Parents' Guide to

The Unteachables

By Mary Eisenhart, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Triumph, life lessons fill hysterical middle school romp.

Book Gordon Korman Humor 2019
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Kids say (2):

Gordon Korman's latest ode to middle school misfits is full of mayhem, humor, unlikely bonding, and meaningful life lessons. The kids in The Unteachables show unlikely ways of righting wrongs and making things better, and most of the adults in their world are complex and relatable -- even, momentarily, the villainous Superintendent Thaddeus, as he begins to suspect there may be forces in play he hadn't counted upon:

""No defense of a teacher should include a sentence that ends with 'fell in the river,'" I cut her off.

""The students didn't fall," she persists. "They jumped in because they thought they had to rescue Zachary (Kermit). Remember the kids we're talking about -- some of the most difficult and antisocial we've ever seen. But they're loyal to him. Why?"

"Twelve hours later, as I lie in bed, trying to sleep, that why? is still reverberating inside my skull."

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