The Misadventures of Max Crumbly 1: Locker Hero

Misadventures of Max Crumbly #1

by Rachel Renée Russell

A brand-new series from #1 bestselling Dork Diaries author Rachel Renee Russell! Introducing Max Crumbly!

Max is about to face the scariest place he’s ever been—South Ridge Middle School! He has been home-schooled by his grandmother until now, and he’s begged his parents to finally let him start attending public middle school. He’s starting to question that choice, though, with the Thomas Silver Problem. As in, Thomas Silver keeps stuffing Max in his locker.

If only Max could be like the hero in all the comics he likes to read—or the ones he draws—and magically escape the locker and defeat Tommy. Unfortunately, Max’s uncanny, almost superhuman ability to smell pizza from a block away won’t exactly save any lives or foil bad guys. But that doesn’t mean Max won’t do his best to be the hero his school needs!

Genres: Middle Grade, Humor, Childrens, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Graphic Novels, School

293 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 19, 2016

About the author

Rachel Renee Russell is the #1 New York Times Best Selling author of the book series, DORK DIARIES, and the upcoming, THE MISADVENTURES OF MAX CRUMBLY to be released on June 7, 2016.

For more about Nikki's world visit www.DorkDiaries.com

For more about Max's world visit www.MaxCrumbly.com

Reviews

[Josh Newhouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son and I raced through from start to finish! 9 and significantly more than 9 both loved it right to the "you gotta be kidding me" cliffhanger ending! Gah! Fun!

[Amy T · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't stand the cliffhanger!

Anyway, I love RRR's books. I think they're fun (even if some might argue I'm way too old for them) and I surprisingly found Max to be quite relatable, with his panic attacks and anxious behavior. I can't wait until the next one. (As well as the next Dork Diaries!)

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

me: 3.5 stars
son (age 10): 3.5 stars
daughter (age 5): 5 stars

My son really enjoyed this one, and I also thought it was one of the better recent audio book choices for listening to with the kids. There was a lot of middle school social angst infused with humor and awkward situations. And the raps the MC thinks up were pretty funny. Although the MC's catchphrase "...which was wrong on SO many levels..." got our eyes rolling halfway through the book because he used it so much, it became funny by the end.

ETA: My kid's personal ratings. Apparently my daughter "loved it" because the MC mentioned almost pooping his pants a couple of times while in a stressful situation. Kids...

Also, I'm going to round this up to 4 stars because the voices and rap were well done, and the story really did hold both the kid's and my attention.

[chev ۫ ꣑ৎ · Rating 2 out of 5]

chev's (another) short summary
- why do I find this similar to dork diaries?
- the plot is almost the same
- quite mundane in terms of excitement
2/5

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[Nikki Naddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comicromane sind toll, dieser hier ist anders als Gregs Tagebuch. Was mir nur nicht gefällt ist der Kraftausdruck im Titel. Max Crumbly ist extrem spannend und geht schon Richtung Krimi, veranschaulicht aber gleichzeitig wie es so in Schulen abläuft. Konnte manche Dinge direkt vorher sehen. Das Ende bleibt spannend und offen, sodass man hofft es erscheint bald ein 2. Band

[Sanja_Sanjalica · Rating 3 out of 5]

It started as a book about preteen life and a story about bullying, which was a pretty strong one, and then suddenly turned to a Die Hard for kids, seemed like somebody stitched two different books together, which was quite disappointing. I mean, the action wasn't bad, it was silly and surreal sometimes, but it completely changed the tone of the book from dealing with a serious problem in a comprehensible way it should be dealt with to some Kick-Ass/Frozen/Home Alone homage. Despite the cliffhanger, I probably won't read the sequel.

[Mehsi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wellll.... this was totally not what I had expected. :|

What I had expected stuff about Middle School, about Max, about the girl he likes (Erin is such a sweet girl), about this bully he is trying to avoid (bleh to that guy), but instead about 180 pages of this book are about Max, in a locker, and oh yes, burglars. :| Yes, 180 pages of absolute boring stuff that is probably supposed to be all exciting but that didn't fit with the book at all.

It did start pretty decent, sure I wasn't all too happy with all the superhero stuff, but later I got used to it, and it was quite a bit fun to see it happen. Then again, I can't really imagine a guy his age acting like that. From what I remember from my school years boys generally were interested in superhero stuff, but weren't so into it that they wanted to actually wear an outfit, and become one. Well, if it fitted. For instance, it totally was bleh during the burglar stuff and it looked really out of place.

