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    Science Fair
    Science Fair
    Science Fair
    Audiobook9 hours

    Science Fair

    Written by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

    Narrated by Phil Gigante

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Toby Harbinger, an eighth grader at Hubble Middle School near Washington, D.C., is in big trouble. He made the mistake of selling his dad’s priceless original Star Wars blaster to a lunatic who thinks he’s Darth Vader and travels with a large, hairy sidekick known as the Wookiee. Now the lunatic wants more from Toby, whose only hope of getting out of this mess is to win first prize at the school science fair: $5,000.

    But others want the prize too—a group of rich students and their super-ambitious, high-powered parents, who will stop at nothing to see their spoiled kids win. What these parents don’t know is that an evil mastermind is using them to get hold of top-secret military technology as part of a fiendish plan to destroy the United States.

    When Toby discovers this plot, he and his two best friends, Tamara and Micah, try to alert the school authorities, including the fearsome principal, known as The Hornet. But powerful forces are working against Toby and his friends: they’re snared in a frame-up and get taken into federal custody, facing espionage charges. Meanwhile, the mastermind proceeds with his evil plan of destruction.

    In a desperate bid to escape, the kids find themselves in league with a fairly mad scientist and two bumbling foreign dignitaries armed with cheese so smelly it is used as wolf repellent. With the seconds ticking away and the FBI close on their heels, this bizarre band sets off on a madcap mission to stop the science fair—and save the country—before it’s too late.…

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateOct 14, 2008
    ISBN9781423347767
    Science Fair
    Author

    Dave Barry

    Dave Barry is the author of more bestsellers than you can count on two hands, including Lessons from Lucy, Dave Barry’s Complete Guide to Guys, Dave Barry Turns Forty, and Dave Barry Is Not Making This Up. A wildly popular syndicated columnist best known for his booger jokes, Barry won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for commentary. He lives in Miami.

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    Reviews for Science Fair

    4/5

    70 ratings9 reviews

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    • 5/5
      One of my favorite books. I've loved Dave Barry's writing my whole life and he uses this book to roll together several of his favorite comedic themes from his articles. This audio version was brilliantly performed!!
    • 5/5
      Best audiobook I have ever heard. Nothing is funnier than this.
    • 5/5
      This is a very silly story, and I mean that in the best way possible.Our main protagonist, Toby, is in the 8th or 9th grade, and acts like it- including various stupid chpoices, like stealing stuff from his parents to sell to buy a fancy gaming computer. This brings a second plot into action... but the first is the way a foreign national is subverting the Science Fair in order to bring down the United States, with the aid and assistance of ambitious and unethical parents and kids.Naturally, everyone believes the rich kids, including the Feds. So it is up to our middle-schoolers to save the day!Unlike some of Barry's adult novels, this has no inappropriate content in terms of sex or language, so is suitable for most middle-schoolers and up- though as an adult, I found it a very entertaining read.Characterization was good; ridiculousness abounds; the plot(s) is/are complex and a bit farce-like, and there's a real snarky shout-out to Home Shopping Network.Recommended if you like silly farces!
    • 2/5
      Pokes fun at third and fourth world countriesMakes terrorism seem insignificant
    • 3/5
      Our family just listened to Science Fair by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. Although this book is by no means as good as their Peter and the Starcatchers series, this is a good road trip book, especially for kids (and adults) who like that gross, bathroom style humor that Dave Barry is famous for. The story centers around a group of terrorists that are trying to control the world by sabotaging a school science fair held in a Maryland suburb. With characters names like Grdankl the Strong from the country of Kprshtskan (which seems to lack vowels), the audiobook is laugh out loud funny and narrator Phil Gigante has no problem spouting out vowel-less names and sound effects that add to the humor.
    • 5/5
      This is one of my favorite books this year. FUNNY! There are so many plot lines, but it isn't overwhelming. I had to put the book down a few times just so I could finish laughing!
    • 5/5
      Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson continue their awesome collaboration with another great story. Who is trying to destroy the USA and why. 3 Students from the Hubble MS get to solve this great mystery with the help of Fester the frog.
    • 4/5
      Toby Harbinger is a student in grade eight at Hubble Middle School, near Washington D.C. He is in need of money because he sold something belonging to his dad to buy a computer, and now the person he sold it to is claiming that it is a fake, and he wants his money back. Toby is determined to win the school science fair because the prize money is $5 000, and that would solve his problem. However, things get complicated when he stumbles upon a group of students whom Toby suspects of cheating. In order to cheat, they are getting some serious, high-powered help. What the cheaters don't know is that they are being used by an evil mastermind with an even more fiendish plot then their own. This was a fun book to read due to the humour found throughout the pages. It is a thriller with lots of suspense, but the humor makes some of the far fetched sections seem more believable. My favourite scene is when Toby is trapped in the Science Nook with the laser owl.You'd have to be a decent reader to follow the story, but if you had the reading skill, you'd enjoy the story.
    • 3/5
      "Science Fair" is a captivating romp that involves a group of middle school students, a rigged science fair, one small country's attempt to cripple the technology of the United States, and Star Wars blackmail. Kids and adults alike might enjoy this book.Having read Dave Barry's columns for years, I particularly enjoyed when I could point to passages in which his sense of humor clearly came into play. And whenever Dave Barry is involved, hilarity will ensue (see one of his other novels, "Big Trouble" as an example), so there were some parts at which I actually laughed out loud. Though I haven't read anything else Ridley Pearson has written, I can imagine that he might act as a somewhat rational buffer to all of Dave Barry's silliness to keep it from getting too out of hand.I think toward the end, the book labored a bit about how nearly none of the grownups listened to the main protagonists. But on the other hand, it is probably how children feel every day of their lives, so it may be appropriate. And given that the "Series of Unfortunate Events" books number 13 strong, perhaps the theme of inept or inattentive adults resonates strongly with the readers.Despite the seemingly long lead-up to the smash-bang conclusion, this book was funny and engaging, surprising, and full of both adult and kid references that makes it fun for the whole family.