"Look, fourth-grader Mateo Martinez knows what he saw, okay? Two talking skunks took off on his old trike in the middle of the night, riding away with glee. Sure, it sounds weird, but regardless, he's got to convince his friend Ashwin to do recon with him and get Mateo's trike back; the two friends are, after all, bold knights and defenders of their neighborhood kingdom (in their pretend play, inspired by their favorite book about medieval weaponry). To be honest, talking skunks are probably easier to deal with than Mateo's other struggles, which include his recent estrangement from his best friend Johnny, Mateo's jealousy of his younger sister, Mila, and his insecurity in his identity as a Mexican American ('Trying to speak Spanish makes me feel like I'm doing it wrong, and I hate that. But not speaking Spanish in Santa Barbara feels wrong too, so I'd rather just not think about it'). This is an odd but satisfying little story with an endearing hero and perhaps even more endearing skunks. Yes, the skunks are real, they can talk, they're engaged in an all-out war with the local raccoons for rights to the school playground, and Mateo, Ashwin and even Mila eventually ride into battle alongside the stinkers. Of course it's silly, but Yardi deftly reins in some of the goofiness in exchange for dramatic tension and emotional heft. Snapshots of Mateo's other battles in daily life come together as a portrait of a kid teetering between a childhood he doesn't want to give up and an adolescence that's uncertain at best--he's pretty sure a showdown with a raging raccoon is likely to be an easier experience than middle school.

Hand this quirky book to kids with similar suspicions about growing up."--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books.