The bullying stuff was a bit meh (especially since it happened because of a small, unfortunate, accident), and I kept hoping that Max would find the guts to just tell someone about it (and no not Erin), but instead he keeps it to himself, and why? Because he is afraid his parents will pull him from school. Really? Ever heard of talking, maybe even with a counsellor of school present to help out? But I guess talking is for old people.

And yes, that was also my problem with Max, he was an interesting character, but I just got tired of him whining about his family, about his life, all the time. He even mentioned putting them in the garbage, or punching them. What? Why? I know I didn't always like my parents back when I was that age, but to throw them away? Hit them? No. Just no.

I am also wondering why his parents don't keep a better eye out on the little brother. There were just various things that didn't make sense and just screamed bad parenting.

Also really, your comic book is more important to you than to call the police? Whut? I know that comic book is expensive and all, but aren't you in danger? Urgh.

Oh and of course he doesn't want to call the police, and why? Well easy reason: his parents. *rolls eyes*

Oh and to top it off.... the story ends with a cliffhanger so that means we will have many more pages about this burglary to go in the next book. Yay! :|

There were also references to Dork Diaries (Brandon is Max's friend, there is mention of Nikki). I quite like that the author added this to the mix. Max is a new character, but everyone is apparently living in the same city/place.

So yeah, I am not impressed with this book, and very disappointed. I had hoped for a new series to enjoy as I didn't enjoy the other series by this author any more (it just kept being the same story over and over again with meh characters). Wouldn't recommend this book.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com

[Cherie W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Max Crumbly was introduced in the 10th Dork Diaries book, and this is his very own series.
Max consideres his school to be the "scariest place his ever been" due to a school bully, Doug Thurston, otherwise known as "Thug" Thurston. Thug likes to stuff Max into his locker, and then get him basically stuck in there. when Max gets stuck in his locker right before school begins, he pretty much can't get out. He is in the middle of the period, so he really can't do anything. No one's walking around, waiting for him, so he is stuck. But then, Erin Madison, a smart and cute girl, (And did I mention that she's Max's crush?) stops by and gets him out. But his troubles don't end there. He gets locked in his locker(AGAIN!) by (yep) Thug (Fine, whatever, Doug) Thurston. And this time, since it's after school, he actually doesn't get out. Everyone else is gone, and the janitor doesn't hear him because he's listening to some song through his earbuds (ARGH!!) and Max is stuck in his (tiny, squishy)locker for a THREE DAY WEEKEND. No one comes to rescue him. He stays there over night, and then finally breaks the wall behind it and looks for a way out. He crawls through vents and then sees that there are three burglars robbing the school! What the heck? I mean, this is totally off topic, but who robs a school? You'd have to be, like, LITERALLY broke for something like that. Seriously! These guys have problems! Major ones. Anyway, Max ends up getting found by the burglars in the vent above them, and he is basically being chased all over the school by burglars. A lot of crazy stuff happens(I mean, I can't tell you everything and it's totally not because I'm too lazy and it's only, as in for the sole reason of it being a total spoiler alert and it would also ruins the exciting feeling of reading what will happen). He "somehow" ends up getting Erin's cell phone, and they make a plan. He will go to the principals office and find a little something (Can't tell you!) so that Erin can do something(Can't tell you this either!) and then they can catch the burglars. Max finds a little board on wheels so he can move faster in the vents, and he thought it was realy cool. After all, it meant that he could get from one end of the school to the other in 60 seconds! And at the very end, maybe a disaster will happen, or maybe everything will be good....
YOU NEVER KNOW!!

I really enjoyed this book. It was fun and exciting to read, and it was absolutely hilarious! It was so funny, and everything is way unexpected! People who like Dork Diaries, Diary of a WImpy Kid, Planet Tad, and any other series about a kid in middle school will love this book!

[Aswathy menon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was WAY more dramatic than what I was expecting. It also had me laughing from the start. Max crumbly is kind of an adorable geek. The cliffhanger was SO annoying though! But then ,Max did warn us about it. I cant wait to read the next book!!!!!!!

[Hildaguard Houdini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh man I really NEED the sequel the cliffhanger is unbearable it even warned me at the start of the book. I love how it links up with the original series. Awesome.

