Mac Slater Hunts the Cool (review)

Australian eighth-grader Mac lives in a bus with his free-spirited mom in the Kings Bay Art Village, posts regularly to his blog, and spends most of his time trying crazy stunts and building extreme sports machines with his best friend, Paul. The guys' latest gadget is a flying bicycle that crash-lands Mac right in front of the founders of the Coolhunters website. Mac's individualistic style seems to be just what the Coolhunters are looking for, and he is invited to compete against local it-girl Cat DeVrees for the last coveted blogger spot available on the Coolhunters site. Mac is drawn to the idea right away, especially because it comes with the grand prize of a paid blogging gig and trip to New York City. Paul is less thrilled but decides to help despite being left out of the invitation, and Mac's crush and now-rival Cat is determined to make sure she wins at any cost. For five days the teens compete to see who is the coolest, as voted on by readers of the Coolhunters web site, where their daily vlogs are posted. The book is fast paced, featuring cliffhanger chapter endings and plenty of edgy, Jackass-style stunts, and it will have instant middle-school-guy appeal. Beyond the excitement of the competition, however, the topic's treatment is superficial, and readers may wonder how the main character can be so conveniently gullible as to allow the principal plot twists; the story ultimately lacks the nuanced satire featured in the examination of the same topic in Westerfeld's So Yesterday (BCCB 10/04). Still, this first in an expected series will grab the attention of trend hunting or edge-surfing teens, and it offers up a swift and enjoyable read.