This was one of those silly books that I just saw and thought "I have got to read that!" This book was better than I expected, not quite as silly, and more interesting.
Toby is kind of your typical geek; and with his best friend out of town for the summer, he feels like the best thing to do with his time is get a job. Well he gets one at Killer Pizza. When he shows up for his first day of training he is surprised to find that the most popular girl in the school, Anabel, is also working there...as well as a tough older kid that goes by the name Strobe. Toby loves the food channel and is really digging making pizza, but he shortly finds out that the pizza shop is just a front for something else, a monster hunting group, and they want to recruit Toby. Will Toby make the final cut as a monster hunter?
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but it exceeded my expectations. The book is well-written, action packed, and a super easy read. Toby makes an interesting character as a food channel loving geek with hiding depths of monster kicking abilities. In fact all of the characters are quirky and interesting; Strobe, is nick-named that because his personality goes from dark to light quickly and Anabel is a rich popular girl determined to "make it on her own" by working a job for a company her father doesn't own.
The action was non-stop, the story was interesting and engaging. Overall it was a quirky and fun read. Kids and adults alike will enjoy this one. The violence wasn't over the top and the story wasn't all that scary, but it was still fun. This is one of those books that I enjoyed, but I probably won't keep around. I would recommend it if you want a darkly humorous, light read. It actually has more depth to it than I was expecting, so much that I will keep Taylor on my list of authors to watch. I hope that his future books are just as entertaining!
Toby is kind of your typical geek; and with his best friend out of town for the summer, he feels like the best thing to do with his time is get a job. Well he gets one at Killer Pizza. When he shows up for his first day of training he is surprised to find that the most popular girl in the school, Anabel, is also working there...as well as a tough older kid that goes by the name Strobe. Toby loves the food channel and is really digging making pizza, but he shortly finds out that the pizza shop is just a front for something else, a monster hunting group, and they want to recruit Toby. Will Toby make the final cut as a monster hunter?
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but it exceeded my expectations. The book is well-written, action packed, and a super easy read. Toby makes an interesting character as a food channel loving geek with hiding depths of monster kicking abilities. In fact all of the characters are quirky and interesting; Strobe, is nick-named that because his personality goes from dark to light quickly and Anabel is a rich popular girl determined to "make it on her own" by working a job for a company her father doesn't own.
The action was non-stop, the story was interesting and engaging. Overall it was a quirky and fun read. Kids and adults alike will enjoy this one. The violence wasn't over the top and the story wasn't all that scary, but it was still fun. This is one of those books that I enjoyed, but I probably won't keep around. I would recommend it if you want a darkly humorous, light read. It actually has more depth to it than I was expecting, so much that I will keep Taylor on my list of authors to watch. I hope that his future books are just as entertaining!
Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com
Toby thought he was getting a summer job and that it might conveniently give him some needed experience for his future dream job as a chef in his own restaurant. Little did he know what applying at and scoring a job at Killer Pizza would mean.
Two other teens, Annabel and Strobe, start training at Killer Pizza at the same time as Toby. A fourth teen, named Doug, seems like a reluctant future employee when he arrives to join their team. The training is intense as the four teens learn recipes, oven skills, and the general rules involved in working for the popular pizza joint. They seem like a pretty good team except for Doug. He just doesn't seem that into it.
During the early weeks at Killer Pizza, Toby gets home pretty beat, and when some spectacular nightmares start interrupting his sleep, he's unnerved. The dreams seem so real, and the glimpses of a terrifying monster he experiences soon take on a meaning he never imagined possible.
The innocent summer job turns out to be a cover operation for a group of monster hunters. Disinterested Doug turns out to be Harvey, the head of the whole operation. Toby, Annabel, and Strobe are being recruited as MCO's - Monster Combat Officers. Their employment at Killer Pizza has been a test to determine their suitability as candidates for the MCO Academy.
As soon as their participation begins, they learn that monsters really do exist. In fact, their small town may be infested with hideous monsters known as guttata. Disguised as humans, these guttata are attacking and infecting innocent citizens with the hope of taking over the place.
