For Ages
12 to 99

Whip-smart dialogue and an inside look at the seedy underbelly of reality TV come together in this critically-acclaimed debut perfect for fans of Unreal, John Green, and Frank Portman.

 
Witty, sarcastic Ethan and his three best friends are students at Selwyn Arts Academy, which has been hijacked by For Art’s Sake, a sleazy reality-television show. In the tradition of Ezra Pound, the foursome secretly writes and distributes a long poem to protest the show. They’re thrilled to have started a budding rebellion.
 
But the forces behind the show are craftier than they seem. The web of betrayal stretches farther than Ethan could have ever imagined, and it’s up to him, his friends, and a heroic gerbil named Baconnaise to save Selwyn.

An Excerpt fromThe Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy

Chapter One
O Selwynfolk! In days of old,
Ideals were high and art was bold.
In that primeval solitude,
We sketched and sang, our crafts pursued.
But now, we watch TV. We’re screwed.
--The Contracantos
After the fiasco that was my introduction to long poems and revisionary mytho--uh, mythowhatchamacallit--I knew I had to pay attention that Friday when BradLee lectured on Ezra Pound again. Despite any stunning reason not to pay attention that may have been sitting across the U of desks, pointing and flexing her feet.
“Pound and the Imagists decided on three principles,” said BradLee. I perked up. I could get behind anybody who knew the importance of threes.
“First, direct treatment of the subject. Second, use of no word that doesn’t contribute. And the third has to do with rhythm. Instead of writing like a metronome”--BradLee beat his desk--“ ‘All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players,’ Pound wanted to use rhythm the way it’s used in a musical phrase. Can anyone explain that?”
Rummica Fitzgerald raised her hand. She would. She plays the flute, and she likes…

Under the Cover