously, and his father is away, a professional truck driver who doesn't see his son as often as they'd both like. Mr. and Mrs. Casino live nearby, sort of an extended family for Mouse; Mr. Casino once was a bold, strong man capable of teaching Marv Hammerman a lesson, but not anymore. Following a debilitating stroke, Mr. Casino struggles to perform basic tasks, and Mrs. Casino frequently enlists Mouse to help. Mouse's friend from school, Ezzie Weimer, is a fast talker with an encyclopedic knowledge of how to supposedly escape emergency scenarios, but his advice is about crocodiles, charging rhinos, pythons in the wild, or falling out of a plane. He has no strategy to counter Hammerman, and Ezzie's not inclined to risk his own neck in a fight. Mouse will have to fend for himself when the punches start flying.

Scared out of his wits, Mouse lives up to his nickname, trying not to draw attention as he darts between classes at school. If he can get through every day from now to college without Hammerman seeing him, maybe he'll survive. Hammerman is definitely looking for Mouse in school and out, even showing up in the neighborhood when Mouse is walking Mr. Casino home. The stress makes Mouse sick to his stomach, a bundle of nerves and angst just waiting for the cat to stop toying with him and take the first bite. Mouse has a reputation for being fearful, and maybe reversing that reputation is the only way to clear the air so he can stop avoiding Hammerman and move on in life. It will require courage, but perhaps he can spring himself from this emergency without one of Ezzie's contingency plans, without anyone's assistance. Maybe he can go from being "Mouse" to being Benjie again...and win the respect he craves deep down from others and himself.

Betsy Byars's books are difficult to synopsize. The summarized narratives usually don't sound like much, but that's because the feel is what matters. We follow her main characters through a defining moment that doesn't seem extraordinary to their family and friends, but these are the moments where a kid begins understanding who they are and how they can become the person they want to be. Arriving at such a realization without adult intervention is a formative experience, which is why Mouse's story resonates. I'm not convinced Robert Grossman's illustrations are a match for Betsy Byars's style, but The 18th Emergency is a good book. I wouldn't put it on equal terrain with the author's The House of Wings, The Night Swimmers, The Pinballs, McMummy, or Cat Diaries: Secret Writings of the MEOW Society, but I'll always have a soft spot for Mouse Fawley, and I rate this book two and a half stars. Confronting fear isn't easy, and we benefit from every role model we can get, especially the unlikely ones.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some things don't change and the subject matter of 'bullies' and 'growing up' are just as pertinent now as in 1973.

Tarzan's on tv (still is).
Mums still have to finish what they're doing before they really listen to you (count me amongst the guilty).
Dads can tell when something's up with their son but don't know how to just talk to him about it (tick).

But turning off the tv with his toe had me laughing out loud.
& the kids were in the street/footpath/alley playing basketball and skating. Sigh. Not a playstation/xbox in sight.

Kids of today may find this a little slow - as it only covers a few days - and not much 'exciting' happens. But it is absolutely still relevant - if you can get them to read it.

[Penni Russon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this as a kid and having revisited for the first time in almost 30 years (BECAUSE OMG OLD), I still love it. I just think it's so gracefully constructed, the character detail is great and the general feel is funny-sad, which is my favourite sort of book. Heartstrings: plucked.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

James Aubrey reads the audiobook listened to on youtube

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 2 out of 5]

Benjie (also called Mouse) likes to draw labels on things, and one day he labels a poster of a caveman at school with class bully Marv Hammerman's name, and Hammerman sees him do it. Though Mouse and his friend, Ezzie, have spent a lot of time thinking up plans for handling emergencies - quicksand and boa constrictors, tarantula bites and falls from cliffs, charging bulls and hungry lions - Benjie is woefully unprepared for the wrath of Marv Hammerman, which is about to descend on him in full force. Benjie is desperate to escape being beaten up at first, but as he begins to see things from Hammerman's point of view, he realizes that he must accept the consequences of his actions, come what may.

I found this book very interesting, mostly because I think most of what happens in it would be handled very differently in a contemporary setting. For one thing, with so many zero tolerance policies for bullying in public schools now, there is no way Benjie would have gotten away with his graffiti without adults getting involved. At the very least, teachers would be searching for the student who had defaced school property. I am also skeptical that many kids solve their problems with physical fighting in this way. Any fight I ever witnessed in school was always a spur-of-the-moment thing, brought on by uncontrolled emotions and quickly broken up by adults. I never knew of anyone to "meet at the flagpole after school" to settle their problems, as though fighting were a matter of honor.

I am also unclear as to whether Byars condones physical fighting among boys. The book, my edition of which was marketed as part of the Just For Boys series from Weekly Reader, seems to suggest that the right thing for Benjie to do is to allow Hammerman to beat him up, but it's hard for me to imagine why that would be the author's only message. Compared to Byars's other books, which frequently have open-ended or only partially resolved conclusions, this one seemed more tied up at the end, but the resolution felt odd to me, because it felt like Benjie learned the wrong lesson. Perhaps the idea is that the reader is left to critique Benjie's actions and to decide whether getting beaten up truly should have made him feel better, but I'm not sure a kid would read anything into it beyond the seeming glorification of fighting. Not that I think a single book is enough to promote physical violence, but there was a strange "boys will be boys" vibe to this book that felt very outdated.

