Rise of the Balloon Goons
Notebook of Doom #1
by Troy Cummings
AR Test, Must Read
6+
Score
3.3
89
When Alexander moves to a new town, he finds strange things around every corner. On his first day of school, he arrives to find the school abandoned. While at the abandoned school, Alex finds a strange notebook that has drawings of monsters. If that was not creepy enough, school is now being held in a hospital and Alexander’s classroom is in the morgue.
As Alexander wanders through his new town, he notices balloon goons popping up everywhere. No one except Rip believes that the balloon goons are monsters. Soon Rip and Alexander bands together. Can the two defeat the balloon goons, before the goons deflate everything in town?
Full of monsters and silly illustrations, Rise of the Balloon Goons is full of fun adventures. The plot of the book is full of mystery, suspense, and humor. The text is broken up with illustrations from both the storyline and pages from the mysterious monster book. This easy-to-read story will captivate even the most reluctant readers.
Sexual Content
• None
Violence
• Two balloon goons attacked Alexander. “Foomp! Alexander was clobbered on the head, from behind. It felt like he’d been socked by a boxing glove. He spun around just in time to be hit in the face . . . their long, wobbly arms swooped in and grabbed at his jacket.” Alex was able to escape without being hurt.
• When balloon goons attack Alexander and his friend. His friend hits one with a shoe. “The goon scrunched down like a spring and then vaulted toward Rip. Rip swung the pointy-toed show with both hands—SPLACCK!—making a tear in the goon’s silk belly. The monster collapsed as the air whooshed out of its wound.”
• Alexander’s friend is kidnapped by balloon goons and tied up to an inflatable post in the goon’s fortress. He is not injured.
• As Alexander and his friend are trying to escape from the goon’s fortress. They are attacked. Several of the goons are deflated. “Alexander was hit by his old shoe, and begun to fall . . . He slammed down onto the green balloon goon. The goon exploded, releasing a blast of air that knocked the rest of the goons to the floor.” The goons are defeated when Alexander’s dad pops their fortress.
Drugs and Alcohol
• None
Language
• None
Supernatural
• None
Spiritual Content
• None