BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSThirteen-year-old Zane Obispo lives on a mesa in the New Mexico desert with his mom, his wrestling-loving uncle Hondo and Rosie, his three-legged dog, a hundred yards from a dead volcano he calls the Beast. His right leg is shorter than his left, so he walks with a cane, and after a year of homeschooling his mom tells him he has a scholarship to Holy Ghost, a Catholic school he has no wish to attend. His only neighbors are Ms. Cab, a phone psychic, and Mr. Ortiz, who grows strange chile peppers in his greenhouse. The night before school starts, a small plane with a monster at the controls flies straight into the Beast's crater. Soon a girl named Brooks, who is not what she seems, shows up to warn Zane that he is in danger. She tells him an ancient Maya prophecy points to him as the one who will free Ah-Puch, the Maya god of death, during a solar eclipse, and the eclipse is almost here.
Free Battle of the Books questions for The Storm Runner
SPOILERSEvery one of these has the same answer, and that is the point. In a real battle the question is read aloud with a dozen other books in play, and students have a few seconds to place it. Here is what a battle might ask about The Storm Runner. Use them as a quiz, a trivia round, or BOTB practice.
Where in the book they come from
- Early in the book
In what book does a three-legged dog bring her boy his cane in her mouth after a plane crash?
✓ Answer
The Storm Runner by J.C. Cervantes
After the plane crashes into the Beast, Zane tumbles down the slope and panics when he can't find Rosie. She shows up with his cane tucked in her mouth, and he hugs her and whispers that he loves her.
- First half
In what book does a girl claim her antiques-trading dad was accused of selling a fake death mask?
✓ Answer
The Storm Runner by J.C. Cervantes
On the drive home after the alux attack, Brooks makes up a cover story so Zane's mom won't worry, claiming the alux was really after her. Zane is impressed by how fast she thinks on her feet and how convincing she sounds.
- First half
In what book does a fast-food cashier throw a pot of hot frying oil on a demon?
✓ Answer
The Storm Runner by J.C. Cervantes
During the parking-lot fight in Yuma, the cashier who had been playing a zombie game on his phone appears out of nowhere and dumps hot oil on the demon disguised as Hondo. He actually smiles before he takes off.
- Second half
In what book does an uncle let go of the wheel at eighty and say, "Look, Ma. No hands"?
✓ Answer
The Storm Runner by J.C. Cervantes
Hondo drives the Super Turbo Jazz down Pacific Avenue at eighty, maybe ninety, weaving between cars. Zane, riding in back, hollers that it is not funny.
- Second half
In what book does a net burst into flames after a boy's slam-dunk, but the flames don't singe him?
✓ Answer
The Storm Runner by J.C. Cervantes
Still wearing the enchanted clothes that hide his limp, Zane launches off the trampoline and slams the ball through the net. The flames lick his face and hands without burning him, and the crowd chants "Zero, Zero, Zero."
- Near the end
In what book does a man in a football team's cap step from a rowboat onto a frozen sea?
✓ Answer
The Storm Runner by J.C. Cervantes
K'ukumatz, the Feathered Serpent, arrives at Jazz's boat on a sea frozen as smooth as glass and tells Zane to call him Mat. He says he was at a football game, and he has come to speed up Zane's journey to the Old World.
