What do you think?
Rate this book
33 Minutes
Will Sam’s best friend turn out to be a bully? He’s about to find out in this “strong and refreshingly straightforward portrait of identity and shifting-friendship trials” (School Library Journal).
Sam Lewis is going to get his butt kicked in exactly thirty-three minutes. He knows this because yesterday his former best friend Morgan Sturtz told him, to his face and with three witnesses nearby, “I am totally going to kick your butt tomorrow at recess.”
All that’s standing between Sam and this unfortunate butt-kicking is the last few minutes of social studies and his lunch period. But how did Sam and Morgan end up here? How did this happen just a few months after TAMADE (The Absolutely Most Amazing Day Ever), when they became the greatest Alien Wars video game team in the history of great Alien Wars teams? And once the clock ticks down, will Morgan actually act on his threat?
Told with equal parts laugh-out-loud humor and achingly real emotional truth, 33 Minutes shows how even the best of friendships can change forever.
Sam Lewis is going to get his butt kicked in exactly thirty-three minutes. He knows this because yesterday his former best friend Morgan Sturtz told him, to his face and with three witnesses nearby, “I am totally going to kick your butt tomorrow at recess.”
All that’s standing between Sam and this unfortunate butt-kicking is the last few minutes of social studies and his lunch period. But how did Sam and Morgan end up here? How did this happen just a few months after TAMADE (The Absolutely Most Amazing Day Ever), when they became the greatest Alien Wars video game team in the history of great Alien Wars teams? And once the clock ticks down, will Morgan actually act on his threat?
Told with equal parts laugh-out-loud humor and achingly real emotional truth, 33 Minutes shows how even the best of friendships can change forever.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
79 people are currently reading
889 people want to read
About the author
Todd Hasak-Lowy
26 books44 followersVERY SHORT BIO:
My name is Todd, and I’ve been writing books for about fifteen years. I started writing books for adults, but now I write books for kids and teenagers, too. My most recent book is a middle-grade novel called 33 MINUTES. I’ve also published a short story collection THE TASK OF THIS TRANSLATOR and the novel CAPTIVES. In addition to writing fiction, I teach creative writing. I live in Evanston, Illinois (just outside Chicago), with my wife, two daughters, a dog, and two cats.
MUCH LONGER AND NOT NECESSARILY INTERESTING BIO:
I was born in Detroit and raised in its suburbs. I’m the second of three brothers. All of us were born in May. Other than my immediate family, the most important part of my childhood was going to Camp Tavor in Three Rivers, Michigan. Tavor is part of a Labor-Zionist youth movement called Habonim-Dror. After high school I spent a year in Israel living on a kibbutz (sort of a collective farm). I worked in irrigation.
I attended the University of Michigan as an undergrad. I majored in Near Eastern and North African Studies. I knew by around age 20 that I wanted to become a professor, and I knew that I wanted to study Israel and the Middle East. But it took me a while to decide which field or discipline I wanted to pursue.
I wound up settling on Comparative Literature. I attended the University of California, Berkeley for graduate school, where I started in 1994. There I studied Hebrew and Arabic literature, though by the time I was writing my dissertation I was only working on Hebrew literature. The weird thing about being at Berkeley, especially at first, was that I really had no idea how to study literature. My major at Michigan had been interdisciplinary, with an emphasis on history. I had always loved reading novels, but had never done so with much systematic instruction. Suddenly I was attending arguably the top school for studying literature in the world, and I was lost. My first few semesters at Berkeley, were, needless to say, difficult.
But when I started making sense of fiction (and narrative in general), the payoff was huge. I still remember, sitting in my younger brother’s apartment (both my brothers moved to San Francisco around the time I moved to Berkeley), reading some comic or graphic novel that was clearly in the tradition of R. Crumb or Harvey Pekar. I was amazed how the author was able to represent an entire imagined world, and that this world was utterly specific and alive, and that the author was creating all this through some remarkable combination of decisions, techniques, ideas, etc.
I guess that may have been an epiphany of sorts. It was definitely, for me, a before and after moment. I suddenly realized in some way, Oh, this [this=writing stories] is really interesting, and somehow no longer 100% mysterious, and so maybe I could do it. I had always had a creative impulse (one that largely manifested itself from a young age with my behaving like a clown), but I never had a form or a medium to work in. Now I sensed I may have found one. I started writing a few months later, with the help of two novels (Nicholson Baker’s The Mezzanine and Yaakov Shabtai’s Past Continuous). These two works, each in its own way, offered me very particular models for forging my own prose. My voice as a writer, such as it is, came out almost fully formed right away. Sometimes you get lucky.
During the second half of graduate school (graduate school lasted a LONG time, eight years), I worked on my dissertation and—when I had both time and inspiration—wrote short stories on the side. In other words, most of the time I wasn’t writing fiction. I was fortunate to be put in touch with Simon Lipskar, who agreed to become my agent after seeing a few of my early stories. He helped me slowly put together a collection.
In 2002, I relocated with my wife and daughter to Gainesville, Florida, because I got a job teaching Hebrew language and literature
My name is Todd, and I’ve been writing books for about fifteen years. I started writing books for adults, but now I write books for kids and teenagers, too. My most recent book is a middle-grade novel called 33 MINUTES. I’ve also published a short story collection THE TASK OF THIS TRANSLATOR and the novel CAPTIVES. In addition to writing fiction, I teach creative writing. I live in Evanston, Illinois (just outside Chicago), with my wife, two daughters, a dog, and two cats.
