Oddballs Book

A collection of stories based on experiences from the author's youth and peopled with an unusual assortment of family and friends.

The ALAN Review

Although the LC categories on the copyright page list this book as fiction, William Sleator's own comments indicate that most of the incidents recounted in these ten stories are true, with a little embellishing, of course. Fans of Sleator's novels won't learn anything about his penchant for science fiction here. But they will see lots of evidence of his creativity and that of his siblings, parents, and friends as he describes their loony adventures from childhood through adolescence, including Tycho's toilet training, Vicky's purple hair, Jack's self-taught hypnotizing skills, Halloween seances, zany skits, and what they called Pitiful Encounters acted out on streetcars. Even though Sleator's family was/is somewhat bizarre, his accounts will likely help readers recall some of their own similar childhood adventures while enjoying Sleator's humorous and wacky tales.