The Gollywhopper Games: The New Champion

By Jody Feldman

The Golly Toy and Game Company is hosting the regional rounds for the next Gollywhopper Games, and this time it's brother against brother in the physical challenges and mental puzzles. The companion to the popular The Gollywhopper Games will appeal to fans of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Chasing Vermeer.

Chock-full of puzzles, riddles, and challenges for the reader to solve along with the main characters, this fast-paced companion to The Gollywhopper Games is bigger, bolder, and braver! The Golly Toy and Game Company's Gollywhopper Games was such a big success the last time, the company's executives have decided to host the competition again. Cameron and Spencer Schein have scored two highly sought-after slots in the regional round—will one of the Schein brothers make it all the way to the finals? Favorite characters from the first book make guest appearances, and a new cast of competitors, both boys and girls, get set to compete against (and with) Cameron and Spencer. There are twists and turns and complications—as well as lots of great things to eat—in this page-turner of a race to the finish line!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: May 27, 2014
• ISBN: 9780062211279

Jody Feldman

Jody Feldman has always loved riddles and brainteasers and word games, and she lives in a city on a river whose name contains four s's, two p's, and four i's. Jody has written as many books for young readers as there are players in a doubles tennis match. To find out how many brothers she has, take the number of bases on a baseball diamond and divide it by the number of times Grover Cleveland was president of the United States.

Book preview

One Week After

THE GOLLYWHOPPER GAMES

Bert Golliwop had reached a decision. He strode the width of his office—back, forth, back, forth—feeling the eyes of his executive team follow him from their seats around his pool table–sized desk. On his next pass, he grabbed a red file folder, then turned to face the five others. I don’t know whether to curse him or kiss him, he finally said. That Gil Goodson’s going to cost me.

But he’s making us money already, said the chief financial officer. She offered him an accounting spreadsheet. He was the Gollywhopper Games underdog. The people love him.

That’s the problem, said Bert Golliwop. They want to see him. They want to be him. They want to eat him for breakfast. These Games have made him a star, and the kids want more. He slammed the inch-thick file folder to his desk. Feedback from Fans, its label read.

The Human Resources vice president pointed toward the folder. Sir? This is . . . ?

If you can’t read a file label, Jenkins, you’re fired.

Jenkins shrank back in her chair.

Bert Golliwop stared at the folder until Jenkins pulled out a few sheets and started reading. The four other vice presidents—Larraine from Finance, Morrison from Legal, Plago from Toy and Game Creation, and Tawkler from Marketing—all followed her lead.

Bert watched from his leather chair, but within minutes he’d had enough. Well?

I don’t understand, sir. Jenkins waved the papers. These kids don’t want more.

Which kids?

Here. Jon Inge, eleven-point-five years old. ‘To Golly Toy and Game Company.’ Subject line: ‘Unfair.’ Message: ‘Why did you pick a cheater like Rocky Titus and not a fair person like me? I had the exact right answer on the field or close enough. I think you picked people you know. Why should I buy any more of your toys and games? I don’t know you personally.’

Exactly! I’ve read that, read ’em all. Read another, said Bert Golliwop.

Jenkins shook her head but shuffled to the next paper. Subject line: ‘Too far.’ Message: ‘I wanted to play your Games, but my parents couldn’t afford the gas to drive me one thousand three hundred and forty-seven miles to get there. I don’t think it was fair. Your friend, Meghan Mehadavan, thirteen years old.’

And the next. Subject: ‘Too Easy.’ Message: ‘I can’t believe you picked stupid people. The puzzles were too easy. Any joker could solve those.’ This from sixteen-year-old Kurtis Frenke.

He was too old to participate, said Larraine.

He’s not too old to buy toys and games. No one is, said Bert Golliwop. Go on.

Jenkins nodded. From another eleven-year-old. Subject: ‘Too Hard.’ Message: ‘The stunts were good, but the puzzles were too hard. How could any kid solve those?’ Jenkins looked toward Bert Golliwop with that should-I-go-on? glaze in her eyes.

Don’t you get it, people? said Bert Golliwop.