MUCH LONGER AND NOT NECESSARILY INTERESTING BIO:
I was born in Detroit and raised in its suburbs. I’m the second of three brothers. All of us were born in May. Other than my immediate family, the most important part of my childhood was going to Camp Tavor in Three Rivers, Michigan. Tavor is part of a Labor-Zionist youth movement called Habonim-Dror. After high school I spent a year in Israel living on a kibbutz (sort of a collective farm). I worked in irrigation.
I attended the University of Michigan as an undergrad. I majored in Near Eastern and North African Studies. I knew by around age 20 that I wanted to become a professor, and I knew that I wanted to study Israel and the Middle East. But it took me a while to decide which field or discipline I wanted to pursue.
I wound up settling on Comparative Literature. I attended the University of California, Berkeley for graduate school, where I started in 1994. There I studied Hebrew and Arabic literature, though by the time I was writing my dissertation I was only working on Hebrew literature. The weird thing about being at Berkeley, especially at first, was that I really had no idea how to study literature. My major at Michigan had been interdisciplinary, with an emphasis on history. I had always loved reading novels, but had never done so with much systematic instruction. Suddenly I was attending arguably the top school for studying literature in the world, and I was lost. My first few semesters at Berkeley, were, needless to say, difficult.
But when I started making sense of fiction (and narrative in general), the payoff was huge. I still remember, sitting in my younger brother’s apartment (both my brothers moved to San Francisco around the time I moved to Berkeley), reading some comic or graphic novel that was clearly in the tradition of R. Crumb or Harvey Pekar. I was amazed how the author was able to represent an entire imagined world, and that this world was utterly specific and alive, and that the author was creating all this through some remarkable combination of decisions, techniques, ideas, etc.
I guess that may have been an epiphany of sorts. It was definitely, for me, a before and after moment. I suddenly realized in some way, Oh, this [this=writing stories] is really interesting, and somehow no longer 100% mysterious, and so maybe I could do it. I had always had a creative impulse (one that largely manifested itself from a young age with my behaving like a clown), but I never had a form or a medium to work in. Now I sensed I may have found one. I started writing a few months later, with the help of two novels (Nicholson Baker’s The Mezzanine and Yaakov Shabtai’s Past Continuous). These two works, each in its own way, offered me very particular models for forging my own prose. My voice as a writer, such as it is, came out almost fully formed right away. Sometimes you get lucky.
During the second half of graduate school (graduate school lasted a LONG time, eight years), I worked on my dissertation and—when I had both time and inspiration—wrote short stories on the side. In other words, most of the time I wasn’t writing fiction. I was fortunate to be put in touch with Simon Lipskar, who agreed to become my agent after seeing a few of my early stories. He helped me slowly put together a collection.
In 2002, I relocated with my wife and daughter to Gainesville, Florida, because I got a job teaching Hebrew language and literature
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 176 reviews
November 22, 2013
Books for pre-teen girls dealing with friendships coming to an end are a dime a dozen. One girl likes makeup and boys, the other sports, etc. But the story of the breakup of a boys friendship is more rare, which is why I decided to read this book.
Sam is short, witty,and probably too smart for his own good. Smart enough to realize that his friendship with the suddenly very large and very different Morgan is not working out. And Morgan is very, very angry at him. How Sam deals with this makes for a humorous and very poignant story. Boys and girls should both enjoy it.
Sam is short, witty,and probably too smart for his own good. Smart enough to realize that his friendship with the suddenly very large and very different Morgan is not working out. And Morgan is very, very angry at him. How Sam deals with this makes for a humorous and very poignant story. Boys and girls should both enjoy it.
September 29, 2012
Overall, this is a very quick read, that is very entertaining and chronicles potentially the worst day in main character Sam Lewis's life. I think it is a great novel for boys age 10-13, and deals with things that boys of that age could be facing.
Basically, the novel begins when Sam is in Social Studies class, and we learn that he is pretty smart. Okay, very smart, but perhaps not the most socially smart. He is a small, nerdy guy, who has a best friend Morgan that is a large, not quite as smart football player. They are in seventh grade, in a middle school, and are drifting apart - because of their different interests, a new friend in town, and the fact that Sam is not popular and Morgan is. Because they are not the friends that they once were, and for a reason we don't yet know, Morgan has threatened to kick Sam's butt at recess (which is in 33 minutes, as the title suggests). In the meantime, many hilarious and ridiculous events occur, some before and after the 33 minutes. Overall, the book moves at a fast pace that keeps the reader interested and wanting to know more.
The back stories are funny, and the illustrations are also very cute and sometimes hilarious, which add to the overall flow and theme of the novel.
Thank you to the Goodreads First Reads program who sent me this funny and engaging young adult novel.
Basically, the novel begins when Sam is in Social Studies class, and we learn that he is pretty smart. Okay, very smart, but perhaps not the most socially smart. He is a small, nerdy guy, who has a best friend Morgan that is a large, not quite as smart football player. They are in seventh grade, in a middle school, and are drifting apart - because of their different interests, a new friend in town, and the fact that Sam is not popular and Morgan is. Because they are not the friends that they once were, and for a reason we don't yet know, Morgan has threatened to kick Sam's butt at recess (which is in 33 minutes, as the title suggests). In the meantime, many hilarious and ridiculous events occur, some before and after the 33 minutes. Overall, the book moves at a fast pace that keeps the reader interested and wanting to know more.
The back stories are funny, and the illustrations are also very cute and sometimes hilarious, which add to the overall flow and theme of the novel.
Thank you to the Goodreads First Reads program who sent me this funny and engaging young adult novel.
September 16, 2012
My UTMOST thanks to Goodreads and their First Reads program for allowing me to read and review a free copy of 33 Minutes.
I really liked the narrative structure of the book. It basically reads as a countdown working up to the point where Sam’s former best friend, Morgan, is going to “kick his butt”. In between, we get the backstory of what happened to cause their friendship to deteriorate. Also, along the way, we see these cute black and white illustrations, which, in my opinion, really enhance the overall story.
