MMGM: Ungifted

I’ve been eyeing UNGIFTED at my library for quite awhile. 1. It has an intriguing cover. 2. My sons love anything about robots, but also love books about smart kids. 3. It has a fabulous premise—a “nongifted” kid ending up accidentally in a gifted program. 4. I keep hearing wonderful things about Gordon Korman from the other MMGM bloggers.  I had to check this author out for myself.

I’m so glad I finally did, because I love nothing more than a book that has a lot of humor and pathos, which UNGIFTED has in spades.

Here’s the synopsis:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Gordon Korman comes a hilarious and heartfelt novel in which one middle-school troublemaker accidentally moves into the gifted and talented program—and changes everything. For fans of Louis Sachar and Jack Gantos, this funny and touching underdog story is a lovable and goofy adventure with robot fights, middle-school dances, live experiments, and statue-toppling pranks!
When Donovan Curtis pulls a major prank at his middle school, he thinks he’s finally gone too far. But thanks to a mix-up by one of the administrators, instead of getting in trouble, Donovan is sent to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction, a special program for gifted and talented students.
Although it wasn’t exactly what Donovan had intended, the ASD couldn’t be a more perfectly unexpected hideout for someone like him. But as the students and teachers of ASD grow to realize that Donovan may not be good at math or science (or just about anything), he shows that his gifts may be exactly what the ASD students never knew they needed.

What I loved about UNGIFTED:

1.      A likeable, but flawed protagonist: The most memorable stories are ones where the character must change, because his/her flaws are hurting other people. Yet, these types of stories are incredibly hard to write, because who wants to read about a jerk for 300 pages? Donovan, while flawed, is incredibly entertaining, so you can’t help but want to stick with him to see how everything turns out.

2.      Humor. It goes without saying that this book is filled with humor. But it’s not just witty, one-liners. It is the type of humor that boys are especially drawn to, situational humor, which I think is even more difficult to write.

3.      Character Arc: Even more than how Donovan realized his importance to the robotics team, I loved even more how he realized how the gifted kids were his true friends. The theme of sacrifice and thinking of others was really well done—and unexpected.

4.      What this book says about the disparities in our education system and giftedness in general: In my state, there are no separate schools for gifted kids, so I found that part of the premise a bit unbelievable. However, I liked the contrast between the two programs. I agree that in our school system, too much is put on school smarts, rather than the social skills that Donovan possesses. The contrast in the two schools reminded me of the disparities I’ve seen between the wealthy and the low-income schools where I’ve taught.

A few minor quibbles: At times the gifted and even the ungifted students (Donovan’s friends) seemed a bit stereotyped. I also wasn’t sure how I liked the revenge theme at the end. But still, UNGIFTED is a very memorable read, very entertaining and even moving at times.

Have you read any funny middle grades lately? Now that I’ve discovered Korman, I’d like to read more. Any recommendations?

If you're looking for Marvelous Middle Grade suggestions, check out Shannon Messenger's blog.