They’re not happy, sir, said Jenkins. Too hard, too easy, too far, unfair, unfair, unfair.

They may not be happy, but they’re jealous, they’re talking. They loved it! Bert nodded at Tawkler.

She tapped at her cell phone, and in came Danny, the new intern, pushing a three-shelf cart jammed with green file folders.

What’s this? said Jenkins.

Tawkler faced her. This is gold. And I can summarize all these, she said, running her fingers along the top shelf of folders, in twenty-five words or less. She read from a note card: ‘OMG. I love Gil! Bianca! Lavinia! Thorn! Rocky was fierce! Can Gil visit my school? Be my brother? Be my best friend? Gollywhopper forever!’

Bert Golliwop crossed his arms over his chest. Here’s the best part. I have it on good authority these Games have that lunkhead Harvey Flummox and his Flummox Corporation reeling. Their toy and game sales, down. It took Bert everything he had to wipe the smile off his face. He cleared his throat. But that doesn’t change what’s important. Gil Goodson is going to cost me—you know that, right?—because there’s only one thing we can do.

About what, sir? said Jenkins.

"About what? About these kids who wrote these emails, good and bad. About making them all happy. Just one thing to do."

They responded with murmurs and mumbles.

Bert Golliwop kicked his chair aside, leaned on his desk, the full weight of his body on his hands. What? What do we have to do?

Silence.

People. Are you idiots? He stared them each in the eye. We have to give the kids what they want. We need to fix the glitches. We need to go bigger, braver, bolder! We need to hold the Gollywhopper Games! Again!

Cameron may have been the only one in his family with an actual ticket for their area’s Gollywhopper Regional, but his brothers still shoved him to the middle of the backseat like some old forgotten gym bag. At least he smelled better than an old gym bag. He took a quick whiff of his pits to make sure.

Mom, said Spencer, he’s smelling himself again.

I’m not doing it in public. Cameron would have turned to stare out his window, but the middle didn’t have one and he couldn’t keep twisting his neck to look out the back. So he picked at the knee of his jeans, half wishing that his older brother, Spencer, had won the ticket.

It was Spencer who had signed Cameron up—their little brother, Walker, too—in hopes of tripling his own chance to get in. But leave it to Spencer to overlook the rules, especially the one about needing an official ID for arena entry. No normal person would believe that Spencer, who’d been shaving for two years and was nearly six feet tall, was twelve-year-old Cameron. And if Walker had scored the ticket? Nine-year-olds were too young to compete anyway.

Cameron wanted to believe that he was Spencer’s oasis in the desert of Golly, his rope in the Whopper of quicksand, his very last lifeline to the Games, that without Cameron’s ticket, they wouldn’t be driving two hundred miles to his assigned regional. This was Spencer, though, and if he wanted his chance to score a walk-in spot, their parents would drive him anywhere.

Gil was a walk-in, Spencer had droned on for months. He’d failed to mention that Golly had guaranteed thousands of spots for walk-in contestants last time. This time it guaranteed zero. If one kid with a real ticket didn’t show up, though, Spencer had a chance. And if he got in, Cameron, even with a ticket in his pocket, might be left out.

It was simple math: two parents, three kids. No kid could go into the Games without an adult, and their parents wouldn’t exactly leave Walker wandering alone in a strange city.

Their mom’s old aunt Marilyn lived close enough to the arena to come take care of Walker, but last Cameron had heard, they were still waiting for her to call back.

Maybe Cameron was worrying over nothing. Maybe Aunt Marilyn was available, and they had forgotten to tell him. All he had to do was ask, but why waste his breath? If she couldn’t come, it was possible that Spencer would be in and Cameron would be out. He could hear it now.

You wouldn’t have a ticket if it weren’t for Spencer, his mom might say.

It’s been Spencer’s dream, his dad might add. It hasn’t been yours.

Maybe not, but when did Cameron ever have reason to dream? Not when they watched Spencer fly off to superselective sports camp. Not when they cheered Spencer’s game-winning baskets. Not when they celebrated Spencer’s All-School Award.

But since Cameron had an actual ticket in his hands, he felt a spark of possibility. Maybe the Gollywhopper Games were his dream now.

