Lane Smith is a genius who really gets the audience. I have never been let down by one of his titles. A bit of everything, this book has paranormal, middle grade, twisted fairy tales, bullies, friends and tough choices.

'Return to Augie Hobble' by Lane Smith is a book that can't quite decide what it wants to be. Which is too bad, because I really like other things Lane Smith has done.

Augie Hobble has his father's strange amusement park to run around in. It's got names that sound familiar, but won't get his dad sued for swiping them. He's got a crush on a girl, a best friend, a bully that won't leave him alone, and a research paper that he can't decide what to do with.

As Augie wavers back and forth on what his project should be, it felt like exactly how this book got written. There are funny parts, and there are some tragic parts. Augie manages to grow through the process, but the tragic part feels really cheapened by it's lack of finality (or alternate finality, I suppose). There are a lot of things happening in this book, and some of them feel like they get shorted along the way, and that's too bad because I really wanted to like this one more.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Roaring Brook Press, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.\

Sorry, requested but did not find the time to review.