Richard McCartney
Author Name: Tim Wright
13-Year-Old Toby Baxter's day is off to a bad start. His mom takes him to task for wasting time chasing down links about Big Foot when he could be reading a book. Ugh!... A vile smell emanating from his closet fills his bedroom, accompanied by the sound of laughing mice.... He receives heart-breaking news about Rainie.
Then... it gets worse. While at the Mall of America, he's attacked by a horde of carrot people.
Rushed to River Home, along with Rainie, Sid, and Derrick, Toby quickly discovers that his river elf friends are threatened by a devastating contagion and once again need his help.
But this time, Toby ominously learns that he may very well be the enemy he must conquer.
Join Toby on his fifth Quest to RiverHome as he threads his ways through distracting gauntlets, Rootbeer, anger-inducing odors, and the search for HOPE, all culminating in a showdown back in Para-Dies with himself!Read moreReviewWright's writing is engaging and composed with a positive spin and plenty of humor. He skillfully depicts the trials of adolescence and the need to discover one's strengths, using inner commentary to add insight and comedy to what the characters are thinking. This is a classic middle-grade adventure, full of action, hero quests, and a touch of romance. (Booklife Reviews)Wright's writing is engaging and composed with a positive spin and plenty of humor. He skillfully depicts the trials of adolescence and the need to discover one's strengths, using inner commentary to add insight and comedy to what the characters are thinking. This is a classic middle-grade adventure, full of action, hero quests, and a touch of romance. (Booklife Reviews)From the AuthorToby's fifth adventure will prove to be a turning point in what will be a seven book series, as he comes face to face with his toughest enemy yet... himself.
The idea for this book came from my grandson, Judah. He said that I should write about rutabagas, as I'm always "threatening" to feed my grandkids something with rutabagas in it. It was an idea that came out of the blue and gave me the chance to create some new, unique characters for RiverHome.
The book also gave me the opportunity to write about my favorite beverage-Root Beer!
My hope is to write Toby into the world that many of our middle schoolers are dealing with today, in a way that makes them think and laugh. May that be the case again as you read Toby's fifth adventure.
Thanks for reading!
TimFrom the Inside FlapToby Baxter sat on his bed, immersed in his iPad. He'd just taken a shower after an 8-mile training walk. 2 hours! With his Grandpa Steve, his mom's dad. Grandpa Steve had tricked him, kind of, sort of, into walking the Disneyland Half Marathon. Kind of, sort of, because Grandpa Steve had asked Toby if he wanted to go to Disneyland and before Grandpa Steve could finish the rest of his sentence—to walk the Disneyland Half Marathon—Toby had shouted, "YES!" 13.1 miles! That will teach me to listen to an entire sentence before answering the question! With the race still two months away, they were increasing their long walks by a mile each Saturday. Today they got up early to beat the summer heat. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was actually enjoying the walks and the time with Grandpa Steve, especially when they walked around Lake Harriet or the larger lake not far from it, Bde Maka Ska, which, Grandpa Steve told him, is Dakota for White Earth Lake or Lake White Earth. But for Toby, the payoff was the delicious chicken-parmesan-cheese-potato-chip sandwich for breakfast afterward. Yum! Before showering, he had gone to throw his stinky workout clothes onto the floor in his closet. But when he opened the closet door, a vile, unholy smell hit him. Worse than the smell that normally filled his closet. The odor not only really stunk, it agitated him. As in, it made him so angry that he wanted to hit something. What the..." He stopped himself before releasing something even more vile into the room than the smell coming from his closet. Toby wasn't one to swear. On the few occasions when he did, it made him feel ugly. He took a step back. What the fruit loops is that smell and what the frozen peas made me so angry that I wanted to yell, 'what the...' and how do I even know that word? Now, staring at his iPad, he still felt agitated, even though the smell had dissipated while he was showering, which must be a coincidence. "Put the iPad down, Toby. You need to do your 30 minutes of reading before we pick up Rainie," his mom called out from the laundry room. "Just a minute." "You said 'just a minute' 30 minutes ago. Put the iPad DOWN and DO your reading. NOW!" she said, clearly frustrated. "JUST. A. MINUTE!" he answered back with too much snark, his eyes glued to the screen. He had been immersed in researching the history of Marvel comic books, jumping from link to link, but now found himself in the middle of some really interesting theories about Bigfoot. How he got there, and for how long he'd been digging, he didn't know but, holy moly, this Bigfoot stuff is really true... and really interesting. A shadow fell over him. Mom. Standing next to him. Hands on her hips. "What did you say to me, young man?" Toby instantly felt irritated by her interruption as he was just about to uncover some new, recently discovered evidence of Bigfoot. He was ready to answer with, "I said, 'JUST. A. MINUTE!,'" but one look at Mom's face immediately brought him back to planet Earth. Um... sorry, Mom. It's just... it's just that I found this cool site about Bigfoot and..." "He's not real, Toby. Chasing down Bigfoot stories is what we call a time suck." "Did you just say su..." "Time suck, Toby. I said 'time suck.' Context matters. Chasing down stories about Bigfoot on the internet is a complete waste of your mind and your time. It's a distraction. He's not real," she emphasized again. He couldn't stop himself. "What do you mean he's not real!" he blasted out at her. "Look! Right here! Pictures. Real pictures. Okay. Real blurry pictures. But he's real!" "Thank you, Toby," his mom said with passive-aggressive politeness, whatever that means, taking the iPad from his hand. "I'll keep this for now. And you will get your brain out of that rabbit hole and into a book. 30 minutes."From the Back CoverBeware Revenge!
13-Year-Old Toby Baxter's day is off to a bad start. His mom takes him to task for wasting time chasing down links about Big Foot when he could be reading a book. Ugh!... A vile smell emanating from his closet fills his bedroom, accompanied by the sound of laughing mice.... He receives heart-breaking news about Rainie.
Then... it gets worse. While at the Mall of America, he's attacked by a horde of carrot people.
Rushed to RiverHome, along with Rainie, Sid, and Derrick, Toby quickly discovers that his river elf friends are threatened by a devastating contagion and once again need his help.
But this time, Toby ominously learns that he may very well be the enemy he must conquer.
Join Toby on his fifth Quest to RiverHome as he threads his ways through distracting gauntlets, Rootbeer, anger-inducing odors, and the search for HOPE, all culminating in a showdown back in Para-Dies—with himself!About the AuthorTim Wright is the co-host of the Wonder of Parenting Podcast: A Brain-Science Approach to Parenting. He and his wife, Jan, have two adult children and five grandchildren. They live in Glendale, AZ, where Tim enjoys his daily recumbent bike rides and lives for the day when the Arizona Cardinals win the Supe... the Big Game. He and Jan also enjoy sitting on the beach in Maui watching the whales.Read more
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