All good things must come to an end. After all, it was the last few weeks of seventh grade and, oh yeah... April Fools' Day. Buds and Scuds: Nobody's a Nothin' Book Two, is a fast-paced, hilarious new entry into the middle school (and beyond) genre.Being Hanway's newest cross country champ brought Zip and the Buds a measure of peace. Even the Scuds (Hanway's notorious band of bullies) left them alone as Booger and Noford ran their candy smuggling business right under Principal Faraday's nose.In the space of a few months, Zip...is turned into a snitch by principal Faraday ("blackmailed," by some people's standards)is "surprise!" first-kissed (but by the wrong girl)gives up his bedroom to house his mom's new projectfinds a running buddy in Ferdy, who's sad and won't say muchand he sees the cafeteria filled with a green ooze that empties the entire school.When the newspaper reporters and HAZMAT trucks are gone, the school reopens. But something's different... The stinkiest bully of all is nowhere to be found, vanished without a trace. The whole school is asking, "Where is Booger Schmidt?"Seventh grade had its own troubles, but eighth grade? Wasn't it supposed to be better?From the Publisher: Little Roni Publishers is excited to continue the story of Corey "Zip" Zilch, a conscientious, friendly kid readers can really get behind. When Corey turns to Coach for advice, he's told, "Part of growing into a man is wrestling with right and wrong, and then choosing the right way." Come along with Zip as he figures everything out.Everything, that is, until next year. After all, ninth grade is just around the corner.Readers who enjoy Gordon Korman, James Patterson (ahem, his Middle School series), C.T. Walsh, Marcus Emerson, KF Ridley, Jeff Kinney, Chris Grabbenstein, Rachel Renee Russell, and Shannon Hale will love Paul Maitland's take on the mayhem of middle school and all that entails.A 2023 AFCW CAROL AWARDS finalist, Zip Zilch and Buds and Scuds are only the start of a truly fun series taking Corey all the way through high school. Dive in and let us know how you enjoy our friend Zip!Reader Special Interests in Book 2: cross country running, teamwork in sports, dealing with bullies, a friend whose soldier father died, helping parents with foster children, first crush, church camp, being a running champion doesn't mean you can slack off training.If you scrolled down this far, you might be a parent person! So...Note to parents: Corey is at the end of seventh grade and beginning eighth. The story opens with him being enlisted by the principal to spy and report on the school bullies. Corey's close circle grows as new friends are added to the Buds. Quirky and funny, Buds and Scuds kept our editors and middle school beta readers interested to the very end. Impactful life lessons in this book: Corey discovers that "quiet" friends might have problems at home, and sometimes, a bully is suffering at home much, much more than can be imagined.