The Hunk Machine

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

You’d think that life would be pretty routine for Christine Bellamy
and Pepper Mckenzie, two 12-year-old girls who live in Riverbend,
Alberta, population 1,933. But things start happening fast after the two
friends spot not one but four of Hollywood’s hottest teen heartthrobs
coming out of a dilapidated old house on the outskirts of town.

The girls make the acquaintance of Samuel de Wellerman, a man who
claims to be a movie producer in town to shoot a remake of Custer’s
Last Stand. Next, Pepper disappears after pestering de Wellerman for a
screen test. When she reappears two days later, she looks the same but
Christine suspects that Pepper is in some kind of trance. With her best
friend suddenly out of commission, Christine has only herself, her
horse, and Hal, the little-brother-from-hell, to figure out what is
going on.

Author David A. Poulsen is a gifted wordsmith. In this book, however,
that gift is hampered by a story that lacks substance. His characters
come across as props for his wit, which is considerable but unable to
carry the load on its own. The result is a glitzy, fast-moving, readable
book that is easily forgettable. Recommended with reservations.