The Slash

Adam Canfield's friend Jennifer talks him into being co-editor of the Slash. Between supervising know-it-all cub reporters and arguing with Principal Marris about which articles will "propel the Good Ship Harris forward," Adam worries he might lose it altogether. But then a third grader delivers a scoop bigger than any of Adam's career, and only Adam can dig deep enough to crack through a cover-up that will rock the very foundations of Harris itself.

As co-editor of the Slash, the school paper, Adam Canfield is used to getting the story. What he's not used to is being the story, which is just what happens after he's mugged by some high-school students for his snow-shoveling money.

But it's hard to keep a low profile when there's still baritone and basketball practice, a new principal to figure out, a science fair sham to uncover, a bully survey to monitor, a 300-year-old tree to save, and the next issue of the Slash to take care of.

A "dirty" school election, suspicious state test scores -- Adam Canfield and his star reporters are chasing some red-hot leads. There's only one glitch: the school board has shut down The Slash for exposing the town's most powerful family, and now the staff has to find a way to publish it themselves. Enter the Ameche brothers: two goofy kid entrepreneurs with a knack for refurbishing junk - and a talent for selling ads - but a shaky command of journalistic ethics.