[Nayuleska · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was intrigued as to how Rachel would work a boy themed book, and it's good (more in a bit) but I don't love it as much as Dork Diaries. That's not just because it's about a boy, as I've read some other books recently which I adores. Maybe it was because it kept a similar style/format with illustrations as Dork Diaries. I missed all of Nicki's exclamation marks. Max had some, but not as many. He didn't have a sidekick friend either – Erin doesn't feature for a lot of the story (the character rather than Rachel's daughter). However, there is a lot of serious danger, as well as the usual humour which comes with Rachel's work. It's that danger which had me hooked, and the cliffhanger ending is absolutely EVIL!!!!! It means I definitely will be reading book 2, that's for sure!

On to what I love about the book. I love the illustrations which have a unique style which I love thanks to Dork Diaries. I do love the reality feel of Max's adventure, which gets scary rather fast. I love how Brandon from Dork Diaries is worked into Max's life – having a slight crossover for the wellknown series adds a sense of familiarity, even though it's a totally different school. Technology is used well as plot points, there's some ridiculous scenarios for humour, and some heart in mouth moments which I think are greater than similar plot points in Dork Diaries. Please be careful if you eat or drink while reading this book, there's one part where you may be put off your food. I thankfully wasn't eating at the time of the part where poor Max suffers. Overall it's a great read, and I can see potential for all readers to enjoy it for different reasons.


I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review on my blog Nayu's Reading Corner http://nayusreadingcorner.blogspot.co...

[Gavin Abdollahi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This sucked.
Even though I'm a boy, I really enjoyed Ms. Russel's Dork Diaries series. Not just enjoyed, I loved it.
But this?
This was just... Sad.

I've really been wanting to read this for quite a few months now, and was looking forward to it.
Why'd I hate it?
'Cuz it was just too surreal.

Before reading this, my sister had already read it, and I heard her synopsis of the story while she was retelling it to Dad. Her synopsis sounded ridiculous.
She said that it was 'cuz the book told it better, but...
The plot was really just ridiculous.
Seriously. A kid getting locked in his locker, only to break down its back wall, escape into the boiler room, climb into the vents, spot and get discovered by a robbers trying robbing their school... It was ridiculous!
And that cliff hanger that everyone was ranting about?

SUCKED

Well, of course, it was written for young boys, so this review may be too extreme...

Though, the art was quite good.

Hope the next books are better.

[Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is good book to read when you need a break and just to distract yourself from everyday activities. It is very funny, and although there are many similar book to this book, I liked this one specifically becuase it sort of connects with another book series that I really like. It uses references and even some characters from that book series (Dork Diaries) in this one. I like how it shows a different perspective on people, and how its written in a relatable way. I also really like how its written like a diary so it isn't from the third-person point of view. In my opinion this is a very fun book to read that is distracting and entertaining.

[Ozo Grenier · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is hilarious. I hate the cliff hanger bit.

[Jenny (knasentjej) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here you can read my review in Swedish: https://jennyjag.wordpress.com/2016/1...

[Ria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rachel Renée Russell is de auteur van de serie ‘Dagboek van een muts’. De avonturen van Max Kruimel, superheld op sokken is haar nieuwe serie. Sinds kort zit Max op de middelbare school en
het is al snel duidelijk dat hij zijn plaats nog moet vinden.

Tijdens het lezen van het boek blijkt dat de auteur over een grote dosis fantasie beschikt en deze volop gebruikt heeft in dit verhaal. Regelmatig denk je dat het niet veel gekker kan worden en toch blijkt dat er dan een nog meer bizarre wending mogelijk is.

Dit eerste deel van Max Kruimel lijkt wat verhaal betreft op de serie Dagboek van een muts, nu met een jongen in de hoofdrol. Het boek is makkelijk te lezen, vaak voor kinderen die minder van lezen houden en bevat zoals verwacht veel tekeningen die wat wild overkomen. Aan lezen komen deze kinderen nauwelijks toe, ze zullen van rechts naar links, van onder naar boven vooral de tekeningen bekijken of beter gezegd de voor hen grappige tekeningen lezen. Om de spanningsboog vast te houden mag voor deze doelgroep het boek minder bladzijden bevatten. Door het lettertype en de lijnen onder de tekst heeft het boek een onrustiger lay-out vergeleken met een boek zonder striptekeningen.
Het zou prettig zijn geweest dat Max minder vaak ‘dood’ of ‘grote god’ in de mond zou nemen of iemand bijv. ‘zijn kop eraf zal rukken’. Het taalgebruik kan minder grof en genuanceerder.
Op o.a. scholen wordt hiernaar kritisch gekeken. Mogelijk kan er een minder letterlijke vertaling uit het Amerikaansengels worden gehanteerd.

