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The Mutant Mushroom Takeover (A Maggie and Nate Mystery)
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About The Mutant Mushroom Takeover
Product Description “Packed to the gills with fun.” —Kirkus Reviews Stranger Things meets The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl in this lightly spooky debut about Maggie, an aspiring young naturalist, and her YouTuber best friend, Nate, who use their smarts and science to solve the mystery behind a mutant fungus that’s threatening the town. Ever since Magnolia Stone’s scientist dad left Shady Pines to find a new job, Maggie’s been stuck in her gramma’s mobile home with her grumpy older brother, Ezra. Now she’s on a mission to put her family back together by winning the Vitaccino Junior Naturalist Merit Award. When Maggie and her best friend, Nate, a wannabe YouTube star and alien conspiracy theorist, scout out a rare bioluminescent fungus, Maggie is certain she’s a shoo-in to win. But after animals around town start sprouting unusual growths and Ezra develops a bluish glow and hacking cough, Maggie wonders what they’ve really stumbled onto. As things in Shady Pines become stranger and more dangerous, and conversations with her dad get complicated, Maggie must use her scientific smarts and Nate’s impressive knowledge of all things spooky to put things back in order and prevent these peculiar glowing mushrooms from taking over their home. From School Library Journal Gr 4–7—Eleven-year-old Magnolia "Maggie" Stone loves science and nature, and this summer she is determined to win Vitaccino's Junior Naturalist Merit Award. Not only will the award earn her $500, but it will also give her the chance to speak to the Vitaccino board about her father getting his job back and coming home to Shady Pines. When her conspiracy theorist pal Nate asks her to come with him to investigate some mysterious lights in the woods, she agrees, hoping to capture a photograph that will earn her the top prize. But what she and Nate encounter in the woods that night is even more bizarre than either of them could have predicted. Maggie is a diligent scientist, recording her observations and hypotheses in her field notes. She is also a persistent and vocal advocate for her family and her town, even in the face of danger and a real conspiracy within Shady Pines' powerful company, Vitaccino. Young readers will likely identify with Maggie's tenacity, and her frustration when adults seem unwilling to hear or believe her concerns. An author's note at the end of the book helps to ground some of the science fiction elements (such as zombie-creating mushrooms and anti-fungal bat poop) in the real world. VERDICT A fun debut novel with an action-packed climax that will leave readers eager to scope out the weirder side of nature.—Dana West, Roosevelt H.S., Seattle Review "Packed to the gills with fun." -- Kirkus Reviews "A fun debut novel with an action-packed climax that will leave readers eager to scope out the weirder side of nature." -- SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL About the Author Summer Rachel Short lives in north Texas with her husband, three kids, and their Maine Coon cat, Emme. Before spinning tales about mutant mushrooms, she worked as a science reporter for her university’s newspaper, where she wrote on topics including nanotech tweezers, poultry farm pollution, and the nighttime habits of spiders and snakes. Summer can often be found exploring new places with her family and dreaming up ideas for her next book. Learn more at SRachelShort.com. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter One CHAPTER ONE This is one marvelous mutant. A bona fide scientific wonder. The black and gold moth flutters to the overgrown honeysuckle bush. It’s the Hemaris diffinis, more commonly known as the bumblebee moth. But this is no ordinary specimen. This baby’s got a third antenna sprouting from the tip-top of its head––tall and skinny with a dusty bulb at the end. I creep forward and focus the camera’s lens––it’s vintage 1998 and requires a little finessing. I’m milliseconds from snapping the pic
