Grooves — Kevin Brockmeier

A quirky middleâ€"grade novel about an enterprising seventhâ€"grader who discovers an astonishing plea for help in the grooves of his blue jeans.

Dwayne Ruggles is a regular kid living in a regular town until evil entrepreneur Howard Thigpen shows up. Thigpen seems to have the ability to make people do whatever he wants, and sparks of light swirl around him wherever he goes. But the mystery doesn't stop there. Dwayne discovers that the grooves in his Thigpenâ€"brand blue jeans and the ripples in his Thigpenâ€"brand potato chips contain a secret message, "Please. You must help us. He's stealing the light from our eyes." It's a race against time to solve the mystery, but first Dwayne better figure out what that strange message means.

Ages 8+