Tag: Gordon Korman

REVIEW: Slugfest by Gordan Korman

REVIEW: Slugfest by Gordan Korman

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

A group of 8th graders have to take summer school PE in order to move on to high school. Kids call summer PE “Slugfest.” The “slugs” this year are:

  • Yash – He thought playing on the high school’s JV teams in 8th grade would meet his PE requirement, but it didn’t.
  • Cleo – She missed three months of school for medical reasons and has to make up ALL of her classes in the summer in order to move to high school – including PE.
  • Arabella – She hasn’t been to a gym class since elementary school out of protest.
  • Kaden – He also skipped gym all year, but for different reasons.
  • Fiona – She refuses to put her face in the water even though she CAN swim, so she “failed” the swim unit and has to retake PE.
  • Stuart and Sarah – Twins who seem to be trying to kill each other every day, not just in PE.
  • Jesse – The prank king is in summer PE as punishment.

And their “coach” is Mrs. Finnerty, a former 2nd grade teacher who is old enough to have had Fi’s DAD as a student!

As Yash watches his summer slip away while he tries to make the best of a bad situation that wasn’t his fault, he keeps his eye on the prize of being QB of the high school team when PE is over. But that goal starts to slip away too – and he begins to wonder if any of his sacrifice and “good attitude” has even been worth it.

Review

If you are EVER looking for a great middle grade book, I think you can blindly pick up any book from Gordon Korman and feel confident with your choice. He writes kids – and teachers – you will love. Some of my favorites of his books are:

And now, Slugfest. This was great! I loved watching the Slugs come together over the course of the story. While they were different and quirky, none were off-putting to the point of making the book hard to enjoy (which has happened to me with other books – but NOT this one!).  And when the group starts clicking and becoming a team, it’s even more enjoyable. Yash is an especially likeable character. While he’s really been unfairly treated and is at the mercy of the adults he trusted who have made things worse, he never becomes “that kid.” He’s frustrated and disappointed and angry. But he also works through that with maturity.

This would make a fantastic classroom read aloud or book group selection where kids can talk about teams, friendship, handling disappointment, etc.. There’s a ton here to love. Highly recommend.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ = Great! Might re-read.

REVIEW: The Unteachables by Gordon Korman

REVIEW: The Unteachables by Gordon Korman

Posted on by Jaymie

[I won an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in an online contest. Thanks to the publisher, Balzer + Bray, for the opportunity to read this book. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Mr. Zachary Kermit is counting down the days until he is eligible for early retirement. He used to be an exceptional teacher. But in 1992, a student – Jake Terranova – sold answers to a national standardized test to his peers. When the students scored well, the principal, Dr. Thaddeus, soaked in the accolades. When the cheating was discovered, Jack was suspended and Thaddeus blamed Mr. Kermit for the scandal. Mr. Kermit was the scapegoat. He kept his job, but he lost his fiancée and the fire he had for teaching.

Dr. Thaddeus, now the superintendent, is determined to push Mr. Kermit out before he can qualify for his retirement. So Mr. Kermit is assigned to the self-contained 8th grade class known as The Unteachables. This misfit group of kids is notorious. They’ve been shuffled to a corner of the building with hope that the kids won’t cause any trouble for the rest of the school. Kermit knows part of the problem is the school’s – they’ve failed to intervene on behalf of these kids for two years already. But he’s content to babysit them, drinking coffee and doing crosswords, until the school year comes to an end. But an unexpected student sees things in Mr. Kermit that he might have forgotten. And maybe those qualities can make all the difference for The Unteachables.

Review

This is such a great school story!! I love changing perspective stories like this one. This includes adult perspectives, not just the kids, which sets this apart from other books like this. And the adult perspectives are great and really essential to the story.

Mr. Kermit is the character who changes the most throughout the course of the book. And that sets this story apart, too. The reader can see Mr. Kermit fight for his students from the beginning. He’s burned out and beaten down. He’s just biding his time. Yet he still knows that dumping The Unteachables in a dark corner for a year until they can be the high school’s problem is wrong. And he says so. That spark of justice – of being a voice for the voiceless – is what starts to draw his students to him. When the kids recognize this quality in Mr. Kermit, they respond to it and start to change, too. And that’s where the story gets magical.

This was a delight from start to finish. I loved the characters and found the story inspirational. Another treat from Gordon Korman. Highly recommend.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Restart by Gordon Korman

REVIEW: Restart by Gordon Korman

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Chase, Aaron and Bear rule the school. Championship football players. Bullies. And Chase is the leader of the pack.

But Chase fell off his roof and hit his head. After being in a coma for several days, Chase is awake but he has no memory of who he is. He doesn’t even recognize his own mother.

Brendan, Shosh’anna, Joel and other kids know exactly who Chase is. He’s a tormentor. He’s arrogant. He feels entitled to do whatever he wants. He doesn’t even care that Joel had to go away to boarding school because of the bullying. He’s resentful about having community service because of the stunt he pulled on Joel.

At least, that’s the OLD Chase. The new Chase is different. He befriends Brendan. He joins the video club. Chase goes to the nursing home to help even though he’s been excused from community service. He connects with the grumpiest guy there. New Chase seems great – but can he be trusted?

Review

Wow, this is a great story!! At its core is the question of where character comes from. And that’s not really answered, but this book will make you think about it.

I love the characters. The reactions to new Chase are mistrustful and hesitant. And they should be! And Chase questions his own transformation. He wonders if the old Chase is still inside him somewhere. There are no easy, quick solutions which is something else that makes this awesome.

I love that every person in orbit around Chase has to examine his/her perception of him. Some want the old Chase back. Some want to run the old Chase through a wood chipper! The journey to see how it all works out was terrific!

A great book on bullying to read at home or at school. Joel’s description in the story of being bullied is worth discussing at length with kids. So well done!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