Unplugged

November 2, 2020
After one too many escapades, Jett Baranov, 12-year-old heir to a Silicon Valley empire, is shipped off to the Oasis of Mind and Body Wellness in Arkansas, where, stripped of technology and subjected to vegetarian food and yoga, he’s expected to mend his ways. Jett isn’t so easily thwarted, however: if he can’t get kicked out, he’ll bend every rule to breaking, even going into the candy-smuggling business to disrupt the program’s routine. After fellow attendee Grace Atwater, who actually enjoys the retreat, finds a stray lizard, Jett joins her and others, including Brooklynne Feldman, resident girl of mystery, and allergic-to-everything Tyrell Karrigan, in caring for the illicit pet and sneaking out to a nearby town. When the group discovers inconsistencies in the Oasis’s management style, Jett must overcome his own reputation as a troublemaker and expose a cunning mastermind. Korman injects his signature dry humor throughout, but Jett’s persistent obnoxiousness can drown out the other alternating first-person narratives, and many of the story’s twists are telegraphed early on, resulting in an entertaining if predictable arc. Ages 8–12. Agent: Elizabeth Harding, Curtis Brown.