Who would’ve thought? Not Cameron. Not before that email.

The email had come two months ago. Gollywhopper Games!!! Confirmed Ticket Notification!!! Huh? Cameron hadn’t entered. Why would he enter something he couldn’t win? He almost deleted it as spam, but Spencer stopped him, pushed him out of the way, and celebrated until Cameron showed him the official ID rule.

"No way! This was supposed to be me. I’m the one who can win. Spencer sulked all day, until he launched his new walk-in plan. He pulled out his Gollywhopper Games study guide and shoved it into Cameron’s stomach. Memorize, he commanded Cameron. If I get in, you’ll help me." Then he totally abandoned the book like he’d abandoned his hermit crab.

Two days after he’d gotten Crabby, Spencer caught Cameron pushing a kernel of corn toward him. You love him so much, Spencer had said, you take care of him. That jerky crab just sits there. Sort of like you.

And Cameron had growled.

Mom! Spencer yelled. He’s growling at me, and all I did was tell him he could help take care of Crabby.

After that, Cameron only growled with his door locked and his face in his pillow.

Cameron should have recycled Spencer’s notebook, a clone of Gil’s study guide from last year. If Golly Toy and Game Company used that info for its questions this year, it’d eliminate only three clueless people. The guide was everywhere online.

Memorizing it, though, gave him momentum to work puzzles, find more Golly facts, and do locked-door weight training with recycled milk jugs he’d filled with water. The only thing he couldn’t truly practice was standing up to a thug like Rocky Titus. He had Spencer around, sure, but Cameron knew how to handle his brother. In the real world, though, against a true bully, he’d dissolve into a shuddering mass of goo.

Did it really matter? He’d never advance enough for that to become an issue.

There were one hundred regionals with 9,999 kids in each. If he were one of the 900 kids from across the country to (A) survive today’s regionals; (B) travel to Golly headquarters in Orchard Heights; and (C) join the 100 more who’d received free passes there, he’d still need to beat 990 other kids to make it into the finals. Cameron’s odds of doing that were ten in a million, only slightly better than his odds of meeting the president.

Apparently Spencer didn’t think about odds. He expected to be in the final ten, and that was possible. Anyone could register at any regional for the Last-Chance Lottery. And if any ticket holders didn’t show up, their places would go to the lottery winners.

The moment their dad pulled into the parking space in the arena garage, Spencer shot out of the car and raced down the stairs. By the time the rest of their family caught up with him, he’d navigated around the block and through the thick crowds inside the barricaded, pedestrian-only streets and walkways surrounding the arena. Somehow, he was already eighth from the end of the long Last-Chance Lottery line.

Cameron lagged behind to capture the whole phenomenon on his videocam: the arena, the food tents, and all the activity. Who knew, he said just loud enough for his microphone to pick up, that eleven- to fifteen-year-olds came in so many shapes and sizes? And colors. He focused on a girl with red and blue hair wearing a rainbow shirt and shiny gold pants. Like that’s going to give her a better chance to win.

Maybe she just wants to get on TV, Walker said. Either he had eagle ears or Cameron was talking louder than he thought. Like Bianca did last year.

Bianca LaBlanc. Cameron and his buddies had decided she must have cast a spell on the other contestants to get as far as she had in the Games. Or maybe not. Maybe being Bianca was enough. If someone that beautiful had been on his team, he would have been worse than a shuddering mass of goo. He would have been a stuttering, drooling puddle of ooze.

Cameron focused his videocam on a sign with a left-pointing arrow: TICKET HOLDER REGISTRATION. That’s me, he said for his microphone.

He turned to his parents, who were watching Spencer in the Last-Chance Lottery line with that same crossed-fingers look they’d had for months. He’s fifteen, it’s his last shot, and he wants it so much, his mom had said yesterday as if reading Cameron’s mind. But you—and she looked him in the eyes—you have a real chance.

Of course he had a real chance. He had a guaranteed ticket. He wished his mom had finished that sentence showing some faith in him, something like, "You have a real chance to win." Not that he’d have believed her, but it would’ve been nice to hear.