This is not my favorite Betsy Byars book, as it lacks the subtlety of some of her other books. Still, the characters come across strongly, and I think there is a lot for young boys to relate to, even if Benjie is not always an ideal role model. I bought this book at a used book sale so I'll probably hang onto it for a while, but I'm reserving judgment on whether to share it with my kids, or whether they will even be interested.

This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.

[Lisa Rathbun · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this but wondered if it might be a bit slow-moving for the average young reader. Most of the book focuses on Mouse's fear as he waits for retailiation from the school bully after he labeled a Neanderthal poster with the bully's name. The story only covers about two and a half days, but there are some brief flashbacks, including his lists of emergency situations and his friend's solutions for surviving them. Some of them really had me laughing. I liked the unique way Mouse liked to label things and draw little arrows on them. It showed him as a kind of strange and quirky little guy with a sense of humor and an eye to the unusual. I also like the idea that Mouse realized that the bully felt bad when he was labeled, but this point was minor. Minor spoiler: The biggest impression is that of his unbearable fear until he decides to face up to it. I thought it a little too pat that his friends drop his nickname right away out of respect. Also several details show that this was a book published in 1973 despite the somewhat newer art on the cover. Also the book ends almost too cutely the exact way it began: with a boy running and a dog running too without knowing why. It seemed a little too forced and obvious. But overall I did enjoy reading this; I'm just not sure if kids will.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve never had someone threaten to beat me up. It, then, was a revelation to read this book. And, isn’t Betsy Byars a master? I left the book feeling compassion for both our main character, nicknamed, unhappily, Mouse, and the bully, Hammerman. I saw both Mouse and Hammerman become bigger, better people. Fabulous. A 1001 CBYMRBYGU.

[Woff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man, I had pretty good taste as a child, because on a reread at 35 this was still awesome.

I see the modern mother doesn’t approve of the “violent content” though lol.

[Damsel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was not expecting too much from this book.

The Eighteenth Emergency follows a story about a boy known as Mouse and how he is dreading facing the school's bully after insulting him. The book spans only a few days and tackles the basic topic of bullying.

The only thing I found a little odd about the story is the later theme of honor. The bully, Marv Hammerman, is known to fight kids for "no reason" or reasons such as being a bit quicker to the school's water fountain than he was. However, after Mouse fights him, the readers find out that Hammerman gets into these fights to preserve his honor. It seems odd that despite Mouse saying that Hammerman fights many kids for no reason, he then later concludes that he does this out of preserving his honor.

Overall, the book was quite enjoyable. Since I had found this book while trying to find anything to read, it was a nice way to spend an hour or two.

[Ben Thurley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poor Mouse Fawley. He knows exactly what to do when confronted with a terrifying alligator (prop its mouth open with a convenient stick) or after falling into quicksand (lie down on it and not struggle). He could hold his own in the event of Attack by an Unfriendly Lion (by pushing his arm way down the beast's throat) or even Unexpected Charge of an Enraged Bull (making use of its blind spot, simply by turning sideways and waiting).

But he does no idea what to do when Marv Hammerman, the toughest bully in school, decides that Mouse needs to be taught a lesson.

Hilarious, terrifying, and achingly sad and tender, The Eighteenth Emergency is a joy to read alone or out loud. It sparked lots of great conversations with my nine year old little guy.

[Kyle Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the fact that the ending, the last chapter, wasn't a cute little solution, like the bully didn't really want to fight, or that the crew stood up to the bully, or that the gentle giant stepped in. Instead, this kid stepped up to his bully and took his beating because he deserved it and then moved on with his life. That was unexpected and mature.

However, the B-plot about taking care of the old man didn't dovetail into the solution, so it was a thread that was left hanging. Garbage Dog never fed into the plot either unless he was symbolic of taking care of something. Mouse/Benjie took care of he old man and the dog, so maybe he's a caretaker? But that has nothing to do with Hammerman.

[Alexy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the audio book read by James Aubrey. I loved it! Sad tale of being bullied by the school thug. How Mouse is getting himself into trouble by thinking out loud. He comes under the radar of the most feared boy in the school. When he is challenged to a fight which he can't physically defend, and doesn't do, but he takes a beating as a matter of honour, and doesn't fall down! There are some nice characters in the story, best friend, a stray dog, neighbours who are there to go to if his mum is out (she is a working single mum). The way Mouse understands his mums ways is really nice, and how he shoulders his own problems is very brave. A great book for children. My first by this author.

[Amber Scaife · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short novel about a middle school boy dealing with the fear of being stalked by a school bully. At just 120 pages and taking place over the course of two days, this one is a vignette of how roller-coaster-like middle school can be, and how sometimes adults don't remember or understand how life-and-death those emotions and situations can seem.

