Trouble is brewing in Hamlet, Vermont, when a new kid named Thud Tweed enrolls in Miss Earth’s class. He’s an oversize lug with a bad attitude that soon starts affecting his classmates—especially after he tinkers with the outcome of the spring egg hunt and pits the rival Copycats and Tattletales against their own members. When three genetically manipulated eggs appear on the scene and begin to hatch, the children begin spinning lies to keep them a secret. Soon they are caught in their own web, and they realize that they must all join together—even Thud—if they want to find a way to right their wrongs. With themes ranging from the ethics of gene splicing and nature-versus-nurture to bullying and parenting, this fifth installment of the Hamlet Chronicles explores dark territory. At the same time, it introduces outrageous new characters and sparkles with Gregory Maguire’s patented tongue-in-cheek humor and hilarious one-liners.