Common Sense Media Review
By Mary Eisenhart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Laughs mix with life lessons in strong middle school sequel.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 9+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
Life should be great for Ungifted Donovan Curtis, who's back in the eighth grade at Hardcastle Middle School after leaving genius school, but it's not, thanks largely to his SUPERGIFTED friend, Noah. Following the events of Ungifted, Noah is at Hardcastle also, despite his off-the-chart IQ, and he loves it, especially the opportunities it offers to do things badly (cooking! cheerleading!), because he's always succeeded effortlessly. But, since he has no social skills whatsoever, Donovan has to put a lot of energy into keeping Noah out of trouble. In the course of keeping Noah from getting beaten up by a bully, Donovan sets off a series of unlikely events that get Noah superhero status for a brave deed actually done by Donovan. Crazy doings ensue, imparting a lot of wisdom along the way.
Is It Any Good?
This fun and funny sequel spotlights the misadventures of a geeky genius in regular middle school and his friend's efforts to keep him out of trouble. Between the bullies, the cheerleaders, the robotics club, and the Marines, things are poised to run off the rails from the get-go -- and quickly do. Gordon Korman's Ungifted cried out for a sequel, and readers are lucky to get it. The kids are relatable, the situations both harrowing and hilarious, and through it all, the lead characters are trying hard to do the right thing. Really.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about middle school -- and why it's such a popular subject for stories. What other middle school tales do you know, and how does Supergifted compare with them?
Why might it not be a good idea to make YouTube your go-to reference for learning about something?
Have you ever tried to do something you weren't at all good at but really loved? How did it go? Did you get better with practice, give up, or do something else?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Friendship
- Topics : Family Stories ( Siblings ) , Friendship , School ( Middle School ) , Robots
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Balzer + Bray
- Publication date : January 2, 2018
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 304
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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