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:
- Restart
- The Unteachables
- Masterminds (♥♥♥♥♥)
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.