WARNING!!! DO NOT LISTEN WHILE DRIVING A CAR.
Donovan Curtis is your normal middle school kid with a tendency toward outrageous pranks. He gets into spitball wars with his best friends, broadcasts limericks over the school's PA system and (the best one yet) skips out of detention and whacks the school's statue with a branch only to watch part of it detach and roll down the hill and crash into the school's gym. With shattered glass showering most of the student body, Donovan learns he might have gone too far. The superintendent marches him into the office and begins The Lecture only to be interrupted by the arrival of the fire department. Donovan is told to leave and the discussion will continue tomorrow. Only it never does and in the meantime his family receives a letter notifying them he has been accepted into the gifted program.
What the perfect place to hide! The Academy of Scholastic Distinction is for kids with IQs in the stratosphere. The classwork is way over his head and he isn't too sure what a pneumatic schematic is but Donovan brings the robotic team together in a way that might win the championship. But he cannot out run the consequences of his past actions. What happens next pure chaotic fun.
I thoroughly enjoyed this Truman Award winning novel. The audio is done by several people but it does not detract from the story. Donovan reminds me of several guys I knew growing up so maybe that is why I connected with the story so quickly. The gifted students are portrayed with unique personalities that are endearing but shows how much pressure they feel in their lives. Does Donovan learn his lesson? Well, what do you think?
Six Degrees of Reading: The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate, Jake by Audrey Coulombis, Slob by Ellen Potter.
No comments:
Post a Comment