Ungifted

Korman, Gordon. Ungifted. Balzer + Bray, 2012.

This book is hilarious along the lines of The Strange Case of Origami Yoda and The Wednesday Wars. Donovan is an 8th grader with what the school counselor calls "poor impulse control." He does a lot of crazy things without thinking about the consequences, which is why he smacked the school's statue of Atlas with a stick, which caused the rusted bolt to fall off, which caused the globe Atlas was holding to roll down the hill into the gym, causing thousands of dollars in damage. After the incident, Donovan is accidentally sent to the district's academy for gifted students, and hilarity ensues.

This book would make an excellent read aloud book for a class. The characters are likable and entertaining, and there are enough of Donovan's hijinx sprinkled throughout the book to keep even a reluctant reader interested. I am going to book talk this one to my students, and I'm hoping to get the Wimpy Kid fans interested, which might help them to expand their palette.

Recommended for: tweens, middle grade
Red Flags: a couple of minor violent scenes involving a school dance where a fight breaks out as well as a robotics competition where a child smashes a chair onto a robot's head.
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars