 |
Reviewed by: Lisa Rice, Middle School Librarian Title: Slugfest Author: Gordon Korman
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Year: 2024 Good for Grades: 4-7 Genre/Type of Book: J humor, friends
Content Warnings, or things that other School Librarians should be aware of: No Recommended for a school library: Yes Reason(s) for choosing the book: I like Gordon Korman books and the way he incorporates real life/issues with humor with a good lesson.
If you were tasked by the publisher with writing a short quote for the back cover of this book, what would it be:
"Nothing can be that bad as long as you have friends to support you." -Annie, page 123
|
Review:
Arnie Yashenko, or Yash, is a middle schooler who plays JV on all teams except football, which is his favorite sport. Unfortunately, eighth graders can't compete at the high school level. He has missed his 8th grade PE class all year so he could do all JV sports and then finds out that he doesn't have the credits he needs to pass 8th grade. He will need to go to summer school to make up the PE credit by enrolling in PEE, the Physical Education Equivalency, otherwise known as Slug Fest, a class full of students too lazy to do PE during the school year. As Yash finds out, there is an interesting variety of students enrolled in Slug Fest- Kaden, the smartest kid in school has somehow found his way in, Fiona, the 2nd smartest kid in school is also in Slug Fest. She is on the water polo team but won't put her face in the water to pass swim class during the school year. Jesse is in Slug Fest as a punishment for cherry-bombing the boys' locker room. Arabella, the professional arguer, says, "They can't tell us what to do with our bodies! I haven't been to gym class since I left elementary school and what are they going to do about it?" (p.22) Mrs. Finnerty is the PEE teacher and is at least 70 years old and likes to bring in baked items to share with her students every day. The students are worried that they still are not going to receive PE credit because Mrs. Finnerty doesn't know anything about PE and instead has them playing tag, making pizzas, and eating baked goods. Arnie says that the only thing worse than being a slug is being a slug for nothing.
The book is told through multiple viewpoints- Arnie, Arabella, Cleo, Jesse, and Kaden's. There are themes and lessons of friendships, perseverance, working hard towards a goal, climate change, safety in football, who should be allowed to play on a sports team (kids who secretly live out of district but want a better opportunity?), and how social media can affect a community. Jesse decides to post a hashtag as a joke- #notoiletsnokidding- alarming the community that they are not allowed to use certain toilets anymore. Bathroom humor ensues. Yash has always been worshipped as the sports icon of Clarington but when he isn't chosen to be QB1 he is extremely upset and complains loudly. Some people are not impressed- Yash has always been worshipped and now that one thing doesn't go his way, he is going to complain about it. One common theme that shows up in multiple ways is fairness. I think there are a lot of good discussions that could come from reading this book. While this blend of Mighty Ducks, and the Bad News Bears isn't my favorite Gordon Korman, I liked it, and I think students will as well. I think athletes and non-athletes will find it funny and will find someone to relate to in the book and perhaps learn something from someone different from them. One of my favorite people was Mrs. Finnerty. I too, was interested in knowing if she really was a PE teacher and if the students would actually get PE credit! There are some laughs about the ridiculousness of some educational state laws, which I could appreciate! And the part about using social media to influence is so relevant today. I always appreciate Korman for sneaking in the big lessons.
Number of party hats:
Find resources for Slugfest on Teachingbooks.net
For more information about this book, see the publisher's website
Read this title in your BOCES SORA Account: