Masters of Disaster

“Let’s face facts: We may be the most boring twelve-year-olds on the planet.”

Henry Mosley decides that he and his pals Riley and Reed have got to liven things up. They need to go on some earth-shaking adventures and make a name for themselves. Henry is the mastermind; Riley’s the cautious researcher who’s prepared for anything. And somehow fearful Reed always ends up with the scariest, craziest assignments.
Roped into wacky attempts to break world records, reenact scenes from books, solve a hundred-year-old murder, and carry out Henry’s other inspired ideas, Riley and Reed follow their fearless leader everywhere: into the wilderness (truly terrifying), inside a bull-riding ring, into a haunted house, off the neighbors’ roof, and into a cataclysmic collision with explosive life-forms. Gary Paulsen brings all his trademark humor to this fast-paced novel of fun and disaster.

Gary Paulsen is the distinguished author of many critically acclaimed books for young people, including three Newbery Honor books: The Winter Room, Hatchet, and Dogsong. He won the Margaret A. Edwards Award given by the ALA for his lifetime achievement in young adult literature. Among his Random House books are Woods Runner; Lawn Boy; Lawn Boy Returns; Notes from the Dog; Mudshark; The Legend of Bass Reeves; The Amazing Life of Birds; The Time Hackers; Molly McGinty Has a Really Good Day; The Quilt (a companion to Alida’s Song and The Cookcamp); How Angel Peterson Got His Name; Guts: The True Stories Behind Hatchet and the Brian Books; The Beet Fields; Soldier’s Heart; Brian’s Return, Brian’s Winter, and Brian’s Hunt (companions to Hatchet); Father Water, Mother Woods; and five books about Francis Tucket’s adventures in the Old West. Gary Paulsen has also published fiction and nonfiction for adults. His wife, Ruth Wright Paulsen, is an artist who has illustrated several of his books. He divides his time between his home in Alaska, his ranch in New Mexico, and his sailboat on the Pacific Ocean. You can visit him on the Web at GaryPaulsen.com.