In sum, 33 Minutes is a great book about the transient nature of childhood friendships. It’s not often that a book really resonates with me, but this one brought back so many memories that I’d thought were deeply buried. I think a lot of kids are going to be able to relate to this book and I think it’s a must have for all school libraries.
I really liked the narrative structure of the book. It basically reads as a countdown working up to the point where Sam’s former best friend, Morgan, is going to “kick his butt”. In between, we get the backstory of what happened to cause their friendship to deteriorate. Also, along the way, we see these cute black and white illustrations, which, in my opinion, really enhance the overall story.
In sum, 33 Minutes is a great book about the transient nature of childhood friendships. It’s not often that a book really resonates with me, but this one brought back so many memories that I’d thought were deeply buried. I think a lot of kids are going to be able to relate to this book and I think it’s a must have for all school libraries.
November 6, 2012
This is not a book about bullying, even Sam Lewis, the main character, admits that himself. Instead it is the story of how best friends in elementary school can grow apart in middle school, and how that former friendship can go terribly wrong through a series of seemingly inconsequential events. Middle school is treacherous ground for the best of us. It becomes even more so when former best-friends evolve into a math-lete and a jock and added to the mix is a volatile trouble-maker who wants to break up the friendship. There is no sugar coated happily ever after, but a more realistic ending, which will nonetheless leave the reader satisfied. Highly recommended for grades 5 and up.
ARC provided by author.
ARC provided by author.
June 18, 2013
Todd Hasak-Lowy gets middle school for sure. His descriptions of the school and Sam's response to it were hilarious and true. He also got the MG boy voice down perfect. Maybe a little too perfect for me to love the book. It is very stream of conscious with Sam changing subject and going into flashbacks with little to no warning then zooming back again. Reading it reminded me of listening to my daughter or one of my students with this type of personality tell a story. After a while you just have to say, "Please stop so I can give my brain a rest and you can breathe. Thanks. It's an entertaining story though and I think kids will enjoy it for sure. (I was amused by the wise and understanding art teacher. Why in books is it always the art teacher?)
March 21, 2013
The title of the book refers to the fact that Sam Lewis has 33 minutes until he will get his butt kicked by his (former) best friend, Morgan. The story takes place in 33 minutes (and a few hours) worth of time, and I thought that frame for the story was clever.
The book is written in a casual/journal style middle school voice, but the descriptions dragged. The ending was also unsatisfying for me. Morgan and Sam do not have enough of a resolution to make me care about either one of them. The two never really have a good discussion that addresses why they aren't speaking to each other any more. That is probably pretty realistic, but it frustrated me as a reader.
I did like the food fight scene.
The book is written in a casual/journal style middle school voice, but the descriptions dragged. The ending was also unsatisfying for me. Morgan and Sam do not have enough of a resolution to make me care about either one of them. The two never really have a good discussion that addresses why they aren't speaking to each other any more. That is probably pretty realistic, but it frustrated me as a reader.
I did like the food fight scene.
September 28, 2016
Characters-
-Morgan Shurtz, Sam's ex- best friend. Now he is best friends with the new kid named Chris. Now Morgan wants to beat Sam up for rumors he heard about Sam talking trash about him.
-Sam Louis, is the main character in the book and used to be Morgan's best friend until Chris came into town. Now Sam is going to get his butt kicked by his ex-best fried.
Summary-
-Sam is going to get his butt kicked in 33 minutes at recess by his old best friend, Morgan Shurtz. How did they "brake up" you ask? Well it could be the new kid in town named Chris who is super rich. Morgan and Chris hang out a lot at Morgan kind of, ditches Sam. Now these kids are gossiping about Sam saying that Morgan is stupid, and things like that. Now Morgan is really angry and wants to beat up Sam.
-Morgan Shurtz, Sam's ex- best friend. Now he is best friends with the new kid named Chris. Now Morgan wants to beat Sam up for rumors he heard about Sam talking trash about him.
-Sam Louis, is the main character in the book and used to be Morgan's best friend until Chris came into town. Now Sam is going to get his butt kicked by his ex-best fried.
Summary-
-Sam is going to get his butt kicked in 33 minutes at recess by his old best friend, Morgan Shurtz. How did they "brake up" you ask? Well it could be the new kid in town named Chris who is super rich. Morgan and Chris hang out a lot at Morgan kind of, ditches Sam. Now these kids are gossiping about Sam saying that Morgan is stupid, and things like that. Now Morgan is really angry and wants to beat up Sam.
November 12, 2014
A serious look at the nature of friendships in middle school and the struggles of a young gifted mathematician to fit in. NOT!! Well, yes, it IS an examination of middle school friendships, but in a fun, snappy way. And it IS a look at the angst suffered by our protagonist, Sam, who happens to be very smart, but Sam's voice describing his trials and the unwinding of the events during the 33 minutes that Sam has to wait until his former best-friend Morgan kicks his butt, is entertaining to the max! Read this book just for the fun of it and make sure you don't stop until the giant Hollywood finish!
May 29, 2020
I thought this book was really unique and interesting. It was a good combination of humour and sincerity.
June 5, 2024
Not good at all. The plot was not easy to understand.
June 22, 2015
Summary (book jacket)
In exactly 33 minutes, Sam Lewis is going to get his butt kicked by his former best friend, Morgan Sturtz. But how did this happen just a year after TAMADE (The Absolutely Most Amazing Day Ever), when they became the greatest Alien Wars video game team in the history of great Alien Wars teams? Was it when the new kid Chris showed up and suddenly Morgan thought dropping a bowling ball on someone was fun? Or, when Morgan joined the football team while Sam became a star ArithmeTitan? And wait – who cares about that stuff. Is Sam going to get his butt kicked in 33 minutes or not?
