Out of Patience -- Brian Meehl

There are so few people still living in the slowly dying town of Patience, Kansas that there aren't enough kids to form a regular baseball team. And even if there were enough kids, they wouldn't have anyone to play against anyway. That doesn't stop them from holding a World Series. 

A World Series like that could be the focus of another book. In Out of Patience, the Workup World Series is just a tiny, tiny part of the story.

Twelve-year-old Jake Waters is a fifth-generation Patience resident. His father is the local plumber who dreams of opening the American Toilet Museum. Jake just dreams of leaving town. Not just because the town is tiny and dying—but because Patience is cursed.

Over a hundred years ago, Jake's great-great-great grandfather installed the first flush toilet west of the Mississippi. One thing lead to another, and a fire-and-brimstone-type named Anders Cass called down a curse on the town—when the Plunger of Destiny returns, the final destruction will begin!

Jake's dad has a bit of an eBay problem when it comes to antique bathroom paraphenelia. The plunger returns.

Buried treasure, a manure farm, a hailstorm, a scary lady from the EPA and a tornado all figure in.

The writing style is very different, but the interwoven stories of different generations, buried treasure and short chapters reminded me of Holes. Brian Meehl's narration also occasionally made me think of Chris Crutcher—minus any swearing or violence. So—fans of Holes, baseball, and factoids will probably enjoy. 

Oh, and if you need a good hook for a booktalk, I'd say that a tornado hitting a manure farm would probably do it for most 5th/6th-grade boys.