Scholastic Canada
ISBN: 978-1443119207
Published Aug 21, 2012
Hardcover, 280 pages
I simply loved reading Gordon Korman
when I was a kid. So sharing this favorite childhood author with my
daughter is a real treat. We read Ungifted together and
laughed, giggled, snorted
and loved our time spent together among Korman's memorable and
hilarious characters.
Donovan Curtis is a middle school student who
acts impulsively and has a penchant for pulling pranks and getting
into trouble. When one of his innocent acts causes a major disaster,
Donovan is in big trouble. But a mix-up by one of the administrators
lands him at the Academy for Scholastic Distinction (ASD), the school
for gifted students. Donovan realizes this is the perfect hideout
from Dr. Schultz, the superintendent who is to dole out his
punishment. But the students and teachers at ASD quickly figure out
Donovan is not gifted at all, except he seems to have the gift for
helping the brainiac students in ways neither parties expected.
This book was funny, heartwarming, and
filled with surprising twists and turns—classic trademarks of
Korman's books. Donovan is an average kid with a good heart who is now hiding from the big superintendent who wonders where he's disappeared to. Donovan knows his days at the Academy are numbered since he can't keep up with the enriched program. The group of super smart kids he ends up befriending
realize Donovan's social skills and joystick manoeuvres come in handy
in their robotics class. After a few mishaps, and some humorous
problem solving situations, the gifted kids and the “regular”
kids rub off on each other.
My daughter loved this book. She
thought it cool that Donovan who was mediocre in school starts
getting better grades and the gifted kids started thinking outside
the box and became more social. My daughter also liked that every
chapter alternated with the point of view of different characters.
This is a feel-good book that makes readers appreciate friendships,
teamwork and the funny side of those momentous middle-grade years.
Note: This book is rated C = clean read.
Reviewed by Laura and daughter
Disclosure: Thanks to Nikole Kritokos from Scholastic Canada for sending us this book for review. We were not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.
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