[Ross Blair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this in 1989 1st year at high school aged 11, it inspired my greatest achievement in school , a short story for which I received an unassailable A*+2 . Would make an excellent cartoon. Ezzy the friend of the main character (Mouse) was brilliant. MUST READ (if a child)

[Jim D'Ambrosia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love how the main character likes to mark up surfaces by drawing in lines or adding commentary. But it does seem like Byars promotes letting boys settle disputes with their fists. The moral apparently is that you gain honor by letting a kid beat the snot out of you. Let's hope this is dated.

[Elane O'Rourke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic Coming of Age story

I loved this book when I was a kid, and just read it again. Still love it. It somehow both completely captures the myopic perspective of adolescence AND reveals the universal human truths that drive us all. Read it!

[Renee' M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this with my little one for a school assignment. It was cute and kept us both laughing and on the edge of our seat. He hopes there's another in the series.

Spoiler alert: it tells the secret of the tooth fairy! I'm not happy, but i don't think he really caught on.

[Meghan Szady · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Spoiler*


It was a decent read. I feel like it was lacking slightly in character development. I do like that the character's name changed at the end.

[Shahbaz Khan · Rating 4 out of 5]

he fears the fight with the buly,dreams some strong man neighbour or father willcome home and help but he does not .in the end he takes the beating and is respected by bully.

[ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greatest book I’ve ever read. There is no competition. It was truly inspiring.

[Gruber Grimes · Rating 5 out of 5]

first one I picked off the school library shelf to read by myself

[mitchell dwyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a while to come to Betsy Byars. It was Beverly Cleary who lit my reading fire, and Byars for years was the person whose name I skimmed over as I looked for my next Cleary title.

When I finally read The Cartoonist, I discovered a book rich with well-conceived characters, a writer who didn't feel the need to tell you everything about those characters, a plot that was reasonably driven by those characters, and a resolution that left me sorta hanging. I saw the same thing in The Pinballs and The TV Kid, all books that I've treasured not for their stories but for the depth of character development.

The 18th Emergency was one of those I'd always meant to get to but never did. When our school librarian put a bunch of Byars titles in the weeding-out box in our faculty lounge this week, I immediately grabbed them all, saddened to see that in the fifteen years or so this book had sat on the shelf, it had never been checked out.

There is no plot-related reason for Benjie, the main character in this short novel, to have a dad who is away a lot, driving a truck. There's no plot-related reason to have his best friend be (apparently) poor, or for the neighborhood stray dog to have ridiculously short legs. But this is what Byars populates her novels with: interesting characters so detailed that we feel immersed in the main characters' worlds for the purpose of getting to know them, and not merely to see what happens to them. Yes, there is a plot here, but the plot is not the point, and it is a wonder to me that novels like this ever get published anymore. While still engaging, the story serves to develop the characters, rather than the characters being a slave to the plot. That Byars manages to do this so well in such short spaces amazes me sometimes.

[George Redgrave · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book several times with my classes of 11-12 year olds. We found it funny and engaging but above all it addressed the problems we have. The key is that all Ezzie and Mouse's strategies when faced with an emergency turn out to be the thing one would LEAST instinctively choose to do. In the end he realises that running from Marv Hammerman does not solve his problem, he has to face him to do that. When George Bush sent troops to attack Afghanistan he did the instinctive thing and here we are years later no nearer a solution to the problem.

[Shrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a about a boy named Benjie "Mouse" Fawley. He has a habit of writing things then drawing an arrow nets to the sentence. One day in a hallway Mouse had drawn an arrow toward a early human and wrote Marv Hammerman. Hammerman was the toughest kid in school and was after Mouse. Mouse kept on trying to avoid Hammerman but then decided to fight him. Mouse got beat up pretty bad. In the end, Mouse and Hammerman became friends

[Purnima Bhagria]

The 18th emergency was not really interesting to me. It really just talked about a boy's life story about getting threaten to kill him by a bully named hammer man. The book seems boring to me maybe some other people will like the book but NOT me out of 5 stars i would probably give this book a 1 all i just have to say about this book that it is very BORING to me!! not trying to be mean or anything but SORRY to all of those life story readers out there i just DID NOT LIKE THE BOOK!!. :(

[Duane · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a good book for young people who face those bullies that always end up tormenting us in our lives. Young "Mouse" goes through agonizing days as he avoids the school bully who is preying on him. Will Mouse realize that the fear is the ultimate torture or is the punching more painful? A good read for any young person today.

[Vanessa Sider · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bennie was a very nice boy didn't have many enemies. But one day he did something that he tottaly regrets. Now he either has to pick between having to run away all the time or get killed by the school bully. What does he chose ? You will have to find out yourself ! If you want to find out read the book .... Very good book

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not the beating; it's the anticipation.

I loved this book as a kid. I don't know why. I was small in school, but never in any physical danger, and not so much of a smart ass as I now am. Nor did I live in a big city. Nor was I a big doodler. I love the game Mouse and his friend are always playing, trying to come up with emergencies and the proper thing to do when they arise.

[Derelict Space Sheep · Rating 3 out of 5]

42 WORD REVIEW:

Benjie is running scared from the school Goliath, an emergency that offers no blithe, fanciful solutions such as have been devised for escaping shark attacks and the like. Betsy Byars’ well-rounded social survival tale both takes seriously yet contextualises Benjie’s all-consuming dread.