Jolted: Newton Starker's Rules For Survival

Newton Starker is a 14 year-old boy with a shocking problem: he attracts lightening. His whole family does going back generations. Survival is a bit of a problem. So, his dad sends Newton to the Jerry Potts Academy of Survival in Moose Jaw, SK. His very first day, Newton has to survive haggis for supper. Before long, he survives eating insects, being punched out by a girl and dodging lightening.

Jolted is bizarre, electrifying and very funny.

The Starker family are cursed to die by lightening. Newton is the youngest member of the family and might well be the last of the bloodline. He has decided to do the only thing he can think of, he joins the Jerry Potts Academy of Higher Learning and Survival. This means moving from his home to the middle of Moose Jaw in Canada and having to learn how to live in the wilderness. In the meantime, he's recovering from his mother's death and the death of his great grandmother. Both were hit by lightening.
The last gift his great grandmother had given him was a diary having belonged to Andrew Starker. Newton hopes to find a clue in the diary as to why this is happening to them.


This was a delightful 203 page book. I found this story to be touching and very funny. Laced with a passion for cooking truffles in any recipe that he can, Newton is a character that makes you look at your own life with a little more humour.
He's has this strange disability that has kept him sheltered for his whole life, unable to have any close friends because of the fact the lightening can kill anyone around him. The fact the main characters are in their early teens is not missed. The metaphor of going off to school away from home for the first time, experiencing that freedom is a perfect way to show how facing your fears is the first step to growing up. He's given a pig to help find the truffles he's addicted to, which turns out to be the compass he needs to find his own footing in life.
The character of Jacob, the teenaged writer, adds a second layer of sweetness; almost like a mix of a comedy duo and the voice of reason.
As the title suggests, there are rules for survival within the story. Some of these are a little cringe worthy but I found myself laughing too. One scene in particular describes having to use the eyes of a camel for water.
I warn anyone who is a vegetarian to tackle this novel with a light heart. The book is well worth the few moments of queasiness that you might get from the "mystery meat" scene.

I look forward to another round of the Jerry Potts Academy of Higher Learning and Survival.

originally posted on my blog http://pushersink.blogspot.com

Jolted is a great, fun novel that both guys and girls can enjoy! It's a quick read... one that will have you hooked right from the beginning until the end.

Newton Starker comes from an unusual family background- all member's bearing the last name of Starker have died after being struck by lightning. After the loss of Newton's mother a couple years ago, Newton and his great-grandmother are now the only surviving Starkers'.

Before Newton's mother's passing, she instilled rules for her son to follow so that he could try to avoid an untimely death by lightning. Rules that he's still trying to follow as he enrolls at Jerry Potts Academy of Higher Learning and Surviving in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Newton's determined to succeed but first he'll need to make some friends... and a little competition with another student, Violet, for the top spot couldn't hurt, right?

Fun moments, fun narration... I'm sure you'll be smiling as you read Jolted.

P.S The little pig on the cover will make total sense when you read the book.

Arthur Slade is an award winning author. His honours include: Governor General's Award, Mr. Christie's Book Award, Saskatchewan Book Award, and Red Maple Honour Book. This book is both shocking and electrifying in its tale and the mastery in telling it.

Our hero is more than a little unusual for he is Newton Stalker. He is the second last surviving Stalker, for his whole family has been decimated by lightning strikes. Having recently lost his mother, he moves to the Jerry Potts Academy of Higher Learning and Survival in Moose Jaw. It is a school far more entertaining than Hogwarts. The school's motto is: 'Survival Through Fierce Intelligence'. The board considered all factors in allowing Newton to attend and even upgraded all of the buildings' lightning rod protection.

The cast of characters is zany and fun - from Newton's only surviving Stalker relative, his Great Grandmother Enid who is 102 and lives in a retirement home in Moose Jaw, to Newton's first friend Jacob Edward Clarke, an aspiring author, to his antagonist Violet Quon, a daughter of a Mountie with some pugilistic skills, to the unique headmaster, a giant of a man, who is always in a kilt and lumberjack shirt, Mr. McBain.

This book deals with issues like death and grieving. It also deals with the story of coming of age, and finding your place in the world. The book is like a cross between Edgar Allen Poe, Rudyard Kipling and C.S. Lewis. It is wonderfully-written, greatly entertaining and I could not put it down. Slade presents unique characters in unusual situations and does so in a way that draws the reader in and causes us to cheer for them as the story progresses. Arthur Slade is one of my favorite authors writing for youth today, I rank him up there with Kenneth Oppel, Patrick Carman and Laurie Halse Anderson. The only thing I regret is how short the book was, and how many things it leaves unanswered. I can only hope we see more books set at the Jerry Potts Academy, and we meet Newton Stalker again.

(First Published in Imprint 2009-03-13.)

Arthur Slade has given us a story about a 14-year old boy with a very unusual heritage. For over 200 years the Starker family have all been killed by lightning. Newton is the last male descendant and as such is extremely restricted in his lifestyle, something a lot of young people will relate to. His home is equivalent to living in a bunker.

I really enjoyed this book, and I'm sure it will appeal to this age-group. Every chapter is short, every episode is a chapter. Aside from the constant fear of lightning, "always check the weather before going out", when Newton enrolls in the Jerry Potts Academy of Higher Living and Survival in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, he learns about friendship, trust, overcoming fear, and above all patience, although it takes the whole book to teach him the last.

Newton's Survival List is the filler and the glue that joins the chapters. The book is very easy to read, each short chapter a different part of his learning. There are some good survival tips for anyone in the book, as well. I would recommend this book for children and teens 8-14, but not exclusively. A fascinating, entirely different type of style and storyline to enjoy.

For generations the Starker family members have been killed by lightning strikes. As a matter of family pride the family also names the children born to the female members with the last name "Starker". Newton Starker's mother has recently succumbed to her fate and upon her death Newton decides he would like to move away from his dad and the specially built concrete dome they live in to go away to a special boarding school, the "Jerry Potts Academy of Higher Learning and Survival", in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. The schools main focus is teaching survival skills even to the extreme.

Newton lives his life by a set of rules his mother invented for him and the list is revealed throughout the book. There are two Starkers left alive: Newton, and his great grandmother Starker, a sour puss of an old lady living in an old folks home. Newton's mother visited her regularly and now Newton continues after his mother's death. He tries to find out the cause for her longevity but when she reveals her secret he's not sure he could possibly follow suit.

The book is populated with interesting characters. Newton himself is a determined young man living against the odds, his best friend is a wanna be fantasy writer whose first published book is one long sentence. His makes a rival of a girl and they are always trying to one up each other. The teachers are unique characters themselves, as is the school proper.

A very fun and interesting take on the boarding school story. Not really fantasy, but certainly not realism, this is a tough book to categorize to a genre but those who enjoy a strange tale will enjoy this. I find myself wanting to dare to compare with the now infamous Harry Potter books but while the story is nothing like them I do think this will appeal to those who enjoyed the boarding school and eccentric teachers side of those books. While the book does have a definite ending, I see an opening for a sequel and would love to meet up with these characters again.