What follows is a fabulous monster hunt complete with crossbows, explosive devices, deadly talons and fangs, and intense battle scenes. The three MCO trainees are now involved in stakeouts, illegal breaking and entering, and car chases instead of kneading pizza dough and slicing pies.
KILLER PIZZA is an action-packed horror romp sure to interest middle grade readers and teens, especially fans of authors like Darren Shan and R.L. Stine. Author Greg Taylor uses his previous screenwriting experience to create scenes that crackle with excitement and leap off the pages. This first novel offers great summer reading potential.
Toby thought he was getting a summer job and that it might conveniently give him some needed experience for his future dream job as a chef in his own restaurant. Little did he know what applying at and scoring a job at Killer Pizza would mean.
Two other teens, Annabel and Strobe, start training at Killer Pizza at the same time as Toby. A fourth teen, named Doug, seems like a reluctant future employee when he arrives to join their team. The training is intense as the four teens learn recipes, oven skills, and the general rules involved in working for the popular pizza joint. They seem like a pretty good team except for Doug. He just doesn't seem that into it.
During the early weeks at Killer Pizza, Toby gets home pretty beat, and when some spectacular nightmares start interrupting his sleep, he's unnerved. The dreams seem so real, and the glimpses of a terrifying monster he experiences soon take on a meaning he never imagined possible.
The innocent summer job turns out to be a cover operation for a group of monster hunters. Disinterested Doug turns out to be Harvey, the head of the whole operation. Toby, Annabel, and Strobe are being recruited as MCO's - Monster Combat Officers. Their employment at Killer Pizza has been a test to determine their suitability as candidates for the MCO Academy.
As soon as their participation begins, they learn that monsters really do exist. In fact, their small town may be infested with hideous monsters known as guttata. Disguised as humans, these guttata are attacking and infecting innocent citizens with the hope of taking over the place.
What follows is a fabulous monster hunt complete with crossbows, explosive devices, deadly talons and fangs, and intense battle scenes. The three MCO trainees are now involved in stakeouts, illegal breaking and entering, and car chases instead of kneading pizza dough and slicing pies.
KILLER PIZZA is an action-packed horror romp sure to interest middle grade readers and teens, especially fans of authors like Darren Shan and R.L. Stine. Author Greg Taylor uses his previous screenwriting experience to create scenes that crackle with excitement and leap off the pages. This first novel offers great summer reading potential.
Killer Pizza reminds me of something you find while flipping channels on a lazy Saturday afternoon. It may not be the most amazing thing ever, but good enough to keep your attention and be a fun ride.
The main kids in the book are somewhat stereotypical teenagers: the underdog kid that comes through, the jock who has secret issues and the rich, popular girl who distances herself daddy and his money. There is some time spent throughout the book developing them beyond the stereotypes and while I really enjoyed that, I don't know if the target audience will be as into reading about these kids normal lives instead of seeing them kick monster butt as promised in the summary.
The horror here (going back to my Saturday afternoon) is along the lines of a 50s creature feature, where the scary part at first is not seeing the creature directly, chasing around clues and building to a final showdown.
I really liked the idea of the Killer Pizza restaurant itself! If there were a real monster-themed pizza place in my area like this, they'd have my business.
Killer Pizza is a decent enough time, if it were a movie I'd say it was good for a rental. I'll likely be back for a second slice.
The main kids in the book are somewhat stereotypical teenagers: the underdog kid that comes through, the jock who has secret issues and the rich, popular girl who distances herself daddy and his money. There is some time spent throughout the book developing them beyond the stereotypes and while I really enjoyed that, I don't know if the target audience will be as into reading about these kids normal lives instead of seeing them kick monster butt as promised in the summary.
The horror here (going back to my Saturday afternoon) is along the lines of a 50s creature feature, where the scary part at first is not seeing the creature directly, chasing around clues and building to a final showdown.
I really liked the idea of the Killer Pizza restaurant itself! If there were a real monster-themed pizza place in my area like this, they'd have my business.
Killer Pizza is a decent enough time, if it were a movie I'd say it was good for a rental. I'll likely be back for a second slice.
