Tag: Gordon Korman

Read - Reading: Schooled by Gordon Korman (Scholastic)
Homeschooled by his hippie grandmother, Capricorn (Cap) Anderson has never watched television, tasted a pizza, or even heard of a wedgie. But when his grandmother lands in the hospital, Cap is forced to move in with a school counselor and attend the local middle school. While Cap knows a lot about tie-dyeing and Zen Buddhism, no education could prepare him for the politics of public school.
The expected, but very moving ending.

This is definitely toward the top of my list of favorite Gordon Korman books. It’s a great high concept plotline with some fun twists. It gets across a great “let’s all get along message” without being too corny or on-the-nose.

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Read - Reading: Schooled by Gordon Korman (Scholastic)
Homeschooled by his hippie grandmother, Capricorn (Cap) Anderson has never watched television, tasted a pizza, or even heard of a wedgie. But when his grandmother lands in the hospital, Cap is forced to move in with a school counselor and attend the local middle school. While Cap knows a lot about tie-dyeing and Zen Buddhism, no education could prepare him for the politics of public school.
Finished through chapter 17

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Read - Reading: Schooled by Gordon Korman (Scholastic)
Homeschooled by his hippie grandmother, Capricorn (Cap) Anderson has never watched television, tasted a pizza, or even heard of a wedgie. But when his grandmother lands in the hospital, Cap is forced to move in with a school counselor and attend the local middle school. While Cap knows a lot about tie-dyeing and Zen Buddhism, no education could prepare him for the politics of public school.
Started reading two nights ago; got through a few more chapters last night.

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Read - Finished Reading: Beware the Fish! (MacDonald Hall, #3) (Scholastic)
Macdonald High is having some serious cash flow problems. Everything is being cut back - evening snack is gone, the lab equipment is decrepit and the dorms are freezing at night. Worst of all, Bruno Walton and Boots O'Neal are being moved in with Elmer Drimsdale - the science geek. There's even talk of Macdonald Hall being put up for sale! Could this be the end of Canada's finest boarding school or do Bruno and Boots have a plan?

Brief review

rating: 3 of 5 stars

Clever little overlapping of three different types of fish. The B-plot with the detectives was well done amidst the usual antics of the Macdonald Hall gang.

Read - Want to Read: Unplugged by Gordon Korman (Balzer & Bray/Harperteen)
From New York Times bestselling author Gordon Korman comes a hilarious middle grade novel about a group of kids forced to "unplug" at a wellness camp--where they instead find intrigue, adventure, and a whole lot of chaos. Perfect for fans of Korman's The Unteachables and Masterminds series, as well as Carl Hiaasen's eco mysteries.
As the son of the world's most famous tech billionaire, spoiled Jett Baranov has always gotten what he wanted. So when his father's private jet drops him in the middle of a place called the Oasis, Jett can't believe it. He's forced to hand over his cell phone, eat grainy veggie patties, and participate in wholesome activities with the other kids whom he has absolutely no interest in hanging out with.
As the weeks go on, Jett starts to get used to the unplugged life and even bonds with the other kids over their discovery of a baby-lizard-turned-pet, Needles. But he can't help noticing that the adults at the Oasis are acting really strange. Could it be all those suspicious "meditation" sessions?
Jett is determined to get to the bottom of things, but can he convince the other kids that he is no longer just a spoiled brat making trouble?
📖 28% done reading The Unteachables by Gordon Korman

Another school-centric story. And again with alternating chapters from the different perspectives of the characters. It’s certainly a good way to breed empathy for the characters and also not a bad way to get the readers to identify with one or more of them along the way.

Book cover of The Unteachables by Gordon Korman featuring a cartoon image of a middle school desk and a trash can on fire

★★★★☆ Brief review of Ungifted by Gordon Korman​​

I think Amazon had a review that said if you’re a fan of Louis Sachar, you’ll love this book by Gordon Korman. I think that Korman has been writing great stuff for so long that it’s really more appropriate to say that if you love Gordon Korman, you’ll probably like a lot of Louis Sachar.

Like all Korman’s books, this one has a lot of heart. It wasn’t quite as laugh out loud funny as some of his other efforts, but it’s definitely got some great humor.

Typically I don’t like narratives that are told from multiple viewpoints, but Korman manages to pull it off incredibly well by starting each chapter with a title that uses an “Un-word” followed by the narrator and their IQ score. As a result we also get a much more nuanced picture of all of the characters which are incredibly well done.

As one of the “smart” kids growing up, I wish this book had been around to have read then, but it’s still great now and everyone is sure to appreciate it. While the protagonist is a boy, I really appreciated that there was lots of great female representation here.

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📖 Read pages 205-274 and finished Son of Interflux by Gordon Korman

📖 Read pages 205-274 and finished Son of Interflux by Gordon Korman

Pretty damn awesome! What a fun little read. Not as hilarious as No Coins, Please! but also some somewhat older and more sophisticated characters. There’s something that I love about not only just the “little guy” pulling one over on “the man” but it’s seemingly more fun when the “little guy” is a kid. These two books and the movie Kidco ( Twentieth Century Fox, 1984) create sort of a mini genre in which I wish there was more material.

Library copy of the cover of Son of Interflux by Gordon Korman