Books

The Gecko & Sticky: Sinister Substitute

By Leroy Douresseaux
January 13, 2010 - 13:37

The Gecko & Sticky: Sinister Substitute cover image is courtesy of barnesandnoble.com.

The Gecko & Sticky is a children’s book series from author Wendelin Van Draanen, who won a 1999 Edgar Award (“Best Juvenile” for Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief).  The stars of The Gecko and Sticky are Dave Sanchez and his pet gecko, Sticky.  Dave is an average boy, but Sticky, who can talk (and is the only gecko lizard that can talk), once led a wild life of crime.

Sticky searched for Aztec gold with the evil treasure hunter, Damien Black (a comically vile adversary).  The duo found a magical Aztec wristband with gold power ingots – each ingot giving the wearer unique powers.  Sticky escaped with the wristband, but Damien has the ingots that power the wristband.  Forming a partnership, Dave wears the wristband and becomes a kind of kid superhero called The Gecko, using the power of whatever ingot he happens to have in hand (currently the “Wall-Walker”).

As the third book in the series, The Gecko & Sticky: Sinister Substitute, begins, Dave’s unpopular science teacher, Ms. Veronica Krockle, is absent, something highly unusual.  Even stranger is the substitute teacher, a peculiar man named Dr. Schwarz.  When Dr. Schwarz turns out to have a strangely, single-minded interest in boys with pet geckos, Dave and Sticky suspect a plot from Damien Black.  Now, the duo is off to the ominous Black Mansion of Raven Ridge to unravel the case of the sinister substitute.

THE LOWDOWN:  Young readers may know Wendelin Van Draanen from her Sammy Keyes and Shredderman series.  This is the first time I’ve read one of her books, and Sinister Substitute just so happens to be the best choice for me.  This is a quasi-superhero novel with young hero Dave Sanchez as a homemade superhero.  Spider-Man fans will remember that just after he was bitten by that radioactive spider, Peter Parker wore a homemade mask and white turtleneck, while trying to hide his identity for a wrestling contest.  That’s similar to Dave Sanchez’s situation.

It is this ordinary “boy-ness” that makes the prose adventures of Dave Sanchez/The Gecko a more accessible superhero book for reluctant young readers than say a prose novel starring one of DC Comics or Marvel Comics’ characters.  The Gecko & Sticky is also an illustrated novel series, and illustrator Stephen Gilpin provides 30 black and white illustrations for Sinister Substitute.  Van Draanen has a nice storytelling voice; it’s sort of conspiratorial and hush-hush, seemingly pitch perfect for telling stories that are “for kids ears (and eyes) only.”  However, her prose really needs Gilpin’s illustrations, which give this story mood and essence that the words sometimes lack.  Overall, this is a fun adventure story with a likeable young hero and a cool villain who fires up the story every time he appears.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Young male readers and also juvenile readers who like superheroes will enjoy The Gecko & Sticky: Sinister Substitute.

B+

 

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12