Published by Balzar + Bray, 2012
Korman's dive into middle school robotics skates by some flaws to deliver a mildly heart-warming story about a trouble-maker named Donnie who turns the definition of "gifted" on its head. After a prank gone wrong, Donnie is inadvertently enrolled in the Academy for Scholastic Distinction, a school for intelligently gifted children of the district. The teachers and students all know that Donnie is not traditionally gifted, but the case is made in nearly every chapter that Donnie is socially gifted. However, few teachers fail to recognize Donnie's giftedness and appear to be out to "get" him, a failure on Korman's part to portray today's schoolteachers in a positive and encouraging light.
Ungifted is fascinating in its discussions about robotics; it is indeed an entirely competitive world of its own, and the ending could have done with more description about the culminating competition. While Korman's handling of the ending is unsettling and unsatisfactory, at best, readers can be assured that overall Ungifted is a book that one can recommend with no reservations to a middle school student. Korman writes about bullying, fitting in, and the pressures of adolescence without resorting to unsavory elements like so many other novels.
No comments:
Post a Comment