Against her better judgement, Tamaya follows Marshall through the woods--a shortcut, he claims--because she's not allowed to walk home alone. In spite of their detour, Chad finds them anyway, and delivers the beating he'd promised Marshall earlier in the day. In an effort to stop him, Tamaya shoves a handful of mud in Chad's face, and she and Marshall escape. By the next morning, Tamaya's hand is covered in a weird rash, and Chad doesn't make it to school. Inadvertently, they've discovered a mutated version of what was intended to be a clean-energy source--but instead is a flesh-eating organism that could turn into a global catastrophe. 
 Middle-grade eco-thriller that raises questions about acceptable risks in technological progress, as well as putting aside history to help someone in need. Definitely worth adding to upper-elementary and middle-school collections.