4^th Grade to 7^th Grade

Jeremy’s troubles begin when his eccentric neighbor leaves him an ‘experiment’ for safekeeping – a jackalope! This so-called mythological creature looks like a bunny rabbit but comes with razor-sharp antlers and is supposedly a ruthless killer.

When government agents show up at Jeremy’s house seeking the jackalope for their own purposes, he must find a way to protect the jackalope and himself. So he reluctantly joins forces with Agatha, his annoying genius neighbor. Together, with the jackalope tucked away in a backpack, they have only one chance to save Jack and still get their science fair projects in on time.

I’m pretty sure there aren’t many books about jackalopes, which is why this story stood out to me.

I knew nothing about jackalopes or their mythology, so all the facts about them were a surprise to me. As soon as Jeremy discovers the jackalope, he goes online and finds out that they drink whiskey and can mimic human voices. After reading that, I went on Wikipedia to see if it was ‘true.’ I was shocked to find out it was. Look it up if you don’t believe me.

This book is fiction, but the government agents chasing Jeremy are part of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, a real agency in the United States Department of Defense. The book talks more about the stuff the agency is researching in the Author’s Note, but I’m pretty sure it’s all made up. So I went on the Internet and found out they ‘make pivotal investments in breakthrough technology for national security.’ To find out more about DARPA, you can visit their website or go to Wikipedia.