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gabs_myfullbookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
This review (and others) can be found on My Full Bookshelf Reviews
A free copy was received from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review.
When I got a message from James Patterson about reviewing this book, I was ecstatic. James Patterson is one of my favorite authors and this book looked really good. When I began to read Middle School: Ultimate Showdown, I was not disappointed. This is a funny and relevant book PLUS it has some really awesome activities. Plus, you don't have to read previous books in this series in order to understand what's going on, which is especially good for me because I haven't read the first five books in the Middle School series. (Yet, anyways!)
Seriously, it's funny. Yes, the humor is suited for middle schoolers (if that isn't obvious from the title) but there were still things that made me giggle. Rafe and Georgia's sibling banter is hilarious AND accurate.
This book also contains important anti-bullying messages. Not just the 'traditional' school bullying, but cyber bullying as well, which I thought made the message doubly awesome, because I haven't seen a ton of books cover that aspect of bullying.
There are word searches, mazes, mad libs, and much, much, more to add to this fun book. Some of the activities were better than others, but I will say that I found myself doing a lot of them, even though they weren't designed for my age group.
The one thing I didn't like was the number of fart jokes. I get that middle school boys will probably NOT share that opinion, but the girls who read this might. I thought the number of them in this book was a bit much. There were also some burp jokes too, but not to the extent that there were fart jokes.
All in all, this is a book that actually works for both girls and guys. It was funny and a quick read yet still contained some great message. Middle School: Ultimate Showdown will be a great read for ages 8-12. (And even if you're older than that you can still enjoy it!)
This review (and others) can be found on My Full Bookshelf Reviews
A free copy was received from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review.
When I got a message from James Patterson about reviewing this book, I was ecstatic. James Patterson is one of my favorite authors and this book looked really good. When I began to read Middle School: Ultimate Showdown, I was not disappointed. This is a funny and relevant book PLUS it has some really awesome activities. Plus, you don't have to read previous books in this series in order to understand what's going on, which is especially good for me because I haven't read the first five books in the Middle School series. (Yet, anyways!)
Seriously, it's funny. Yes, the humor is suited for middle schoolers (if that isn't obvious from the title) but there were still things that made me giggle. Rafe and Georgia's sibling banter is hilarious AND accurate.
This book also contains important anti-bullying messages. Not just the 'traditional' school bullying, but cyber bullying as well, which I thought made the message doubly awesome, because I haven't seen a ton of books cover that aspect of bullying.
There are word searches, mazes, mad libs, and much, much, more to add to this fun book. Some of the activities were better than others, but I will say that I found myself doing a lot of them, even though they weren't designed for my age group.
The one thing I didn't like was the number of fart jokes. I get that middle school boys will probably NOT share that opinion, but the girls who read this might. I thought the number of them in this book was a bit much. There were also some burp jokes too, but not to the extent that there were fart jokes.
All in all, this is a book that actually works for both girls and guys. It was funny and a quick read yet still contained some great message. Middle School: Ultimate Showdown will be a great read for ages 8-12. (And even if you're older than that you can still enjoy it!)
jhandler's review against another edition
3.0
James Patterson contacted me on this site offering to send me a free copy of the book, so even though the book didn't exactly appeal to me, I accepted the offer and figured I'd write a review. I'd like to say that I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I am however giving it three stars because the book did not appeal to me personally, probably because it's meant for a younger audience, but I did overall enjoy the book. It is a very easy read and the funny characters, pictures, and reader interaction aspects of the book would appeal to children. I'd recommend this book to probably 2-5 graders.
paperbackstash's review against another edition
5.0
I received this copy free from the author/publisher for a review.
Five may sound like a high rating for a book of this kind, but for the age group, it's excellent. Plenty of writing, art, jokes, and stuff to do besides just read, kids should dig it. I think it would cater more towards boys myself, due to some of the crude humor, but girls should like it as well. It's told through two opposing points of view - Rafe, as the stylish and gross brother who hates just about everything; the sister, Georgia, who is perky, nerdy, and loves school with a positive outlook on life.
The two jibe and disagree with each other for about anything related to school, including Summer vacation, school dances, librarians, dress codes, bullies, peer pressure, extra credit, homework, and about anything else. Each side is shown with small art and told in a different style to designate who is speaking. There are a few cut outs - such as Georgias "fill in yourself" bookmark for the librarian. There's plenty of mazes, scrambled words, fill in boxes, and other arts/crafts/projects that tie in with the story going on. Besides plenty to DO, it's just cute to read and look at, with creative text and fun voices that should resonate with children.
I would recommend this for high level elementary school children (fourth and fifth grade), and sixth grade middle school children. 7th grade may be pushing on how much they enjoy it depending on the books and subject the kid likes. I think they'd enjoy the text part as humorous more than the activities by that age.
Five may sound like a high rating for a book of this kind, but for the age group, it's excellent. Plenty of writing, art, jokes, and stuff to do besides just read, kids should dig it. I think it would cater more towards boys myself, due to some of the crude humor, but girls should like it as well. It's told through two opposing points of view - Rafe, as the stylish and gross brother who hates just about everything; the sister, Georgia, who is perky, nerdy, and loves school with a positive outlook on life.
The two jibe and disagree with each other for about anything related to school, including Summer vacation, school dances, librarians, dress codes, bullies, peer pressure, extra credit, homework, and about anything else. Each side is shown with small art and told in a different style to designate who is speaking. There are a few cut outs - such as Georgias "fill in yourself" bookmark for the librarian. There's plenty of mazes, scrambled words, fill in boxes, and other arts/crafts/projects that tie in with the story going on. Besides plenty to DO, it's just cute to read and look at, with creative text and fun voices that should resonate with children.
I would recommend this for high level elementary school children (fourth and fifth grade), and sixth grade middle school children. 7th grade may be pushing on how much they enjoy it depending on the books and subject the kid likes. I think they'd enjoy the text part as humorous more than the activities by that age.
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