Cameron tapped his dad’s arm and pointed to the registration sign.

We need to stick together. It’s a zoo. But then his dad looked at his watch. Right. They left Walker and his mom with Spencer and headed around the arena.

Good morning, said the woman when it was finally their turn at the registration tables. Or is it afternoon already? She looked at her watch. Nope. Ten more minutes of morning. Ten minutes plus an hour till arena doors open. And you are?

Cameron slid his computer printout and his birth certificate across the table to her.

Cameron. Welcome. She scanned the printout’s bar code, then looked at her computer screen. You are number sixty-three forty-two.

A girl came from a curtained area behind the tables, waving what looked like a runner’s bib—a white rectangle with his number, a bar code, and his name. She handed it to the woman.

If I were you, said the woman, scanning his bib, I’d pin this to your shirt now so you don’t lose it. And don’t bother giving it to anyone else; that person wouldn’t get past the front gate. Now smile! A camera went off. Face recognition software. The woman affixed an untearable paper bracelet around Cameron’s wrist, then one around his dad’s. Once you go inside, neither of you can leave the arena without the other. Good luck, Cameron.

They were the first to arrive at the family meeting spot, a patch of shade away from most of the action. Let’s find them in line, his dad said.

Cameron gripped his videocam. Can’t I wait here?

You know how you get turned around in big spaces.

Cameron sighed.

Fine, said his dad. Just don’t move.

After his dad was out of sight, Cameron held up his camera, waved his arms, and shook his legs. I moved, Dad. Sorry.

A couple of people looked at him like he was pathetic. It didn’t matter. Now he had time to shoot some really good footage without anyone, like Spencer, calling him a geek.

He scanned the crowd with his videocam, taking in full scenes, zooming in on one detail, then out to capture the flavor of everything beyond. The smoke from the barbecue stand. The brilliance of the flags. The squeals of people in awe that this thing they had seen on TV last year, this event—well, they were part of it now. And so was he. So was he!

He had to stop being delusional. No way would he get further than having a bib pinned to his shirt. But that counted for something, didn’t it? A souvenir? A movie prop? Something to use in a film about a day in the life of a contestant in one of the Gollywhopper regionals? If he made that into a video, maybe it would go viral. Yeah, right.

He kept his camera rolling anyway. What am I doing here? he muttered.

Getting ready to win the Games?

He turned, his camera focusing in on . . .

You’re— He felt his mouth open and close like a starving guppy.

She laughed. I get that all the time. Isn’t this awesome? I mean the Games. I mean even without me having a chance to win this year. I’m Bianca. What’s your name?

He dropped his camera to his side but kept it rolling to capture the sound. Cameron.

Hi, Cameron. She reached for his camera, and he did something he never did. He let her have it. Then she pointed to Walker. When had he gotten here? Who’s this guy?

He’s my brother, said Cameron.

Yay! Cameron’s brother! She handed him the videocam. You have a new job. I love being on camera and your brother’s never in his own movies. Am I right or what?

You’re right.

She turned back to Cameron. So Cameron, huh? That’s a lot of letters.

Just one more letter than in your name, he wanted to say.

You need a nickname. What should we call you?

She could call him anything she wanted.

Not Cam. He was the worst boyfriend ever. His name should’ve been Jerkface. Something else, some other name. What about Ron? Ronny? No. You don’t look like one. She bit her lip. I have it! Let’s do initials. What’s your last name?

Schein? he said, like he was asking her if he was right.

Shine? Like the sun shines?

That’s the way it sounds.

Bianca shook her head. Nah. Not Shiny. And CS doesn’t have any rhythm. Ooh. Maybe your middle name!

No, said Cameron. It’s Stanley.

Ugh.

I know.

"So that makes you CSS. Like ‘kiss,’ but with a C. She shook her head. You probably don’t kiss many girls."

You think?

Not yet, I mean, she said.

Huh?

Oh, you will be hot one day. Those lips will get some action.

Could he turn any redder?

Look at you with those green eyes, hiding behind all that curly hair. And you’re smart, right?

He is, said Walker, still holding the camera.