My Comments
What is it about middle school? James Patterson describes it in his books as “the worst years of my life.” I don’t know if it is necessarily the worst years, but it certainly seems to be the most memorable years. Middle school is that transition period when children are turning into preteens, and trying on new personas as if they were new clothes. Groups are breaking up and reforming, friendships are shifting and values are constantly being challenged.
That’s exactly what’s happening to Sam in this story. He has always been friends with Morgan. Even though Sam is smart and Morgan is not, they grew up together, ate dinner and slept over at each other's houses, and most importantly played Alien Wars for nine hours straight one day, beating the game because of their awesome teamwork. But now, in junior high, Sam is the smart geek and Morgan is the football jock and they don’t hang out anymore. One reason for this is Chris, the new kid in the neighborhood. Two’s company and three is a crowd. Sam is now the odd man out as Chris purposely lures Morgan away with his cool stuff, a house with no grown-ups, and crazy schemes. This frustrates Sam, and in a rash moment he writes, “Morgan is so dumb” on a piece of notebook paper, folds it into airplane that is accidentally launched and eventually finds its way to Morgan. That is why Morgan is going to kick Sam’s butt at recess.
The story is told from Sam’s point of view, and he is talking to us, the reader. As things unfold, Sam reveals more and more of the back-story until we can see that there is more here than just a fight about the note. Who is at fault? The lines begin to blur and this adds to the realism of the story. Everything takes place in a single day starting with social studies class, and ending with Sam and Morgan in Principal Benson’s office. Each chapter counts down to the final minutes of the school day.
There are some really funny moments in this book, most notably a cafeteria food fight of epic proportions, but there are many poignant moments as well. When Sam gets all As on his report card his parents think he is perfect, but Sam feels anything but perfect thinking “what’s so great about being a midget with no friends who gets straight A’s?” When they ask him at breakfast how things are going at school, they don’t really want any other answer than “OK” because that would distract them from their busy routines. Morgan’s parents don’t acknowledge Sam in the principal’s office even though Sam has eaten at their house a couple of time a month since he was six. And finally, after everything is over, Sam tells Morgan, “we could still hang out and stuff,” and Morgan laughs.
This beautifully written book perfectly describes life in middle school. The characters are realistic and well written especially Mrs. Z, the art teacher who has seen it all and Mr. Glassner, Sam’s math team coach. The ending is an emotional tour de force. While sitting Principal Benson’s office waiting for his parents, Sam imagines several possible scenarios of how things might end between him and Morgan, each more poignant than the other, and then we are finally given the ending that Sam and the book deserve.
I haven’t been in middle school for over 50 years, yet this book brought back a rush of memories and feelings. I remember food fights and after school fights, and passing notes. I remember the anxiety of trying to find a friend group to sit with at lunch. I remember the heart pounding sensation of touching a boy’s hand or exchanging secret glances, while all the time trying to look cool.
I highly recommend this book for all middle school students and/or reluctant readers. At just over 200 pages, double-spaced, this is a quick read. There is also a bunch of cool illustrations drawn by Sam in his student notebook that really look like something a kid might write or doodle. Despite the fact that this is middle school, the only bad language is “butt.” No sexual situations, but there is a fight, and Sam does get his butt kicked.
In exactly 33 minutes, Sam Lewis is going to get his butt kicked by his former best friend, Morgan Sturtz. But how did this happen just a year after TAMADE (The Absolutely Most Amazing Day Ever), when they became the greatest Alien Wars video game team in the history of great Alien Wars teams? Was it when the new kid Chris showed up and suddenly Morgan thought dropping a bowling ball on someone was fun? Or, when Morgan joined the football team while Sam became a star ArithmeTitan? And wait – who cares about that stuff. Is Sam going to get his butt kicked in 33 minutes or not?
My Comments
What is it about middle school? James Patterson describes it in his books as “the worst years of my life.” I don’t know if it is necessarily the worst years, but it certainly seems to be the most memorable years. Middle school is that transition period when children are turning into preteens, and trying on new personas as if they were new clothes. Groups are breaking up and reforming, friendships are shifting and values are constantly being challenged.
That’s exactly what’s happening to Sam in this story. He has always been friends with Morgan. Even though Sam is smart and Morgan is not, they grew up together, ate dinner and slept over at each other's houses, and most importantly played Alien Wars for nine hours straight one day, beating the game because of their awesome teamwork. But now, in junior high, Sam is the smart geek and Morgan is the football jock and they don’t hang out anymore. One reason for this is Chris, the new kid in the neighborhood. Two’s company and three is a crowd. Sam is now the odd man out as Chris purposely lures Morgan away with his cool stuff, a house with no grown-ups, and crazy schemes. This frustrates Sam, and in a rash moment he writes, “Morgan is so dumb” on a piece of notebook paper, folds it into airplane that is accidentally launched and eventually finds its way to Morgan. That is why Morgan is going to kick Sam’s butt at recess.
The story is told from Sam’s point of view, and he is talking to us, the reader. As things unfold, Sam reveals more and more of the back-story until we can see that there is more here than just a fight about the note. Who is at fault? The lines begin to blur and this adds to the realism of the story. Everything takes place in a single day starting with social studies class, and ending with Sam and Morgan in Principal Benson’s office. Each chapter counts down to the final minutes of the school day.
