TITLE: The BIG GUTS Club: A Funny Re-Imaging of Doctor Jekyll and Mister HydeAUDIENCE: Middle school and tween readers. WORD COUNT: 27,000AUTHOR: Lee SmythBRIEF SUMMARY: Being the grandson of Doctor Henry Jekyll (of Jekyll and Hyde fame) isn't easy, but it's never dull. The BIG GUTS Club is set during modern times and features the brilliant Doctor Jekyll as well as his tongue-tied grandson Jake (age 12). Mister Hyde is always hiding in the shadows as well, but part of the mystery involves unmasking this prankster. And let's not forget Jake's classmate, the ever-inventive, endlessly intriguing Geena Kolotta, who's more than ready to take on any challenges that Jekyll or Hyde might toss at her. But what's the BIG GUTS Club? And do its members have to be fat? Weighing a ton isn't a requirement. Having a lot of guts is. Brilliance, a bit of outrageousness, and nerves of steel are all huge pluses. One other quality guarantees admission: if your mind is capable of crafting schemes that no one else could conceive of, you're in.SETTING: Modern London (and the Saint Albans Preparatory Academy).THE GOOD GUYS (and GALS):1. Jake Jekyll is the twelve-year-old grandson of Doctor Henry Jekyll. After the eccentric genius fakes his own death, Jake and his mother move into the Jekyll mansion, which contains a laboratory that Jake can't resist visiting.2. Geena Kolotta is Jake's classmate and co-conspirator. She's his equal in crafting grand schemes.3. Doctor Henry Jekyll, age seventy, has amassed seventeen patents in the science of food processing, or, to be more precise, the creation of truly addictive ice cream flavors. Everyone in England knows the brand name: Jekyll-Smeckyll Goodies. (There's no Smeckyll; he just liked the rhyme.) Henry is known to enjoy outrageous pranks as well as bold adventures, such as shark hunting at night. (Why midnight? "It's more of a challenge.")THE BAD GUYS:1. Harold Blevins, age fifteen, is Jake's classmate. Harold lives to make others miserable; he's good at it. He's a liar, a cheat, a petty thief, and a mischief-maker who specializes in the malicious.2. Headmaster Higgins, the leader of Saint Albans Preparatory Academy, has only one simple rule: No Fun Allowed.3. Mister Hyde lives in the shadows. Some say he's a rogue. Others claim that he's a misunderstood trickster. Nobody is fast enough to catch him in the act.
