Some of the best stories in children’s literature are friendship-based, and it’s always interesting to see how those friendships unfold and how the friends work together to solve a conflict. It also makes outcast readers feel less alone in the world.
Author Rick Stevens has contributed to this story trope with his middle grade mystery novel, WECU Inc. Below is my review of Stevens’ book followed by an interview with the author.
WECU Inc. plot summary
After his parents are killed in a car accident, Kieran moves in with a foster family who live in a large apartment complex. Though he is well taken care of, Kieran is lonely, having not bonded with his foster siblings. To pass the time, he practices his ninja skills, exploring the bones of his building with all of its maze-like twists and turns and secret areas.
One day, Kieran meets Malaya, a young girl who also likes to explore and snoop on the tenants of their building. The two become friends and eventually form an alliance with Arthur, a young, bullied boy who attends a special school to learn computer skills. Eventually, Arthur’s bullies, Dex and Jerry, are recruited to the team, and they form a Scooby-Doo-inspired mystery organization which they call WECU Inc. (stands for We See You).
Together, the team combines their individual skills to track down clues, spy on potential victims and culprits, and even solve some crimes. Their missions evolve from finding out who stole a laptop to rescuing a kidnapped child. In between, the group works on a fantasy story with characters loosely based on themselves, and they find friendship and belonging in this quirky yet close organization.
The story
WECU Inc. is a short but sweet tale that puts a modern twist on traditional middle grade detective stories. Each member of the group brings their own aptitudes to the table, and they use modern technology and hacking methods as well as good old-fashioned spying to find clues and gather information.
I like that this is an origin story, but it also works quickly to pull the team together and get down to solving mysteries. The complexity of each mystery also increases as the kids brainstorm and experiment with problem-solving techniques.
Though they are inspired by Scooby-Doo, there’s more of an Only Murders in the Building tone to the story as the mysteries center around Kieran and Malaya’s apartment building. This makes more sense considering that our heroes are still in elementary school. It gives them a large space with multiple people to investigate without branching out far from home.
The characters
I like this team. Kieran is the kind, loyal leader. Malaya is the overachieving go-getter with a family secret. Arthur is the nerdy STEM kid who seeks companionship but can also hide behind his computer screen when he needs to. And Dex and Jerry are the misunderstood bullies who prove their allegiance and usefulness.
The team also has some adult allies as it’s apparent that the parental figures are a bit neglectful. There’s Charles, the maintenance man, who not only encourages their snooping but also assigns them with some missions. There’s also Mrs. Segura, the lobby manager who provides the team with a room in which to work and also benefits from their sleuthing both personally and professionally.
Despite their differing traits and backgrounds, the characters do tend to sound alike. However, a lot of successful middle grade novels don’t create distinctive voices for each character. The kids also sometimes don’t sound like kids their age. Sometimes they just come across as mature for their ages. Other times, they sound a little too old-fashioned.
The kids also work seamlessly together. It’s an idealized depiction of the perfect friends group where everyone is on the same page and works so well together that the five of them even take turns writing a cohesive fantasy story to submit to a writing contest. It’s a little too perfect at times, and I would have liked to have seen the different personalities butt heads at times.
Admittedly, I wasn’t a fan of the fantasy story chapters as it’s just not my genre, and I feel like it took away from the momentum of the real-life mysteries that the kids were solving. It also seems unlikely that it’s the two bullies who get into writing it as when they first meet, the two are bullying Arthur into doing their homework for them.
However, the fantasy story is as well written as the rest of the book, and it would be the perfect transition for fantasy readers looking to get into other book genres. So, I’m in no way docking points for its existence in the story.
My recommendation
I recommend WECU Inc. to any middle grade reader who is looking for a found friends group story with a lot of energy and a bunch of small adventures rolled into one book. The novel is short with an abrupt ending that leaves it open-ended for a series to develop. And readers will be eager to know more about what happens next to WECU Inc.
My rating
An interview with Rick Stevens
This novel is a bunch of little mysteries rolled into one. Did you outline the story first or write as you go? Did you write in order or out of order?
I largely write out of order. I get up and walk a little each hour, and I kind of see scenes as I walk. I write descriptions of them when I get back. I save the descriptions in folders and pull them out when they seem to fit the flow. One of the fun parts of writing is when I write something with no obvious place in the story and later see it fit in.
