The Fourth Stall Book Review (Book One of The Fourth Stall Trilogy)

There are some books that carry a genre so well, you know what they’re trying to do within the first chapter. The Fourth Stall, a middle grade gangster book about a boy who runs a shady business trying to take down the high school gang, by Chris Rylander, emulates the mafia books while keeping everything fresh.

Mac, the main character, is the best. His humor combined with the clever, almost stream-of-conscious first person point of view makes him likable and easy to understand. Despite being the middle school version of the mafia, he’s someone the reader can root for. That’s what makes the story so unique: it’s not someone playing dirty and trying to get out, it’s someone who genuinely cares about his customers…but also enjoys getting paid.

Vince seals the deal of mafia but not quite. Very few mafia members have best friends, so it makes their relationship even sweeter. The reader watches the tension crack the foundations of their friendship from the beginning and sometimes has trouble watching what comes next.

The structure of the story is really well done. Everything from the beginning of the story comes full circle at the end. Every sentence has its place, and all the loose ends are tied. Even the first chapter, which some other authors throw away for the sake of introducing the characters, comes back with a vengeance.

“I [Mac] sat calmly and waited for the next client, not even suspecting for a second that he would be the biggest problem that had ever stepped into my office.”

Recommended for anyone who owes someone a favor.

—Grace Nask