Out of Patience

by Brian Meehl

Overview

Some folks have skeletons in their closets. The Waters have toilets. Jake’s mortified by his dad’s dream to open the American Toilet Museum. Toilets have caused enough turmoil in Patience, Kansas. Patience has been cursed for 129 years, since Jeremiah Waters installed the first flush toilet. The Dolphin Deluge Wash-Down Water Closet caused a stink, and since then Patience has been drying up like a cow pie in August. Jake wants out of Patience, especially when his dad gets a relic for his museum, triggering the curse’s last promise: “The day the Plunger of Destiny returns to Patience, the final destruction begins!” Can Jake save Patience by discovering what happened when Jeremiah last sat on the Dolphin Deluge Wash-Down Water Closet?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780307489234
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	02/04/2009
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Brian Meehl was a Muppeteer on Sesame Street and has written many children’s television shows. This is his first novel. He lives in Redding, Connecticut.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 5-8-Toilets, tornadoes, buried treasure, and a curse play key roles in this enjoyable tale set in Patience, KS. Jake's father hopes to open a toilet museum, despite the objections of the townspeople and the embarrassment of his son. When his dad obtains the infamous "plunger of doom," the 12-year-old is convinced that it has triggered a curse that will destroy his town. As thunderstorms hit and heated conflicts between longtime neighbors arise, his worries increase. Ultimately these events lead to Jake and his friends solving an old mystery. This all sounds pretty melodramatic, but the story unfolds with a light touch throughout. Repeated references to Jake's dad's obsession with toilets and to the manure plant that stinks up the community offer some funny moments. Crisp dialogue and a playful narrative voice add more, with a nice balance between humor and suspense. Jake's strong belief that the curse will bring true disaster doesn't always seem totally credible, but the varied plot threads blend nicely and come together in a far-fetched, but satisfying, conclusion. Themes of friendship, responsibility, and family come through without overwhelming the plot. This could be a good title to recommend to fans of Louis Sachar's Holes (Farrar, 1998) and Carl Hiassen's novels for kids.-Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, OR Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Meehl leads Holes fans into familiar territory with this tale of an everyteen whose intention to leave home ASAP is ultimately modified by events. Jake Waters has spent all his life in Patience, an isolated western town that has been dying ever since outlaw trouble in the 19th century resulted in a curse and a misplaced trove of buried treasure. (Sound familiar?) He has little on his mind beyond doing well in the town's World Series. Of the league's eight players, Jake is third best behind his rivalrous friends Howie (scion of the local fertilizer processing plant's owner) and Cricket (daughter of Pakistani parents), and making good on his vow to escape both Patience and the plans of his father, the town plumber, to open a museum of toilets. Matters come to a head (as it were) after the Plunger of Destiny, which had played a key role in the original curse, resurfaces, followed by a tornado that leaves Patience hip deep in its major industrial product, and the arrival of (more deja vu) a witchy government official determined to find the treasure. Featuring likeably human main characters, a colorful supporting cast, memorably offbeat set pieces and a credible small-town atmosphere, this debut should leave plenty of readers flushed with laughter. (Fiction. 11-13)

Kirkus Reviews

Includes well-drawn characters, page-turning action, and lively prose peppered with dry humor and potty history.”—The Bulletin, Recommended

“Featuring likeably human main characters, a colorful supporting cast, memorably off-beat set pieces and a credible small-town atmosphere, this debut should leave plenty of readers flushed with laughter.”—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher