Carlisle's Secretby Steven P. Snediker
Synopsis: Fritz Carlisle has a lot on his mind. After his parents separated, Fritz lived with his mother, Julia, who over the next four years fought a rare type of blood cancer and eventually succumbed to the disease. Fritz is forced to move back in with his father, Douglas, a professional magician. Now 12-year-old Fritz tries to integrate into his new school by performing a magic trick for his class. When it doesn’t go quite right, Fritz is ridiculed by his class, placated by his teacher and tripped by Olsen, the leader of a gang of bullies. Fritz’s frustrated reaction lands him in the principal’s office for a reprimand and an escort home by his father.
Fritz decides to take matters into his own hands. He steals his father’s book of secrets and takes it to school. Unfortunately as Fritz examines his treasure in a bathroom stall, he discovers that he isn’t alone. Olsen and his band of bullies bust in, rough Fritz up and steal the magic book. To make matters worse, Fritz learns that his father really relies on that book for his magic performances and subsequently goes before a full auditorium and bombs his performance. The guilt is too much for Fritz to bear. It is a long, silent ride home.
Haunted by his darkened circumstances, Fritz dreams that Olsen and the bullies torment him and destroy the book. Awakened with a start from his nightmare, Fritz stumbles upon his father’s knowledge of an enhanced reality where magic really happens. In the long overdue conversation that ensues, Fritz and his father finally reconnect and his father begins to divulge the secrets of this deeper magic.
In a final confrontation, possessing the knowledge of Carlisle’s Secret, Fritz must return to the real world to face the bullies, take a stand, and reclaim his father’s magic book.