Aside from Scooby-Doo, what were your other influences?
I think it was between second and third grade that I started going to the public library and I discovered The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet. There were no more science fiction books in the kids’ section, so I moved on to the classic SF authors of the day, like Clarke and Azimov. The fantasy bits that I included in this one might reflect one of my favorite authors, Fritz Leiber.
Who designed the cover, and what direction did you have for the cover art?
I made the cover myself. I wanted to portray the characters, but looking away, both portraying them looking for something and perhaps making it easier for readers to see themselves as the characters, not already having images of the faces.
I put the picture of the wraith in the corner to represent the parts where the group writes themselves into a story as fantasy characters. I’m kind of hoping that people will wonder what it has to do with two kids exploring the basement and give it a second look.
Kieran and Malaya provide the origins of their names. How did you come up with the characters’ names? Do you have any recommendations for naming characters?
I had just written a story with a female protagonist and decided to start with a male character but no names right off. When the girl snuck up behind the boy in the lobby and startled him, I decided that I had a clear idea of the characters then, and they needed names.
I looked at lists of names and their cultural meanings. I thought that “little dark one,” Kieran, fit my image of him. When the girl appeared, she quickly took over, and I thought that “free and independent” seemed like a good description for her.
I also wanted to include the idea that they both were somewhat physically small in stature and with a dark complexion. The name Malaya is a Filipino name, or perhaps Southeast Asia in general. Ethnicity is not part of the story, but I thought that it might give kids with a variety of backgrounds a chance to see themselves in the characters and give the characters a sort of
“base description” of their personalities.
Just FYI, in my previous book, the character was named Miranda by her parents but asked to be called Lacy Pita, confusing her parents. She heard herself being described as cognitively “atypical” and (being into anagrams) decided to own the label by asking to be called Lacy Pita, an anagram of atypical.
The characters each have their own struggles. Kieran in particular has a tragic backstory. Are these backstories developed past the contents of the book? If so, do you have plans to develop them further in a series?
I have a sequel in progress. I would say that Malaya’s backstory (father died, mom is hiding the fact that she is a government cyber analyst) may be a factor in the sequel. The idea that they all have something to deal with, like the death of Kieran’s parents, will drive the development of more groups of kids looking out for other kids.
Arthur introduces Malaya and Kieran to two characters from a previous story to create a new WECU group. They make a documentary short about how they found the missing boy, Bobby, in the WECU book and spawn a network of kid groups looking out for kids who fell through the cracks.
So, I’m going for a story of kids spreading the idea of kids doing good stuff, looking out for other kids. I also expand the fantasy story from before into a full “quest to fight the big, bad guy,” portraying it as the kids making a movie with themselves playing the characters whom they wrote in the earlier story.
Do you have a favorite character?
I started this story with Kieran, and he was sort of modeled after me. However, I found that Malaya became the more compelling character. At one point, I decided that I was finished with the story, but I had a nagging thought about how I never knew what was up with Malaya’s mother. There was divorce, self-help books… hints.
I went for a walk and suddenly the idea that her mother was keeping secrets about her job and instead of a divorce, her father had died came to me. It not only explained the mother’s behaviors but put some of Malaya’s actions in a new light, like why she was pushing Mrs. Garcia to contact her estranged father. She was thinking about how she had lost her father. Not everyone will make all the connections, but I thought that Malaya became a pretty interesting character.
Aside from kids in general, who is your target audience?
I would like kids who feel ignored or feel like they have problems to see that everyone has problems at some point. All of the characters had trauma, issues of some sort in their lives, but it is a fundamentally positive story. I’d also like kids to see a positive, thinking approach to problem solving.
Have you ever personally solved a mystery?
Sadly, no. I have watched a lot of British detective shows and decades of Law and Order. I suppose the idea of solving problems (who done it) and helping society is a theme. This also reminds me of a possible influence, Dr. Who, especially the Tom Baker era. He was always a pleasant, intellectual hero who saved the day by thinking his way out of whatever was going on.
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I found this book to be fascinating for kids and adults. My children love it. My wife, who is a Montessori teacher loves everything Rick writes. This author makes me smile! .
Thanks for reading and sharing!
My best problem solving skills would probably be being able to look at the cases from different angles & perspectives. Thanks!