The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death
Encyclopedia
Originally published in 1982, The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death is a young adult novel written by Daniel Pinkwater
and features alienated teenagers, avocado
-obsessed mad scientists, and a plot to replace all of the world's realtors with aliens.
High School, until he meets Winston Bongo, another suffering student and the self-proclaimed inventor of "snarking out" (which involves sneaking out of your house late at night, going to the movie theater, hanging out, and sneaking back home without getting caught). They usually go to an all-night movie theater, The Snark
. While snarking out, they meet the usual assortment of oddballs, such as Ms. Bentley Saunders Harrison Matthews, a.k.a. Rat, and places, from Blueberry Park to Lower North Aufzoo Street to Beanbender's Beer Garden
. Along the way, they help foil the scheme of the world's greatest criminal genius and his gang of trained orangutan
s.
The book was followed by a 1984 sequel, The Snarkout Boys and the Baconburg Horror, which can be found in his 2000 omnibus, 4 Fantastic Novels. A third novel, I Snarked with a Zombie was planned but never written.
Daniel Pinkwater
Daniel Manus Pinkwater is an author of mostly children's books and is an occasional commentator on National Public Radio. He attended Bard College. Well-known books include Lizard Music, The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death, Fat Men from Space, Borgel, and the picture book The Big Orange...
and features alienated teenagers, avocado
Avocado
The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...
-obsessed mad scientists, and a plot to replace all of the world's realtors with aliens.
Plot summary
The story is told from the viewpoint of Walter Galt, a teenager on the verge of dying from boredom at Genghis KhanGenghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
High School, until he meets Winston Bongo, another suffering student and the self-proclaimed inventor of "snarking out" (which involves sneaking out of your house late at night, going to the movie theater, hanging out, and sneaking back home without getting caught). They usually go to an all-night movie theater, The Snark
Snark
-Fictional creatures:* Snark , a fictional animal species in Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark * Snark , fictional small, bug-like species of alien used as a weapon...
. While snarking out, they meet the usual assortment of oddballs, such as Ms. Bentley Saunders Harrison Matthews, a.k.a. Rat, and places, from Blueberry Park to Lower North Aufzoo Street to Beanbender's Beer Garden
Beer garden
Beer garden is an open-air area where beer, other drinks and local food are served. The concept originates from and is most common in Southern Germany...
. Along the way, they help foil the scheme of the world's greatest criminal genius and his gang of trained orangutan
Orangutan
Orangutans are the only exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape. The largest living arboreal animals, they have proportionally longer arms than the other, more terrestrial, great apes. They are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools, also making sleeping...
s.
Availability
The book, while out-of-print in its original form, can be found in his 1997 omnibus, 5 Novels.The book was followed by a 1984 sequel, The Snarkout Boys and the Baconburg Horror, which can be found in his 2000 omnibus, 4 Fantastic Novels. A third novel, I Snarked with a Zombie was planned but never written.