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A review by dchaseb
I Funny by Chris Grabenstein, James Patterson
5.0
I Funny was a book that I chose for the kids in the after school book club I attend. While the humor is mostly elementary (of course it is, look at the targeted audience), there are still some funny jokes that found me laughing. The story follows orphaned Jamie Grimm who is a wheel-chair bound, hopeful stand-up comedian. The story contains the typical middle-school drama and situations of most middle-readers (bullies, cafeteria lunches with friends, girls) but Jamie's use of humor to get through these situations is unique. The main plot line follows Jamie as he tries to win a contest to be known as the Planet's Funniest Kid Comic.
The message of anti-pity is one I thoroughly enjoyed. It looks down on the "participation trophy" mentality in a way. There is an instance when Jamie is overjoyed to actually be bullied and punched in the gut just like any other kid with bully problems. To me, this is true inclusion. No special favors or pity points but truly treating everybody equally. This makes me like this book more than Wonder (which is still great, don't get me wrong).
The message of anti-pity is one I thoroughly enjoyed. It looks down on the "participation trophy" mentality in a way. There is an instance when Jamie is overjoyed to actually be bullied and punched in the gut just like any other kid with bully problems. To me, this is true inclusion. No special favors or pity points but truly treating everybody equally. This makes me like this book more than Wonder (which is still great, don't get me wrong).