BREAKING NEWS

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Kid Konnection: The Loser List by H.N. Kowitt

The Loser List by H.N. Kowitt (Rated: V, cartoon violence)
Scholastic Press
ISBN: 978-0545240048
Published: March 2011
Hardcover, 224 pages

Danny Shine loves comic books. He reads them, draws them, trades and buys them. Danny Shine is what many would consider a geek, but he doesn't want to be considered a geek. Unfortunately, this gets thrown in his face when he ends up on The Loser List on the girl's bathroom wall. Trying to get his name off that list gets Danny in detention where he has to deal with The Skulls, a group of delinquents and bullies who rule the school. He makes some wrong decisions along the way and learns the value of friendship and accepting who he is.

The book's layout is fun and easy to read with a print font on lined paper resembling notes in a notebook. The main character's drawings are scattered abundantly throughout the book—some very gross and macabre and others funny. I can see how the book will appeal to middle-grade boy readers. My 10 year-old daughter read it and liked it saying, “It was good but it's a boy book.” I was convinced the author was male but it turns out I was wrong.

The author builds the story and characters well, almost effortlessly it would seem. I finished the book in one day and appreciated all the elements of a good plot.

I furrowed my brow at a few things, though. School staff isn't portrayed in a good light—incompetent, oblivious, and unfair. I understand this book has a cartoonish quality to it, but still, having worked as a special care counsellor in several elementary schools, I would like to think there is some control and caring in our schools.

Apart from this, I liked the story and I think fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid will enjoy this one.


I will count this book toward the following challenges: Middle Grade Book Challenge

Disclosure: Thanks to Nikole Kritikos from Scholastic Canada for sending me this book for review. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.

Every Saturday, Booking Mama hosts a feature called Kid Konnection—a regular weekend feature about anything related to children's books. If you'd like to participate in Kid Konnection and share a post about anything related to children's books (picture, middle grade, or young adult) from the past week, visit Booking Mama.

Share this:

3 comments :

  1. I love the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, so I bet I'd love this too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This sounds a lot like the Big Nate books too. I think we'd love it!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love that book! It is so funny and cool! I read it like 888 times!!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for commenting! I appreciate your feedback.

Visit Us Today

Visit Us Today
iRead: getting your book in the hands of readers
 
Back To Top
Copyright © 2009-2017 Laura Fabiani Library of Clean Reads . Designed by OddThemes OddThemes