Bianca smiled even bigger, then looked beyond Cameron’s camera to the professional one that had been filming them the whole time. I have a feeling about this guy, she said. His name is Cameron Schein. You need to watch him. He’s going to be hot one day. Right now he’s just preheating.

A woman came up. Time to go, Bianca.

Bianca held out

Reviews for The Gollywhopper Games

[amandabock-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyable, although too neat in its conclusion.

[gecizzle · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

My wife recommended this book to me, and I thought there was no way that I would actually enjoy it. But, I started in on it anyway. See, I'm not a fan of puzzles. Hate 'em. And, she told me that there were many puzzles and adventures in this book. I kind of glossed over the puzzle bits, but enjoyed the adventures and the vivid characters.

So, yes. It's a good book. A nice, fun story. But, I have to say, If I had known that the actual adventure doesn't start until after the 10th chapter, I would have started there. That's when the actual Games begin. Before that, there is just a lot of set-up. Who is this kid? Why's his dad in trouble with the law? As far as I'm concerned... Who cares?

It would have been a much better book, had it stared at the 10th chapter mark. For me, anyway. So, tear 'em out of this book. Stomp on 'em. Call 'em dirty names. Because, that's what they deserve. Those chapters are bad, and they should feel bad.

[pammycats · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My daughter and I just finished our second summer reading book, "The Gollywhopper Games". We both thoroughly enjoyed this book.Clever, clever, clever, Anyone who enjoys solving puzzles and figuring out mysteries will be enthralled by this book.The main premise of "Gollywhopper" is a contest sponsored by a large toy company. The contest is a series of games (puzzles) that must be solved in order to move on to the next level. Several thousand players started the game but the field was quickly narrowed down to 10. The final 10 players break into two teams of five and must learn to trust each other. The final five then compete in a series of individual puzzles that eventually leads to a winner. The puzzles are amazing and so fun to solve along with the characters. Within the main story (of the competition) is another, more serious mystery to be solved. The main character's dad was accused of a crime (against the toy company that is sponsoring the competition) that he did not commit. The courts found him innocent but that does not keep some of the other characters from expressing anger and even hostility towards the main character. So not only does he have to solve the puzzles but he must deal with all of the anger and malice.The end of the story is very satisfying. All the puzzles are solved step-by-step and very realistically. The final puzzle was my favorite. It required you to remember all your previous puzzles and then use that information on the different sections of the final puzzle (but in slightly different ways). It was so fun and completely occupied my brain for a bit. This book has my daughter scrambling to create her own clever conundrums.The crime mystery (who stole the secret from the company files???) is brilliantly resolved as well. Without giving away any plot points, I can tell you that clues to this mystery were cleverly revealed through the contestants work on the puzzles. This was a lovely and unexpected plot twist in the story.Finally, our main character learns something about himself, real friendship, and how sometimes friendship was there all along if we would open ourselves to the possibility.

[68papyrus · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Gollywhopper Games is to the toy industry as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is to candy. This was a fast paced puzzle and adventure novel. Gil Goodson is determined to win the grand prize of the Gollywhopper Games so he can leave all the drama that his life has become and move far away. Winning will not be easy though, Gil must tackle trivia, puzzles and physical stunts in front of television cameras. Oh, the pressure! I enjoyed this book it had a feel good kind of vibe and a good message. It was also fun to try to work through the brainteasers in the book. This book will appeal to puzzle fans as well as fans of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

[scote23 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

BIS Book Award Nominee 2009-2010

It was pretty good. Not about an Olympic Lying event, but rather a contest for children with toys and puzzles to solve. I enjoyed it.

[julieaduncan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Yes, the story line is similar to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory but so much better. Imagine competing to win copies of every toy a toy factory has ever made and ever will make!This book grabbed my attention from the very first chapter. It hit the ground running and didn't stop. It's very fast paced and keeps your interest to the very end. I loved the puzzles and am looking forward to a sequel which I hear is in the works!I could see using this in a middle-school or older elementary classroom and letting groups try to solve the puzzles before reading the solution. Truthfully, I couldn't pause to even try to solve the puzzles. I couldn't put the book down long enough!

