Common Sense Media Review
By Carrie R. Wheadon
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Fun story of the middle school trials of shy game designer.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
In UNBELIEVABLY BORING BART, Bart lives the dull life of the new kid at a Southern California middle school -- on the outside. Beneath this facade, he's a fighter of aliens that only he can see. They live in the game he coded called Hecklr, which allows the player to run amok around his new town zapping electricity-stealing aliens with creative insults. After he shares his game with just one person anonymously, it catches on at school the way game trends do. Suddenly everyone, including the bullies and some of the teachers, is pointing phones at invisible aliens and chasing them down. When a YouTube gamer channel comes to town to play his game live, Bart nearly cracks under the pressure.
Is It Any Good?
This book is the perfect bait for young video game lovers who dream, like Bart, of reaching their creative coding potential. While it's hard to believe a 12-year-old designed a game a lot like Pokémon GO in one summer all by himself, it's fun for kids to imagine such a feat. And to have everyone at school play it and love it -- even better.
There's a moment when Bart pretends he's really fighting aliens before he confesses it's just the game he invented -- that distracts the reader and makes Bart a bit less likable. But he'll earn readers' admiration again when he decides to keep his game anonymous and free. He's just a guy who wants a few friends at his new school and a connection with his dad, who's not tech-savvy in the least. As this shy coder comes out of his shell, Unbelievably Boring Bart shows a lot of heart.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Bart's social life in Unbelievably Boring Bart. He ignores his neighbor and kids during lunch at school to code and fix bugs. Are there times technology gets in the way of friendships in your life? How does Bart eventually come out of his shell?
Do you think it's possible for a 12-year-old to create such a complex game on his own over one summer? Does this make you want to learn how to code?
How does Bart explain his game to his dad in ways that will help them connect? Do different generations in your house share a love for video games? What game does Hecklr remind you of?
Book Details
- Authors :
- Illustrator : Xavier Bonet
- Genre : School
- Topics : Adventures , Friendship , School ( Middle School )
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : jimmy patterson
- Publication date : September 3, 2018
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 272
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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