The Wednesdays

“Max had most definitely caught a case of the wednesdays.” What are the wednesdays? That’s exactly what middle-schooler Maxwell Valentino Bernard tries to get to the bottom of in Bourbeau’s lighthearted and entertaining first novel. In a small village halfway up Mount Tibidabo, each Wednesday brings a plague of “mostly harmless” pranks: furniture is rearranged, cars refuse to start, and tea might be switched with perfume. Most residents hide indoors, waiting for Thursday, but Max is tired of spending Wednesdays cooped up with his colicky baby brother while his parents play canasta. Risking it, Max ventures outside, discovering that the wednesdays are a band of mischief-making, silver-eyed, implike creatures (Max also winds up with blue skin and smelling of garbage for his efforts). When wednesdaylike happenings begin to follow Max throughout the week, he learns that he is on his way to becoming a wednesday himself—a fate he works hard to avoid. Bourbeau’s story is filled with slapstick humor, and Beene’s occasional b&w illustrations help establish its gentle sense of magic and mayhem. Ages 8–12. Agent: Jessica Regel, Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency. (Aug.)