There are some really funny moments in this book, most notably a cafeteria food fight of epic proportions, but there are many poignant moments as well. When Sam gets all As on his report card his parents think he is perfect, but Sam feels anything but perfect thinking “what’s so great about being a midget with no friends who gets straight A’s?” When they ask him at breakfast how things are going at school, they don’t really want any other answer than “OK” because that would distract them from their busy routines. Morgan’s parents don’t acknowledge Sam in the principal’s office even though Sam has eaten at their house a couple of time a month since he was six. And finally, after everything is over, Sam tells Morgan, “we could still hang out and stuff,” and Morgan laughs.
This beautifully written book perfectly describes life in middle school. The characters are realistic and well written especially Mrs. Z, the art teacher who has seen it all and Mr. Glassner, Sam’s math team coach. The ending is an emotional tour de force. While sitting Principal Benson’s office waiting for his parents, Sam imagines several possible scenarios of how things might end between him and Morgan, each more poignant than the other, and then we are finally given the ending that Sam and the book deserve.
I haven’t been in middle school for over 50 years, yet this book brought back a rush of memories and feelings. I remember food fights and after school fights, and passing notes. I remember the anxiety of trying to find a friend group to sit with at lunch. I remember the heart pounding sensation of touching a boy’s hand or exchanging secret glances, while all the time trying to look cool.
I highly recommend this book for all middle school students and/or reluctant readers. At just over 200 pages, double-spaced, this is a quick read. There is also a bunch of cool illustrations drawn by Sam in his student notebook that really look like something a kid might write or doodle. Despite the fact that this is middle school, the only bad language is “butt.” No sexual situations, but there is a fight, and Sam does get his butt kicked.
March 25, 2013
In exactly 33 minutes (after social studies and lunch), Morgan Sturtz is going to kick Sam Lewis's butt. Sam knows this because yesterday, in front of several witnesses, Morgan told him, "I am totally going to kick your butt at recess tomorrow." As the minutes tick by, Sam slowly reveals to the reader the events that led up to the threat of butt-kicking, and chronicles the unraveling of his best-friendship with Morgan. Along the way, he keeps up a wry and melancholy commentary on the bleak landscape of middle school.
When I pick up a book with "butt" in the title, I expect a certain kind of book. Captain Underpants. The Day My Butt Went Psycho. In some senses, 33 Minutes delivers as expected. There are food fights, dopy teachers, and all the trappings of schoolhouse slapstick comedy. Just beneath the layer of flying tater tots, though, this is a surprisingly poignant story of lost friendship and adolescent alienation.
The tension between these two tones works primarily due to the strength of Sam's narrative voice. He's the quintessential middle school outsider - behind his schoolmates physically and far ahead of them intellectually, he is puzzling to his peers and exasperating to many of his teachers. Since his grades and behavior are irreproachable, though, his emotional pain goes unnoticed, especially by his parents. Like many weird kids before him, he puts up a brave front of sarcasm and dry wit.
The other characters vary in complexity. Some of the teachers are caricatures, as are most of the students. We see interesting hints of Morgan's hidden depths, though all through Sam's fairly self-centered lens. Another kid, Chris, the troublemaker behind much of the Sam-Morgan strife, is basically a cipher and a plot device. We see enough of his background to guess at his motivations, but, like Julian in last year's Wonder, he's never allowed to redeem or explain himself.
Setting is disgustingly vivid. The smell of the lunch room is described as "bleach-and-tuna-fish air freshener." Descriptions of the rest of the building are comparably apt.
33 Minutes is a surprisingly strong book, and one that will be an easy sell to reluctant readers. I'm not sure it will show up on the Newbery discussion table, but if it did, I'd have a couple of questions for it. 1. Is Sam's voice too self-aware at the end? In the last chapter, it sounds more like the hindsight of Adult Sam than the foresight of Middle School Sam. 2. Do the cartoons take away from the narrative? They felt unnecessary to me.
When I pick up a book with "butt" in the title, I expect a certain kind of book. Captain Underpants. The Day My Butt Went Psycho. In some senses, 33 Minutes delivers as expected. There are food fights, dopy teachers, and all the trappings of schoolhouse slapstick comedy. Just beneath the layer of flying tater tots, though, this is a surprisingly poignant story of lost friendship and adolescent alienation.
The tension between these two tones works primarily due to the strength of Sam's narrative voice. He's the quintessential middle school outsider - behind his schoolmates physically and far ahead of them intellectually, he is puzzling to his peers and exasperating to many of his teachers. Since his grades and behavior are irreproachable, though, his emotional pain goes unnoticed, especially by his parents. Like many weird kids before him, he puts up a brave front of sarcasm and dry wit.
The other characters vary in complexity. Some of the teachers are caricatures, as are most of the students. We see interesting hints of Morgan's hidden depths, though all through Sam's fairly self-centered lens. Another kid, Chris, the troublemaker behind much of the Sam-Morgan strife, is basically a cipher and a plot device. We see enough of his background to guess at his motivations, but, like Julian in last year's Wonder, he's never allowed to redeem or explain himself.
Setting is disgustingly vivid. The smell of the lunch room is described as "bleach-and-tuna-fish air freshener." Descriptions of the rest of the building are comparably apt.
33 Minutes is a surprisingly strong book, and one that will be an easy sell to reluctant readers. I'm not sure it will show up on the Newbery discussion table, but if it did, I'd have a couple of questions for it. 1. Is Sam's voice too self-aware at the end? In the last chapter, it sounds more like the hindsight of Adult Sam than the foresight of Middle School Sam. 2. Do the cartoons take away from the narrative? They felt unnecessary to me.
Read
May 14, 2013This book came highly recommended to me from a trusted resource. Not only that, it sports four sterling blurbs from middle grade authors on the back. (Not that that sways me all that much, but four!) (oops, five - one on the front) I found myself falling in serious like with this book almost immediately. There are tons of books about the disintegration of friendship during middle school - almost all of them about friendships between girls. I was so looking forward to seeing male friendships explored.
