The Seems: The Split Second: Book 2 - Hardcover

Wexler, Michael; Hulme, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1599901307 ISBN 13: 9781599901305

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens, 2008

Synopsis

WARNING: Anything can happen in a Split Second

Becker Drane's still got the coolest job in The World, but it's getting harder and harder to live a normal life outside of The Seems. He's definitely feeling the strain of being a teenager (complete with mood swings and a newfound respect for sarcasm) and he can't stop thinking about Jennifer Kaley, the totally cool girl he met during his Mission in Sleep. Things don't get any easier when a bomb explodes in the Department of Time and Becker is called in to pick up the pieces after a more senior Fixer couldn't disarm the device. It's his toughest mission yet, and Becker finds himself going places in The Seems he never knew existed, and meeting people long thought dead. Yep, it's just another day in the life of Becker Drane. Let's hope he lives to Fix again . . . .

About this title

About the Author

John Hulme and Michael Wexler are the authors of The Seems: The Glitch in Sleep. They accidentally stumbled upon the existence of The Seems after opening an unlocked Door in Wilmington, North Carolina, during the summer of 1995. From that moment on, they were obsessed with the curious realm they had discovered and sought to pen a book series based on this find. Though the project was held up in administrative Red Tape for nearly eleven years, the Powers That Be finally signed off on its release, resulting in the text you now hold.

Hulme lives with his wife, Jennifer, and son, Jack, in a small New Jersey town with crookety sidewalks and tree-lined streets.

Wexler's whereabouts remain unknown.

Reviews

Grade 5–8—Fixer Becker Drane, 13, reappears to save The World from a renegade Split Second and a powerful Time Bomb. He leads the life of a normal teenager until his 7th Sense alerts him to danger, and his Blinker goes off with a message from The Seems that gives him his new assignment. The Seems is an organization on the other side of the Fabric of Reality that created the Real World and is responsible for making everything in it (Time, Sleep, Weather, etc.) run smoothly. When there is a problem, a Fixer, with the help of a Briefer, must get to work. Becker's job is to find and fix the Split Second before a rebel group bent on destroying The World sets off the bomb. Hilarious wordplay, capitalized idiomatic expressions, puns, and figures of speech propel the plot along at a manic pace as Becker falls in love, tries to follow the Rules, and narrowly escapes annihilation. A delightful caste of noble and nefarious characters adds to the fun. For those in need of a moral component, there is much philosophizing about why bad things happen if the great Seems Plan for The World is supposed to be so perfect. Readers are encouraged to take the Seems Aptitude Test to become a Fixer. Advise readers to approach this book with a Grain of Salt and with Tongue firmly in Cheek for a wild ride.—Quinby Frank, Green Acres School, Rockville, MD
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This book expands upon the premise of The Glitch in Sleep (2007), in which a mirror world called the Seems constructs and maintains the machinery that governs our own, with a massive bureaucracy charged with everything from keeping the Seconds rolling along smoothly to painting properly glorious sunsets and delivering Little Unplanned Changes of Kismet (L.U.C.K.). When a rebel organization plants a Time Bomb that threatens to destroy the inner workings of our universe, Becker Dran, the talented, teenage “Fixer,” finds himself in desperate need of help to set things right. With increasingly severe time storms wreaking havoc worldwide, it looks like only the elusive Time Being herself has the power to help; can Becker track her down and persuade her to lend a hand? Yes, as it turns out, and no. This sequel continues to develop a truly ingenious setting while proving every bit as much of a nail-biter as the first. Becker and his allies come through in the end, but the close brings signs of impending disaster on an even vaster scale. Stay tuned. Grades 5-8. --John Peters

Edition details

• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1599901307
• ISBN 13: 9781599901305
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320