Other Books by Melissa Glenn Haber » The Pluto Project
A Junior Library Guild Selection
Slick and cyncial Alan Green can find meaning in anything—in graffiti, bits of trash, overheard conversations—except in life itself. He and his friends pretend to have uncovered a nefarious agency called Conspiracy Rule American People (or CRAP)—but when their outrageous predictions seem to come true, Alan is suddenly confronted by the fact that life might be more than a joke. The Pluto Project is not really a spy book, but a book about finding (or making up) meaning in what really matters. (Grade 7 and up.)
Official Reviews:
“Fourteen-year-old Alan Green has carefully cultivated an image of sarcastic indifference to deal with his mother’s death, his father’s detachment, and his own boredom and confusion. Only his aunt and his English teacher aren’t fooled, but they can’t help. Then two things happen: African American balletomane Juliet Jones joins his class; and a silly spy game Alan invented to pass the time with his friends takes a surprisingly realistic turn. Narrated in retrospect by Alan, the story begins at the climax, and then cleverly winds back to it as Alan’s carefully guarded emotions bubble to the surface. In terms of both language and emotion Alan sometimes seems older than his years, but his bitterness, his sarcasm, his occasional rought language, and even his love of poetry (he can find meaning in verse but not in his own life) seem achingly genuine.... [This] harsh yet poignant drama about an angry kid demonstrates Haber’s sure sense of the uncertainties that surround first love and finding a place for oneself in an absurdly mixed-up, overwhelming world.” —Booklist
“Melissa Glenn Haber’s The Pluto Project has been named a Junior Library Guild Selection! And no wonder: teens spying on a plot to assassinate the governor? How cool is that? And it is cool–and surprising. I devoured this book over two nights, but only because I had to sleep, and it was just a little too long to finish in one serving. The premise is simple, and fascinating–a spy game played by a group of friends turns all too real when they seem to overhear a murder plot. Teens who love puzzles will enjoy scrambling to keep up with Haber’s quick twists and turns, and the alarming dark creativity of the protagonist, 13-year-old Alan. But what begins as a straightforward action-suspense story takes a surprising–and yet completely gripping–twist when Haber’s sleight-of-hand turns the plot-driven mystery into a compelling, character-driven drama. Already drawn to Alan by his mix of bad-boy charisma and practiced nonchalance, readers will find themselves disturbed yet unable to look away as his personal life spirals out of control. Readers won’t always like Alan, but they will care what happens to him.”
—Elizabeth Bunce (http://elizabethcbunce.livejournal.com/)
“…this novel’s ambiguity and unanswered questions work well in the context of a story about creating meaning where none may exist. Nowhere is this theme more deftly handled than in Haber’s treatment of the rough emotional landscape of junior high, particularly the complications and jealousies that emerge in mixed-gender groups of friends on the ’tween and early adolescence cusp…. Alan’s self-deprecating voice is appealing, and the mess he makes of his social life is exasperating and poignantly realistic, certain to draw in readers beyond the usual mystery and thriller genre suspects.”—Loretta Gaffney, Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books