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YA
"We're plugged into the universe," Newton Starker's late mother told him--and she didn't mean it metaphorically, as every deceased Starker family member on record (including her) died from a lightning strike. This imaginative survival story injects quirky asides--recipes, survival tips, character sketches, etc.--into its playful account of fourteen-year-old Newton's stint at an unusual boarding school, where he acquires both friends and courage.