FROM AMAZON: For years, Adam Canfield has been the number-one star reporter for the Harris Elementary/Middle School paper, the Slash. Nowadays he's also the most overprogrammed kid in America. Gladiator quiz bowl, jazz band, statewide test prep class - he's always running somewhere, and nine times out of 10, running late. When does a guy get time to just shoot some baskets anymore?
Then his friend Jennifer talks him into being co-editor of the Slash. Between supervising know-it-all cub reporters and arguing with Principal Marris about which articles will "propel the Good Ship Harris forward," Adam worries he might lose it altogether. But then a third grader delivers a scoop bigger than any of Adam's career, and only Adam can dig deep enough to crack through a cover-up that will rock the very foundations of Harris itself.

From Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Michael Winerip, here is a first novel that delivers the rush of the newsroom, the adrenaline of a reporter on the trail of a hot story, and some keen insights into human nature - all with a lot of laughs. ( )

Adam Canfield is something of a legend. He's a four-pluser and an all-star reporter for The Slash - the Harris Elementary/Middle School student newspaper. After being convinced by his friend, Jennifer, he finds himself as co-editor of the newspaper. Things start off rocky for Adam, but when third-grade reporter Phoebe accidentally reveals a scandal that will shake the Tremble community...things get interesting.

I've never read a book with so many subplots that tie up perfectly in the end. Not even in an adult novel. Michael Winerip managed to keep me glued - somewhat, actually, as it is rather hard to read anything with a newborn around. I wanted to devour this book after things started picking up for Adam. Those of you without newborns rest assured that this book is definitely a page turner.

The characters are beautifully crafted, and Winerip leaves the ending open for a sequel - which there is; two, actually. And while he possibly didn't intend to - but I'm an English major, so I'll draw my conclusions - I love how he carefully placed in the caricature of Fox News (Bolandvision!!!) in there. ( )

Adam Canfield of the Slash / written by Michael Winerip (2007, Hardback published in 2005) --

SUMMARY: While serving as coeditors of their school newspaper, middle-schoolers Adam and Jennifer are on the lookout for front-page news. But It's third-grade reporter Phoebe who delivers a major scoop to Adam -- leading to a investigation to uncover fraud and corruption in their school and in the city's government. Followed by sequel: ADAM CANFIELD WATCH YOUR BACK and ADAM CANFIELD THE LAST REPORTER.

COMMENT: I had seen this title on several reading lists and came across an audio version. I really enjoyed this book, the characters, and the storyline. After I finished listening to the book, I found a paper copy and ended up reading it again. My favorite character though was the tenacious Phoebe who wanted so much to be a journalist and write first-page news. In fact my favorite part of the book is when Phoebe has been assigned to write an article on the Smile Contest promoted by the local dentists and actual finds that the energy needed to win the contest comes for the mass-intake of sugary foods. I also like the ethics that Jennifer instills in the rest of the reporters to be responsible for their words, to get both sides of the issue, and to not be influenced by the subject of the story. Winerip is able to describe very accurately the life of middle-schoolers and actually left me somewhat exhausted as I tried to keep pace with Adam’s over-programmed days.

NOTE added (02/28/19): I reread this story (almost 10 years later) and still enjoyed it as much as I did the first time. A few added observations: there are some encounters of racism, there are at least two "damns" and one "piss" in the text, and there is some puppy dog love exhibited by Adam whenever Jennifer is around. ( )

This was a fun read: a bit of light relief in between reading about Indian Residential Schools. I liked the little asides about the way that editors work and are treated - the whole book is an essay on journalistic ethics, but wrapped up in an entertaining and enjoyable story. ( )

Booktalk: Good newspaper reporters are always on the lookout for newsworthy happenings. They ask a lot of questions and report the who, where, when, how and why of a story. A super-reporter notices when important things have gone wrong and digs deep for answers the way a dog digs for her bone. Adam and Jennifer are super-reporters. They're the co-editors of their school newspaper, The Slash, and the prefer to print stories a little more interesting than say, Halloween safety tips or a student survey about the lunchroom food. On the other hand Mrs. Marris the principal has the last say on all stories running in the newspaper. So Adam and Jennifer have to figure out ways to include the kind of stories they want without getting the principal mad. Then they find out that the principal herself may be involved in a cover-up involving thousands of dollars of school money. Now that's a story! But how to get the story published without the principal finding out? That just might be the job for super-reporters like Jennifer and ADAM CANFIELD OF THE SLASH.