Janitors

Students at Welcher Elementary school are falling asleep, getting distracted, and becoming disinterested in schoolwork. It's up to a 12-year-old germaphobe Spencer Zumbro and his friend Daisy "Gullible" Gates to save education. Spencer's father mysteriously disappeared years ago, and now Spencer, his mother, and his siblings are living in his aunt's house; between feeling invisible at home and being bullied at school, Spencer's school year isn't looking up. After washing his face with "burn-your-face-off soap" in the school bathroom, he can see dust-eating, demonlike monsters (which he later learns are "Toxites" that are draining students' brains). Only the gruff janitor, Marv, appears to be able to see the creatures. When the Bureau of Educational Maintenance comes to investigate the school's society of elusive janitors and inducts Spencer to help overthrow them, he isn't sure who to trust. Whitesides's debut novel, first in a series, is action-packed and surprising. Well-drawn school dynamics and Spencer and Daisy's relationship ground the story. Readers, like Spencer, will become convinced of the value of telling the truth, while having a lot of fun along the way. Ages 8%E2%80%9312. (Aug.)