As if reflecting this dichotomy, the author's writing veers from the engaging to the somewhat disjointed. Don't brag about it,'' says one character) and at others it is simply a bizarre adventure. This odd fusion may puzzle readers-at some junctures the book seems to be a commentary on ostracism (``It's bad enough what you are.

One of the more diverting characters is Chester's mother, Molly, a psychic who spends most of her time beating a drum, interpreting other people's dreams and embarrassing her son. Unfortunately, the novel never quite delivers on its intriguing scenario. Her story, told with a nightmare's whirling madness, concerns young Chester Dumbello, who is carried off by a giant, one-eyed parrot of the topsy-turvy planet Alert-a place where those with the need to sleep are considered criminals called ``shuteyes.'' It seems Chester has been kidnapped and risks being brainwashed like others who have come before him. Kerr has written a quasi-science fiction work. This is a wildly inventive novel about a boy who yearns to run away - only to discover that there's no place like home.Using the same pseudonym as she did for her 1990 novel, Shoebag, popular YA writer M. Scholastic, 13.95 (184pp) ISBN 978-8-1 Nick, the 14-year-old son of the stern, rigid commanding officer of a military school, hopes to be. Suddenly, his home in Lucy, Mississippi, is looking a whole lot better. He goes to school, but before long, he is convicted of being a 'shuteye' and gets thrown in jail. Chester is adopted by a family named Quick - boasting a mother and a father - and meets all kinds of strange and interesting people. Then one night, Lornge takes him to the planet Alert, where sleeping is against the law. But he feels trapped in a tug of war between his aunt Dolly, who wants Chester to visit, and his mom, who doesn't want him to go. (Or as he puts it, 'I tell no lies, nor shut my eyes.') It's summer, and school's out - Chester's favorite time of year because the other kids can't bother him about his unusual mother. But there's something odd about Lornge: He never sleeps. Since nothing does, she comes up with the name Lornge, and the parrot becomes the newest member of the Dumbello family. Chester's mom says that the day something rhymes with orange, they can keep the parrot. One day a white, one-eyed parrot flies into the Dream Caf. Chester Dumbello's mom interprets people's dreams. The fantastical story of a lonely 11-year-old whose parrot takes him on a magical mystery tour of a planet where sleeping is against the law.

The Shuteyes by Mary James