The Unteachables

By: Gordon Korman

NPMS teacher bookshelf paperback 279 pages

Published: 2019

Genre: YA realistic fiction

I was subbing and saw this book on the shelf. It looked interesting and I started to read it. I got into it so much that I borrowed it to finish at home!

Some of Korman's work is too silly for me, but this one actually felt as though it was more geared to me as a teacher than to a middle school reader. Mr. Kermit is a burned out teacher just hoping to hold on until he can retire. The "unteachables" are eighth graders who are not successful in school and are being warehoused until they can be passed on to the high school (with the exception of Kiana). I liked that the different chapters were told from different points of view.

Page 12 (Mr. Kermit): "The first day of school. 

I remember the excitement. New students to teach. New minds to fill with knowledge. New futures to shape.

The key word is remember. That was thirty years ago. I was so young - not much older than the kids, really. Being a teacher was more than a job. It was a calling, a mission. True, mission: impossible, but I didn't know that back then."

It is so discouraging to lose that optimism, that sense of purpose and passion in seeing teaching as a mission. It's hard to maintain it over the years.

Page 45 (Mr. Kermit): "If that poor kid tries to teach middle schoolers the way she ran her kindergarten classes, her students will have her throat open by Columbus Day. I should sit her down and explain a few things, but that would mean I care. Caring is where the trouble starts - hard experience taught me that. I didn't make it to the cusp of early retirement by caring."

 

His cynicism was so deep! I'm glad he taught next door to Miss Emma Fountain, the daughter of his long-ago fiancee. She was a little too "Pollyannaish," but she was the spark to get him going.

Page 61 (Kiana Roubini): "Anybody who could put out a trash can bonfire with a cup of coffee and never mention it must have ice water in his veins - even by LA standards."

Kiana was an excellent student who only anticipated living with her dad and stepmom for a short visit until she could go back with her mom in LA. Her stepmom was over busy with a sick baby, so Kiana was never officially registered at the school! She found her way to Mr. Kermit's room and became one of the Unteachables. She had a unique perspective and great observations.

Page 75 (Mr. Kermit): "This used to be my favorite part of the day - when the students haven't come yet to ruin it. It's usually downhill from there."

I wonder if middle schoolers reading this even consider the teacher's perspective. The calm and quiet of before school are precious.

Page 267 (Mr. Kermit): "I've never ruined anyone's life, but apparently it's almost as hard on the messer as it is on the messee."

He's referring to his long ago student Jake Terranova. I'm so glad they were finally able to reconcile. This book was delightful.

Louise - Kiana's stepmom

Chauncey - Louise's baby

Parker Elias - provisional license, drives grandma to senior center, dyslexic

Christina Vargas - principal who remembers what a good teacher Mr. Kermit was before the cheating scandal

Dr. Thaddeus - superintendent with a grudge who wants to fire Mr. Kermit

Aldo Braff - redhead with anger management issues

Mateo Hendrickson - characters, imagination, 

Barnstorm Anderson - athlete on crutches, sidelined in many ways

Elaine - she didn't get her own chapter! She was smarter (and less violent) than anyone realized.

Jake Terranova - cheated majorly on a test thirty years prior, now a well-known auto dealer

Mixed Up

by Gordon Korman

Libby audiobook 6 hours

Read by: Christopher Gebauer and Mark Sanderlin

Published: 2023

Genre: YA realistic / fantasy

Why both realistic fiction AND fantasy? Because the premise of the story is that two boys (Reef Moody and Theo Metzinger) start forgetting their own memories as they are somehow transferred to the other boy's mind. 

The story opens with Reef, who is forgetting his mother. She died the previous year from Covid and he believes he is at fault for her illness. He is living with her best friend Jenna Helmer, Jenna's husband Will, and their three kids. The oldest two are barely part of the story, but Declan is the youngest . . . and two years older than Reef. He treats Reef horribly! But of course, Reef doesn't want to jeopardize his situation and end up in foster care so he just keeps quiet.

Then we meet Theo, who loves gardening and is averse to "Jaws," the rabbit nibbling on his flowers and working his way to the vegetables. His dad "ruled the school" back in his day and he expects Theo to do the same. Theo goes to karate begrudgingly, but isn't like his dad and prefers to keep to himself.

The story was interesting enough for me to want to know how it resolved and I generally enjoy Korman's stories, but this one bugged me. And the resolution at the end wasn't great! Reef not being able to remember his childhood experiences with his mom, his guilt over her dying of Covid being "his fault," . . . there were just so many things that bothered me. Ugh. Maybe I'm just done with YA fiction.

The Juvie Three

by Gordon Korman
Carver County Library audiobook 5 discs
read by Christopher Evan Welch
genre: YA realistic fiction

Gecko, RJ, and Terrence went to prison for different reasons, but Douglas Healy saw something in each of them worth redeeming. He fought for a special halfway house to help them get out of juvenile detention (and in RJ's case, adult prison). What happens to the "boys" when they are with Healy would give away the story. Suffice it to say, I really dislike Terrence and his propensity for selfish choices. Gecko was my favorite and I loved RJ! This was a thoroughly enjoyable story without being too goody-goody (yet doesn't have a lot of the ugliness that so many edgy YA books have). Delightful! Welch did excellent vocal work on this!

Schooled

By Gordon Korman
CMSW, paperback, 208 pages

I really enjoyed this! Nothing complex or deep, but a lovely little story. It's a lot like Stargirl, but much more lighthearted.

Capricorn Anderson has grown up on a commune with his grandma, Rain. When Rain falls and breaks her hip, Cap ends up staying with a social worker and her gorgeous but angry daughter. Cap has no clue how to function in a normal middle school and the results are both funny and endearing.