Killer Pizza (2009), an upper-middle-grade paranormal story by Greg Taylor, is the first book in the Killer Pizza trilogy. It centers on a young boy who works in a pizza parlor—a front for a monster-hunting organization. In 2011, it was nominated for the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children’s Book Award. Taylor started out as a drummer before moving to LA to become a screenwriter. He now writes fiction for young people. Protagonist Toby McGill is only fourteen, but he already has a goal—to become a world-class chef. Toby watches the Food Network all the time to pick up recipe ideas, but he’s not allowed to cook very much. Now that a local pizza place, Killer’s Pizza, is hiring summer workers, Toby thinks he can get a job there and prove to his parents that he has ambition. Toby is excited and relieved when he’s offered a job at Killer’s Pizza. He loves the thrill of being part of a team and seeing how a busy kitchen works in real life. His co-workers, Annabel and Strobe, are relaxed and outgoing; they make him feel at home. Annabel is his classmate from school, and Toby can’t help feeling attracted to her now that he sees her outside of the classroom. The owner, Harvey, lets him sample the pizzas on the menu, which range from “The Monstrosity” to “The Frankensausage.” Toby thinks the quirky pie names are just part of the brand, but he soon learns they hide a deeper meaning. One day, Toby learns that Killer’s Pizza didn’t hire him for his culinary abilities or his enthusiasm; they hired him because they think he has the personality to become part of their special organization. Toby can’t believe he has anything special about him. He is bullied at school, and he knows that his parents think his younger sister is more talented than he is. Nevertheless, this organization wants him for a very particular purpose—hunting monsters. When Toby agrees to work for them, they introduce him to a high-tech world of gadgets and exciting missions. He’s training to be an MCO—a Monster Combat Officer. Although he is only paid minimum wage, for now, Harvey will train him to become one of the best monster hunters around. Toby is not sure he wants the training; he’d rather sling pizza dough all day, but he doesn’t think he has a choice. Toby wants more information about what kind of monsters he’ll encounter. Harvey tells him that they’re going after the guttata, which are hybrids between vampires and werewolves. They pose as humans, recruiting locals to convert into monsters. When they’re not converting people, they eat them instead. Toby is terrified; he regrets agreeing to be part of this covert operation. However, he goes along with it, because Annabel and Strobe want to train too. One night, Annabel goes missing. Two men arrive at her house and steal her away after she refuses to let them inside. When Harvey learns she’s disappeared, Toby and Strobe go looking for her. Not realizing that she’s been abducted by guttata, this rescue mission turns into their first real battle with monsters. Toby and Strobe are separated, and Toby must fight the monsters on his own. He fends them off and gets back to Killer’s Pizza. Harvey warns them not to go off on their own again. He brings in reinforcements from other pizza parlors, telling Toby and Strobe to man the shop while they go after Annabel. Of course, Toby and Strobe can’t relax in the shop while Annabel is in danger. They plan their own rescue mission, taking as many weapons as they can handle. They go where Annabel is supposed to be. However, before they can break in, the alpha guttara, the monsters’ leader, finds them. He chases them to a nearby construction site; Toby and Strobe get separated again as they move through the half-built houses. When Strobe is captured by the guttara, Toby wants to run away and save himself, but he can’t leave Strobe to die. Toby goes after Strobe; he sees a monster preparing to kill him. Toby shoots at the monster to distract it and then jumps into a nearby lake to hide. The distraction works; the monster chases Toby while Strobe goes for help. Strobe finds Annabel, and together they shoot the monster before it drags Toby from the lake. When Toby crawls out the water, the three teammates are happy to be alive, even if they’re terrified. They go back to Killer’s Pizza where Harvey and the others congratulate them on their bravery. They all agree to keep working as monster hunters. The rest of the trilogy follows their numerous adventures around town.

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Greg Taylor

Middle grade

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