The Fabulous Zed Watson

Author: Basil Sylvester and Kevin Sylvester
Publisher: HarperCollins

The literary scavenger hunt of a lifetime, starring an endlessly endearing non-binary tween. Zed Watson loves a few things: their name (which they chose themself!), their big rambunctious family and—oh yeah—monsters. When Zed discovered the mystery surrounding an unpublished novel called The Monster’s Castle, they were completely hooked. Now Zed is a member of a small but dedicated legion devoted to finding the long-buried text. When a breakthrough discovery leads Zed to the route that they are sure will take them to the treasure, they know it’s time for a road trip. And with the help of their shy, flora-loving neighbour, Gabe, and his sister, Sam, a geologist who is driving back to college in Arizona, Zed and company are soon off on a wild adventure following cryptic clues. But it’s not all fun and games. Gabe doesn’t like Zed’s snacks, Sam is a bossy driver with total command of the ancient Impreza’s stereo and Zed is often misgendered. It’s a good thing they also encounter kind strangers, potato-themed dance-offs and lots and lots of ice cream along the way. If Zed and Gabe can combine their strengths, survive Sam’s wrath and best the greedy historian who’s also hot on the book’s trail, they just might find the greatest treasure of all.

Co-authored by child-parent duo Basil Sylvester and Kevin Sylvester, this is a vibrant and enormous-hearted story about friendship, identity and belonging. It features illustrations by celebrated author and illustrator Kevin Sylvester, and an Own Voices perspective based on Basil’s experience.

This is one of those clever works that operates on several levels. It could be regarded as simply a fun, rollicking, high-action road-trip adventure with two nerdy boys who meet strange and colorful characters along the way. Or a treasure-hunt kind of plot, the treasure being a manuscript. But there’s another layer that will appeal to the more discerning, intellectual reader, because somehow knowledge of Latin, botany, literature, puns, and more is involved. Above all, it is fun, with endless wordplay, brilliant humour, and refreshingly original characters. It’s several notches above cheap, silly humour novels. It’s a romp anyone could enjoy. The fact that a number of characters are LGBTQ+ is woven in seamlessly. Suffice it to say this novel is a fabulous contribution to middle-grade-plus readers, whether they’re nerdy boys or not.

- P.W.