The author seemed to get so much right, until he got two (or three, or four) things majorly wrong near the end of the book. I don't mind (too much) when adults/ teachers are treated like cardboard characters in books for middle school. It's forgivable if the overall story arc is compelling. But I screamed, "No, no, no!" when the narrator was sent to the principal's office after being knocked unconscious instead of to the ER in an ambulance. That would never, ever happen in any school I have ever worked in. Next, came shortly after, when said principal asked said student who was recovering from concussion to finger his possible attackers right in front of them. Again, never going to happen in real life. Not only do all three get sent back to class (yeah, right), but one of them starts a fire in science class enabling the other to beat the crap out the third. Of course, there are no teachers around supervising the evacuation because they are all stupidly moving their cars at the behest of the fire department and crashing into each other in the parking lot. NO. NO. NO. Forgetting the fact that school parking lots are designed around leaving adequate space for firetrucks, no teacher in his or her right mind would ever leave their students. Additionally, they would not lose control over the students. Please, please, please get the details right. I seem to be in the minority with criticism, but as a former ER nurse and school nurse sub as well as 15+ years of teaching experience, I cannot condone this act of literary license. It's cheap.
The author seemed to get so much right, until he got two (or three, or four) things majorly wrong near the end of the book. I don't mind (too much) when adults/ teachers are treated like cardboard characters in books for middle school. It's forgivable if the overall story arc is compelling. But I screamed, "No, no, no!" when the narrator was sent to the principal's office after being knocked unconscious instead of to the ER in an ambulance. That would never, ever happen in any school I have ever worked in. Next, came shortly after, when said principal asked said student who was recovering from concussion to finger his possible attackers right in front of them. Again, never going to happen in real life. Not only do all three get sent back to class (yeah, right), but one of them starts a fire in science class enabling the other to beat the crap out the third. Of course, there are no teachers around supervising the evacuation because they are all stupidly moving their cars at the behest of the fire department and crashing into each other in the parking lot. NO. NO. NO. Forgetting the fact that school parking lots are designed around leaving adequate space for firetrucks, no teacher in his or her right mind would ever leave their students. Additionally, they would not lose control over the students. Please, please, please get the details right. I seem to be in the minority with criticism, but as a former ER nurse and school nurse sub as well as 15+ years of teaching experience, I cannot condone this act of literary license. It's cheap.
August 20, 2014
This was a very slow start for me, and I carried it around for months, despite the short length. Finished the 2nd half in one setting. Story of 2 boys who used to be friends, and why one is going to "kick the butt" of the other. I liked the way is showed friendship naturally growing apart in middle school, and showing that was okay. The story was only okay, multiple fantasy scenes in the narrator Sam's head were confusing and did not add much. Might be a good choice for a school discussion on bullying and respect.
School Library Journal Reviews
Gr 5–8—Sam Lewis has been Morgan Sturtz's best friend all through elementary school. Despite Morgan's rise to popularity because of his football ability and Sam's small stature and securely cemented position as school nerd and math genius, he'd assumed their friendship would last forever. Enter new kid Chris Tripadero and an incident involving a note Sam scribbled in anger that remains unexplained for the majority of the book, and all of sudden Sam finds himself waiting in both fear and sadness for his former best friend to seek him out and kick his butt. At times mundane, as when readers wade through a slow-moving social-studies class, but with its fair share of high-stakes action, the novel does an excellent job of traversing the wilds of middle school drama. Sam triumphs in finding a friendship and love interest in fellow geek Amy Takahara, and his security in his own intelligence and worth is reassuring, but the heart of the story is the very real failure of his friendship with Morgan to survive the changes that come with adolescence. Occasional cartoon illustrations add some humor to the story, but seem unnecessary in what is already a strong and refreshingly straightforward portrait of identity and shifting-friendship trials.—Joanna Sondheim, Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School, New York City
School Library Journal Reviews
Gr 5–8—Sam Lewis has been Morgan Sturtz's best friend all through elementary school. Despite Morgan's rise to popularity because of his football ability and Sam's small stature and securely cemented position as school nerd and math genius, he'd assumed their friendship would last forever. Enter new kid Chris Tripadero and an incident involving a note Sam scribbled in anger that remains unexplained for the majority of the book, and all of sudden Sam finds himself waiting in both fear and sadness for his former best friend to seek him out and kick his butt. At times mundane, as when readers wade through a slow-moving social-studies class, but with its fair share of high-stakes action, the novel does an excellent job of traversing the wilds of middle school drama. Sam triumphs in finding a friendship and love interest in fellow geek Amy Takahara, and his security in his own intelligence and worth is reassuring, but the heart of the story is the very real failure of his friendship with Morgan to survive the changes that come with adolescence. Occasional cartoon illustrations add some humor to the story, but seem unnecessary in what is already a strong and refreshingly straightforward portrait of identity and shifting-friendship trials.—Joanna Sondheim, Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School, New York City
March 8, 2019
A seventh-grader named Sam Lewis has a former best friend, Morgan Sturtz, who has made it obvious that after 33 minutes, he was going to fight Sam. Morgan and Sam used to play this game called "Alien Wars" together, which caused something called TAMADE ((The Absolutely Most Amazing Day Ever) because they ranked themselves as the best Alien Wars players in history. How did these two best friends end up hating each other? Sam's immediate thought goes to Chris Tripadero, a new boy who was Sam's friend first and then became close to Morgan, cutting off Sam's relationship with both of them.
As his classes pass, it gets about lunchtime, which means it's even closer to the time the fight is going to happen. Sam was getting weird looks from Morgan and Chris, and he also just wanted to get away from the two, so he left the lunchroom by lying saying he needed to use the restroom. Instead, he went and talked to his math teacher, most likely because earlier in the story, it is revealed that Sam is extremely good at math.
