Final Cut

by Marty Chan

Overview

Mason has been picked on at school for as long as he can remember and he’s tired of it.

He is happy that his family is moving and that he will never have to go to this school ever again. On his last day, Mason, a budding filmmaker, decides to get the ultimate revenge on the two worst bullies. He films them and then edits the footage to humiliate them. But then the plan takes on a life of its own. The video goes viral and the two bullies become the butt of everyone's jokes. Furious, they are determined to get even and Mason must run like his life depends on it. And it just might.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459834200
Publisher:	Orca Book Publishers
Publication date:	08/16/2022
Series:	Orca Anchor
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	96
Lexile:	HL500L (what's this?)
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Marty Chan is an award-winning author of dozens of books for kids, including Kung Fu Master, Haunted Hospital and Kylie the Magnificent in the Orca Currents line and the award-winning Marty Chan Mystery series. He tours schools and libraries across Canada, using storytelling, stage magic and improv to ignite a passion for reading in kids. He lives in Edmonton.

Editorial Reviews

A page turner with a theme that will resonate with its intended audience...This contemporary, action-packed story will be welcome in schools and public libraries looking to reach out to this population. Recommended.

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

02/01/2023

Gr 6–8—It's Mason's last day at his middle school before his family moves to Toronto. He's finishing up shooting a scene for a gory horror film he's producing with best friend Maya when they're mocked and tormented by "monster queen" Denise and her boyfriend, Cole, the "beast jerk king." Mason catches them on camera making some remarks that are embarrassing when taken out of context. Mason edits the footage to place Denise and Cole's faces on dogs' behinds and releases the video on social media. The rest of the story involves Mason on the following day trying to outrun them and their friends, who are trying to catch Mason and threaten to shave him bald. After he intervenes and rescues Denise from a threatened sexual assault outside a bar, she softens on the revenge plan. Eventually, Mason uses a stage knife and tube of fake blood to disrupt a final attack at a skate park. The story, written at a first to second grade reading level, is thin and at times preposterous but the viral video and social media panic will no doubt resonate with middle school readers. The chase scene has enough twists and near-misses to maintain engagement. VERDICT A secondary purchase for middle school libraries.

School Library Journal

2022-07-13
Getting back at bullies gets a little out of hand.

Before he moves away, Mason has plans for making one more great movie, starring his best friend, Maya. But when Denise and Cole, two of the biggest bullies in the whole middle school, start interfering with the shoot and making fun of them, Mason decides to take matters into his own hands. With some clever editing, he transforms his footage of the bullies into a funny—and also humiliating—video clip that quickly makes the rounds at school. It doesn’t take long for Denise and Cole to figure out who is responsible and come after Mason, beginning a chase through town with several mishaps along the way. Mason will have to keep his wits about him in order to outsmart—and outrun—Denise, Cole, and the rest of their gang. Luckily, he has the magic of cinema on his side. Lighthearted fun will keep the pages turning as Mason sticks it to the bullies. Things take a turn when he confronts the realization that the bullies may not be as one-dimensional as they seem. Maya is Vietnamese Canadian; other characters are not explicitly described, though Mason is depicted as Asian in the cover art.

A readable and relatable work for reluctant readers, with a small dose of wish fulfillment. (Fiction. 12-16)

Kirkus Reviews