David Lubar

Adventure and science fiction aren’t exactly in my comfort zone, they’re genres I just occasionally dip my toe into and maybe it’s for that reason that this felt a little on the long side, but for the most part, I was entertained.

There were moments where I wondered at lead character Nicholas scarcely reacting to the increasingly bizarre situations he’s thrown into, like winding up in outerspace, creatures talking who ordinarily wouldn’t, being the target of a pursuit, etc., there was a lot of unusual stuff happening here and it barely phases this kid. I did at times crave a little more of a response from him to these strange events, but the actual intended middle-grade audience will probably have an easier time identifying with Nicholas’s ability to go with the flow than I do as an adult.

This isn’t a graphic novel, but I could see this potentially appealing to those readers with its light sprinkling of illustrations and the frequent and often quite smart laughs all throughout this adventure.

Since my reading sensibilities lean toward the emotional, the friendships were my happiest place in this book, I loved Nicholas’s bond with his gerbil Henrietta, and to my surprise, the author even had me sharing Nicholas’s fondness for Jeef, a package of ground beef, not only a uniquely memorable character, but one I cared about more than anyone else. They’re a group that I’ll look forward to catching up with in the other books in this trilogy whenever I’m in the right mood for a little something different.… (mer)

Scott Hudson and his 3 best friends are about to start high school... YIKES!! Scott has no clue what he's in for when the first day starts. He soon learns that his friends are all in tech-prep while he's in honors classes. He also finds out fairly quickly that upperclassmen are to be avoided, unless you want a smack in the head or relieved of your extra change. This book follows Scott as he navigates his freshman year of high school including: his mom's pregnancy announcement, his friends from middle-school drifting, his older brother Bobby seeming lost, his crush on Julia which prompts him to join too many school activities, gym class from HELL, and a few new unexpected friends....

I enjoyed this book way too much!! I say that because about halfway through I was laughing to myself and I realized that I was relating to this nerdy 15-year-old boy way more than I should. And is he ever a 15-year-old boy! The author totally captured the voice of a young male. Sometimes I would be all into it, and then he would say something completely gross and immature and I couldn't help but smile.


As Scott's life becomes more complicated, so does the choices he has to make. First his mom is going to be having a baby, his friendships from middle-school seem to be falling apart left and right, none of his after-school activities turns out as planned, and his crush on Julia just gets him in deeper and deeper. Then there is a suicide attempt by somebody in his life and it sort of puts things into perspective for Scott.


One of my favorite parts of the book is that since Scott finds out that his mom is having a baby right at the start of his school year, he starts writing "survival" tips for his younger sibling to follow when he/she gets there. It was really cute and even though he was trying to be a tough guy in most of the letters, he really wasn't really anything close to that. He calls the unborn baby all kinds of horrible names and tells it that all it's going to do is drool and puke on everything. But then he give it life lessons on girls, friendship, and high school, and tells it he's always going to be there for him/her. It was really gimmicky, but it worked.


I was really into the relationship that Scott had with his English teacher. Scott was a reader and a writer and sort of an oddball, so for him to have a mentor like that was extremely important. And I also think it's important for kids to see that these relationships exist. Not all teachers suck (just a few).

I was definitely reminded of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and was totally picturing the kid who played Fregley in the movie as Mouth.

Quotes I liked:
"See Scott run. Run, Scott, run. See Scott die. No such luck..."

"Meet the Hudson kids- one had split, one hadn't arrived, and the other didn't have a clue about where he was going."


I even think I learned some stuff too... like I don't think I was ever introduced to Tom Swifties before, but I'm sure I wouldn't be able to come up with as many clever one's as Scott did:

"The first quarter is over and we haven't scored", the crowd said pointlessly.

"I've been sliced in half", Tom said intuitively.




Overall: It was a realistic male POV of a high school experience. Definitely recommend to anyone who likes funny middle-grade type books. And for boys especially. This book shows boys that it's okay to like to read. It's cool to be smart sometimes :)

My Blog:
http://pinkpolkadotbookblog.blogspot.com

… (mer)

I laughed, I cried, I thought deeply about the deep-rooted racial injustice that our permeates our culture. Mostly, I love the book. Each moment feels real, and you experience it right along with Starr. It gives those of us who might not understand exactly what it feels like to be a black person in the United States a small glance at some of the emotions and experiences.If you know anything about how the US has handled police shootings in the past few years, you know how this book ends. And honestly, it's disheartening, especially when you consider that this is far from the last time a black person will be killed at the hands of the police because they're black. The end is sad, but the ending is so hopeful, and it's just what we need right now.… (mer)