[amygatt_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read a review of this book online which compared it to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and as soon as I started the book I could not help but notice all the similarities between the two. However, at some point I completely forgot about that and got wrapped up in the puzzles and the plot. I really like that this book makes readers think and encourages them to participate in solving the puzzles and riddles. It is also nice (and in the same vein as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) to see the rude bully character (Rocky) brought to justice for cheating. I would recommend this book to fourth and fifth graders, although older students would also enjoy reading this. This is a fun, quick read, but it also challenges the reader and promotes creative problem solving. Male and female readers with all different interests would enjoy this book.

[oapostrophe · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

With more than a nod to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory we have here a fast-paced, action-packed story with characters I could believe in. Gil's dad was accused of embezzeling money from the Golly Toy Company and was taken to trial. Although he was exonerated, Gil is still suffering from the publicity.He wants more than anything to win The Gollywhopper Games so that his family can move away and start over. The games are great fun! Really good puzzles, teamwork, cheating and more!

[messerpicks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love this story! I just finished reading it aloud to my class and they were literally on the edge of their seat the entire time. They really enjoyed when we got to the puzzles. This is just a great story all around! I definately want to add it to my classroom library! 

[jesouhaite · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If Willy Wonka had a game/trivia show, the Gollywhopper Games would be it! When Gil’s father gets fired from Golly Toy & Game Company for a crime he didn’t commit, Gil decides to participate in the Gollywhopper Games to win the prize money for his family. As he and other kids work together and individually to solve mind boggling puzzles and do hilarious stunts, Gil discovers the truth about his father. A wild, zany, fantastic ride from start to finish! Ages 9-12

[whitreidtan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was working at the school's book fair the other day and thought this one sounded cute. I set it aside to get for my second grade son but after a mom at the bookfair asked me to read it and let her know how it was, I dove into it first. I do still think it'll be cute for the kiddo but as an adult I have to say it was awfully derivative and that was somewhat disappointing. Even the author admits in the end note that she specifically wrote this when she couldn't find another book to satisfy a child who had just finished Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. And the obvious influence of that classic is evident in so many ways in this one.Gil Goodson is desperate to join and ultimately win the Gollywhopper Games, the 50th anniversary celebration of the Golly Toy Company. If he wins, his dad has promised him that the family will move out of town and away from the lingering terribleness and malicious gossip following "The Incident." It turns out that The Incident refers to Gil's father being arrested for embezzling from the Golly Toy Company and although he is eventually found not guilty, the town has tried him in the court of public opinion and come back with a guilty verdict, resulting in the ostracizing of the family and Gil in particular. And Gil wants to leave all of this behind, hence his entry in the contest.He does get into the contest, successfully answering questions related to Golly products and he is one of the top ten after the final question, ensuring that he can go forward in the Games. Like in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the Golly Toy Company building, where the second portion of the contest takes place, is an awe inspiring place of magic and fantasy. And Gil is, of course, not alone as a contestant. His fellow contestants are initially his teammates: Thorn, whose father bought up enough toys to guarantee him a spot in the contest; Rocky, who used to live in town and is so focused on winning that he is willing to cheat in order to come out on top; Lavinia, the sheltered bookworm; and Bianca, whose sole goal is to make it on tv. First the group must work as a team to defeat the other team of five and then they must compete as individuals to win it all. Although Charlie and the Chocolate Factory doesn't have puzzles to solve and stunts to perform, these puzzles and stunts are still reminiscent of the various stages of the tour Willy Wonka offers since they take place in a wonderous and fantastical place with characters eliminated at each juncture.The subplot of Gil's father's disgrace comes into play a few times throughout the action of the novel and while the resolution is predictable and easy to see as an adult, I'm not convinced that it would be so glaringly obvious to a child. The characters here are, thankfully, not entirely good or bad (well, aside from Gil, who is a bit of a conciliatory wishy-washy character). The ultimate end of the book is so predictable that it was disappointing to me and the puzzles weren't as hard as say, those that Ellen Raskin concocts in some of her wonderful books like The Westing Game, but they will probably be hard enough for the target audience, if the audience tries to solve them themselves instead of racing through the explanations to get back to the games. Feldman is inventive in her setting but given that she seems to have the imagination, I found it a let down that she didn't go further afield from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the plot. However, I suspect that this is simply a problem because I am an adult reading the book and not a kid. If you only have time for one book, I'd say read Charlie but if you have time for two, go ahead and compare with this one too. Oh, and one final note: this would not be a good read aloud book unless the reader is willing to draw visuals of the word puzzles.

