Middle School, the Worst Years of My Life by Patterson (Audio)

Middle School, the Worst Years of My Life by Patterson (Audio)

Audience: Grades 5-7
My Rating: 1* of 5

Summary: When Rafe enters middle school, he teams up with his best friend, "Leo the Silent," to create a game to make school more fun by trying to break every rule in the school's code of conduct.
Comments: Middle School, the worst book about it! Patterson seemed intent on grabbing a piece of the Wimpy Kid pie, but forgot a crucial ingredient to its recipe for success: humor. Unlike Greg Heffley, Rafe is neither sympathetic nor entertaining in his escapades. Plot turns are predictable and characters are as 2-D as the illustrations throughout. In the end, I was too indifferent and annoyed to find anything poignant. Probably a great read for middle school boys--but I missed the point entirely.
Read-alikes: Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Kinney, You by Benoit

A Taste for Red audio

A Taste for Red by Lewis Harris. Listening Library, 2009. (Narrated by Jaclyn Gaines)
Audience: Grades 5-6
My Rating: 1* of 5
Summary: Svetlana Grimm thinks she's a vampire and when her beautiful science teacher, Ms. Larch, begins reading her thoughts Svetlana wonders if Ms. Larch might be a vampire, too? But the thrill of finding another of her kind quickly vanishes when strange "accidents" start happening. Svetlana is always the intended victim, and her teacher is always nearby. So if she and Ms. Larch aren't allies, then that means...Sunny Hill Middle School is about to become a very dangerous place for Svetlana Grimm.

Comments: A poor reading of a poorly written story. I was only just curious enough about where the strange plot was going to finish.

Awards:
Read-alikes: Vampire Island

Going Bovine by Libba Bray

What? Seriously, Printz committee!?! I quit listening to this contrived literati mess half-way through then skipped to the final disc and really didn't miss all that lie between.

This must be a love-it or hate-it book. I hated it. If you loved it, please explain.

Booooo....moooo....booooo. Did anyone on the committee even read Wintergirls???

1* out of 5