A tiny bit after Sam gets back into the lunchroom, someone throws a piece of food, which started a food fight. In this food fight, Sam gets hit in the head with a salad bowl by either Morgan or Chris, but everyone is unsure who actually threw it.
The story continues on, but I won't include any spoilers.
The story creates more of a sad mood, making you feel bad for Sam, but still portray hatred for Chris and Morgan. Although, there are a few spirit-lifting moments like when a few supportive teachers, mainly Mrs. Z, who keeps him on his feet and reminds him that he is capable of anything and that there is so much beyond middle school.
The story can sometimes get a little off track and can get confusing, otherwise, it's a great, decently-paced book. I would recommend this book for about the ages of 10-12.
As his classes pass, it gets about lunchtime, which means it's even closer to the time the fight is going to happen. Sam was getting weird looks from Morgan and Chris, and he also just wanted to get away from the two, so he left the lunchroom by lying saying he needed to use the restroom. Instead, he went and talked to his math teacher, most likely because earlier in the story, it is revealed that Sam is extremely good at math.
A tiny bit after Sam gets back into the lunchroom, someone throws a piece of food, which started a food fight. In this food fight, Sam gets hit in the head with a salad bowl by either Morgan or Chris, but everyone is unsure who actually threw it.
The story continues on, but I won't include any spoilers.
The story creates more of a sad mood, making you feel bad for Sam, but still portray hatred for Chris and Morgan. Although, there are a few spirit-lifting moments like when a few supportive teachers, mainly Mrs. Z, who keeps him on his feet and reminds him that he is capable of anything and that there is so much beyond middle school.
The story can sometimes get a little off track and can get confusing, otherwise, it's a great, decently-paced book. I would recommend this book for about the ages of 10-12.
April 7, 2013
Sam and Morgan have been best friends since 1st grade, but now they are in Middle School and Morgan has a new best friend - Chris. Morgan is so mad at Sam he’s planned to fight him at recess. Sam, probably the smartest kid in the school, is very worried, because Morgan is bigger, stronger and seriously angry. This story about a broken friendship recounts a very exciting afternoon at school, plus enough back-story to see Sam’s perspective. The occasional notebook drawings describing life in Middle School are entertaining. The students are on the young side of middle school, so this boy book may be more popular with the elementary crowd than with the middle school kids.
Cross-posted to kissthebook@blogspot.com CHECK IT OUT!
Cross-posted to kissthebook@blogspot.com CHECK IT OUT!
January 26, 2016
3 1/2, but I am rounding up because it affords me the opportunity to talk about "Three o'clock High," a movie I pretty much loved when I was a kid and it used to play on HBO all the time. Because it is, essentially, "Three o'clock High" for the younger set, only instead of it being the j.d. new kid who wants to beat you up, it's your ex-best friend. You know, but funny. And, it's so cheesy to quote the blurbs, but I have to agree with R.J. Palacio that it's also a much more poignant take on things (*not* in a schmaltzy, didactic sort of way)than I expected, but with a resolution that feels quite realistic. I think this would be a great (and easy) title to booktalk and imagine it's going to be pretty popular with kids at the library.
January 12, 2015
In 33 minutes, Sam is going to get beat up by his former best friend, Morgan. They were the best of friends until middle school - that's when everything changed. Sam has developed a love of studying and being a brainiac, whereas Morgan is obsessed with football and gets embarrassed by how much he can't answer in class. When Sam throws a paper airplane in class that says Morgan is dumb, Morgan declares that he will beat up Sam after lunch.
In my opinion, Sam and Morgan are very much like typical middle school boys who have to fight to make progress in a friendship. They may not know why they're fighting, but they're fighting. Of course, Sam isn't interested in fighting and tries to think his way out of the mess, but the fight does happen (not in 33 minutes though!).
In my opinion, Sam and Morgan are very much like typical middle school boys who have to fight to make progress in a friendship. They may not know why they're fighting, but they're fighting. Of course, Sam isn't interested in fighting and tries to think his way out of the mess, but the fight does happen (not in 33 minutes though!).
September 13, 2018
33 Minutes, by Todd Hasak lowy is a realistic fiction novel told by Sam Lewis who has thirty three minutes until his former best friend, Morgan, kicks his butt. The majority of the story takes place at Wrangler Middle School where Morgan and Sam’s friendship comes to an end. The book is hard to put down once you started reading. I would recommend this book to seventh and eighth graders because it is more relatable to middle scholers and it doesn’t have any tough vocabulary. I enjoyed the book, but think I would of liked it more if I read it at a younger age. It met my expectations and over all I would give it an 9/10. I liked how the events unfolded and where unexpected, however I wish there where more important characters introduced to us.
December 30, 2012
As much as I enjoy receiving and reading Advance Reader copies, this just wasn't for me. But it is something I'd give to my younger self.
33 Minutes....is a story about two ex-best friends who've outgrown their friendships. Both unable to cope with their changing dynamic and with the addition of an out of control new kid, their friendship breaks apart.
Children will fight over anything. But mainly this is about a boy who in the face of adversity realizes in the end that he no longer needs his childhood friend.
This book by Todd Hasak-Lowy will be well received by kids and teachers. It's entertaining, well paced and it's themes are current, to the point and relatable.
33 Minutes....is a story about two ex-best friends who've outgrown their friendships. Both unable to cope with their changing dynamic and with the addition of an out of control new kid, their friendship breaks apart.
Children will fight over anything. But mainly this is about a boy who in the face of adversity realizes in the end that he no longer needs his childhood friend.