[weirweaver_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Anyone who enjoyed Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory or likes solving puzzles should enjoy this book. Gil is an engaging character and your connection with him will propel you through the book.

[lcherylc_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have a golden ticket! Reminiscent of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Gil Goodson wants to move out of Orchard Heights to escape his family's dark past. So he decides to enter the Gollywhopper Games in hopes of winning the grand prize-- a one-way ticket out of Orchard Heights. This is a fun, fast-paced story with lots of games, puzzles, and riddles. This is my favorite books of 2008. Two thumbs way UP!

[c.vick · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

So, it's basically Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in a toy factory with a few twists. Not as dark. Nobody gets possibly sent to the incinerator, for instance, and there are no characters you'd really want to see go there.But the influence is obvious. You have a boy, maybe not poor in money, but poor in friends. You see, his father was accused of embezzling money from the Gollywhoopper Toy Company. Never mind that he was acquitted, the town has already tried him and sealed the verdict. Charlie, called Gil Goodson here, wants to win the games so his family can have enough money to move away from all those who keep calling his father a thief.You have a fantastical toy company hosting a special event. One way to get in is to find tickets in their products. (Cue "I've Got a Golden Ticket.") The kids will compete to win prizes. You've got your Veruca Salt type who gets in by buying so many products he has to get a ticket. You've a character who would be Augustus Gloop if Augustus were hooked on winning and not candy. A Mike Teavee (I guess she would be a Moovee, since she's hoping to be in films) with the spunk of a Violet Beauregarde. Perhaps the only odd man (or girl) out here is the character of Lavinia, an overprotected bookworm.Although the book is put forth as realistic fiction -- I mean embezzlement is hardly a fantasy crime -- the Gollywhopper factory is just as fantastical as Wonka's chocolate factory. It almost overpowered the story for me at times. I kept thinking things like, "But they couldn't have built up and then torn down a waterfall that quickly," or, "Did they have rooms that revolved before the games or did they (unbelievable) build them for the competition?" And so forth.Yet I can see the book's appeal. First of all, it is just a fun story. Just as every kid dreams of stumbling upon Wonka's amazing factory some day, I know the idea of this fantastical toy company will follow them to sleep.The puzzles are quite fun, if not very challenging for the adult reader. In this respect, the books are quite different from Wonka. I think fans of Chasing Vermeer or they Mysterious Benedict Society might enjoy Gollywhopper for this reason, as well as the teamwork.The teamwork is another key difference. The reader hardly feels sorry when Violet eats that gum and swells. She deserved it, right? But all the characters here, even cheaters like Thorn, have their redeeming points. And Gil can't get where he needs to without them.However, the ending is more or less the same (if I wasn't sure that Felman was working with Wonka in mind from the beginning, by the time the ending comes complete with a Slugworth-like turnaround [yes, I know Slugworth was only in the first film] I was quite sure). This is sort of unsatisfying, as I was hoping for something a little more... original.Gollywhopper Games isn't a wast of time -- far from it. It is riveting, and highly entertaining. If there was only time to read one or the other, I'd choose classic Dahl, but fortunately for us, there's time, and room, for them both.

[mjsbooks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As I was reading this book, I was struck by certain similarities to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Lo and behold, in the author's notes she acknowledges that the inspiration for writing it was hearing a boy at the library ask for something like that classic. Feldman doesn't share Dahl's genius for fantasy, but this is diverting enough to recommend. In this case, Gil Goodson competes against thousands of other kids in the Golly Toy & Game Company's elimination contest. The other finalists are well-delineated, and the puzzles they must solve are clever.