This book by Todd Hasak-Lowy will be well received by kids and teachers. It's entertaining, well paced and it's themes are current, to the point and relatable.
January 15, 2013
Sam and Morgan used to be best friends. But not anymore. In fact, Morgan has threatened, in front of witnesses, that he is totally going to kick Sam’s butt tomorrow at recess. Which is 33 minutes away. Sam is a really smart kid (and that's a fact, not just his opinion) but he will discover that he has a lot to learn about friendship. I really liked this book! Sam is a great character, and I feel like I got some real insight into male friendships (though I'd be interested if guys feel this is realistic). I love the way the book skips around in time, especially this wonderful scene at the end. This is a great book for Gordon Korman fans, and a great book to hand to 5th - 7th grade boys.
January 21, 2013
There aren't enough funny boy books that really nail the middle-school experience from a kid's (and a teacher's!) perspective, but this one truly does. And there are almost no books about guy friendships in middle school and what happens when two lifelong buddies outgrow their friendship. But when a book includes the funny and the sad into a book you could actually picture middle school boys reading, it makes a very special book. The boys will love the idea of a fistfight, a food fight, and all the drawings inside, but they will get so much more, and enjoy all 33 minutes for a long, long time.
January 6, 2014
Get ready because this is a book I won't stop recommending to people. This book was phenomenal, a total knockout. It's a funny, silly, but also very poignant look at friendships. The book is about Sam Lewis, who's former best friend Morgan is planning to beat him up in 33 minutes. Intercutting past and present, Sam looks back at their friendship to see what happened, how they came to this, and how he can avoid getting punched. As we change, so do our friends. I feel like this can resonate with anyone who's drifted from a friend or vice versa. I'll be thinking about the ending for a while. Just wow.
June 3, 2014
It's 33 minutes until recess. 33 minutes until Sam's former best friend is going to kick his butt. Sam isn't quite sure what exactly went wrong with his and Morgan's friendship and when it started to decline, but it's really in the toilet now. And even worse, Morgan is on the football team and is WAY bigger than Sam. Even if Sam wanted to fight - or knew how to fight - he'd have no chance against Morgan. How Sam's day unfolds, and how he manages to avoid Morgan (at least temporarily) make for an entertaining read. And really true to life! It's strange how one day two kids can be the best of friends and just a few weeks later the worse of enemies... Funny and realistic.
September 12, 2015
33 Minutes
33 Minutes by Todd Hasak-Lowy is a funny, and at the same time a real story of the changing of friendship. Seventh graders Sam and Morgan used to be best buds but as they grew up the further they moved away from each other. Sam is a small kid, he is CRAZY smart , but not very gifted with sports but on the other hand Morgan is popular, dig, and very gifted sports. Morgan is so mad at Sam that he threatens to beat him up at school. Sam struggles to find out why Morgan is so mad at him. This story flips back and forth from past and present so you can see their relationship before Morgan turned.
33 Minutes by Todd Hasak-Lowy is a funny, and at the same time a real story of the changing of friendship. Seventh graders Sam and Morgan used to be best buds but as they grew up the further they moved away from each other. Sam is a small kid, he is CRAZY smart , but not very gifted with sports but on the other hand Morgan is popular, dig, and very gifted sports. Morgan is so mad at Sam that he threatens to beat him up at school. Sam struggles to find out why Morgan is so mad at him. This story flips back and forth from past and present so you can see their relationship before Morgan turned.
February 9, 2017
Sam and Morgan have been best friends their whole lives but middle school changes it all. Sam is really academic and loves math and Morgan loves sports and struggles in school. Add in the mix a third 'friend' and their friendship hits a lot of obstacles. The story is funny and Sam is a great narrator. I like to think it is the next step up for reading from Wimpy Kid. There are some pictures but not as many as Wimpy and a normal sized font. It still has the humor and the relationships aspect. I especially liked the ending because it is real and shows that not all friendships may survive. 5th grade and up.
April 13, 2015
It's no secret that a break-up with a friend can be as painful emotionally as a break-up with a boy/girl friend; unfortunately, for Sam Lewis the break-up between him and his best friend will result in physical pain as well. Todd's use of time as chapter headings helps to build suspense as Sam counts down to the inevitable butt-kicking that was promised by his former best friend. This is a great read for anyone trying to navigate the horror that is middle school and maybe for those who work there as well.
Read
May 14, 2017Wagner Middle School, home of the Vikings. Sam the math geek and Morgan the football player actually used to be best friends, until Chris the psychopath came on the scene. Told in real time by Sam over the course of a school day, the life of a friendship flashes before our narrator's eyes as he waits for the appointed time at which his butt will be kicked by his ex-friend, with possibly even worse things to follow. Hilarious and painful in equal parts, and ultimately deep. (Psst, Wimpy Kid fans--there are funny illustrations!)
-Kate D.
-Kate D.
January 19, 2014
I liked this story a lot. It was fun, honest, and realistically true. Sam and Morgan used to be best friends until middle school and an incident ended all that. That Sam is responsible for the incident is clear, but what happened is not revealed until the middle of the book. The story is told from Sam's view and all occurs in just one short day with plenty of flashbacks; each chapter is just a few minutes of time. Everything from food fights in the cafeteria to an explosion that causes a fire in a science class move this fast pace story along.
August 17, 2014
My district assigned 33 minutes as a summer read from 7th to 8th grade. I would say the book was okay at best. The storyline of two boys who have grown apart was well written. It had enough humor and action that would keep students interested. Although it hints at bullying and the problems it causes a child, I believe the topics discussed were too juvenile for what many of today's middle school students experience. It is better suited for 5-6th graders who are entering middle school and should understand how friendship dynamics change as they grow.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 176 reviews