Het verhaal is voor de recenserende volwassenen wat ongeloofwaardig, want wie lukt het om zich twee keer op een dag te laten opsluiten in een schoolkluisje door je vijand en dat op vrijdagavond. Max Kruimel is natuurlijk zeer inventief en weet te ontsnappen waarna hij allerlei doldwaze avonturen te wachten staat en hij daardoor niet naar huis kan gaan.
Bij de juiste doelgroep van jongens en meiden vanaf 10 jaar zal dit vluchtige, fantasievolle verhaal vast wèl aanslaan. Naar deel 2 dat in 2018 zal uitkomen zullen deze kinderen uitzien, mede omdat dit deel hen zal vertellen hoe het avontuur in deel 1 zal aflopen.

Met dank aan uitgeverij De Fontein voor het recensie-exemplaar.

[Petra]

Jag fick Den otursförföljde Max Crumbly: Skolans hjälte som recex. Det är inte en bok jag i vanliga fall skulle ha plockat upp, men nu kände jag att självklart skulle jag ge den en chans. Tyvärr så föll den dock ganska platt för mig.

Jag tror starkt på att litteratur inte kan eller ska begränsas till en viss ålder, men här måste jag faktsikt erkänna att den här boken var på tok för barnslig för mig. Hela handlingen blir liksom så dum, för jag kan inte på allvar tro att någon är så idiotisk som Max Crumbly i verkligheten. Och alla problem som uppstår har kunnat lösas enkelt (berätta för någon vuxen, ring polisen osv). Dessutom var det inte alls min typ av humor, och jag tror att det gjorde sig ännu värre eftersom jag läste denna direkt efter att ha avslutat Rick Riordans The Hammer of Thor (och om vi ska vara helt ärliga så är det inte mycket som kan mäta sig med Riordans humor, eller hur?). På plussidan så gick den åtminstonde väldigt fort att läsa, och slutet var aningen spännande (även om cliffhangern irriterar mig fruktansvärt..man kan inte bara sluta mitt i så där).

Max Crumbly själv var, som jag redan nämnt, inte en karaktär för mig. Han gjorde så himla många dumma val att jag inte kan låta bli att tycka att han får skylla sig själv. Och ingen av bi-karaktärerna gavs tillräckligt stor plats för att jag skulle kunna forma en åsikt om dem.

Den otursförföljde Max Crumbly: Skolans hjälte var inte alls en bok för mig. Jag väljer dock att inte ge något betyg till boken, just för att jag känner att jag kan inte betygsätta det här rättvist. Jag kan dock tänka mig att den kommer att gå hem hos yngre läsare. Men med mina 32 år känner jag mig på tok för gammal för den, tyvärr.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a kid named Max Crumbly, he is new kid at South Ridge Middle School. There is a school bully and he is mean to Max, but then Max throws up on Thug, then Thug sticks Max in his locker. Max puts on a gas mask because Thug smells bad,Max goes to the restroom when he is about to win a rice at school. Max gets two tardies because he missed his math quiz and he was is his locker because of Thug Thurston.

I like this book because it is good for so many reasons. The first reason is because this book is super good and I think you would like this book. Max is a awesome character in this book. I rate this book 5 out of 5 because it is a good understanding book.

[Irene · Rating 2 out of 5]

Na het lezen van het boek was ik er in elk geval over uit dat de schrijfster enorm veel fantasie heeft en goed wordt benut in dit boek. Op een moment dat ik dacht dat het niet gekker kon worden, werd het dat juist wel. Helaas vond ik het boek net 100 pagina's te lang en vond ik de lay-out nogal druk. Het verhaal zelf vond ik af en toe wat ongeloofwaardig, want ik denk dat het alleen Max Kruimel lukt om twee keer op één dag opgesloten te worden in zijn kluisje door zijn vijand. En dat ook nog eens op vrijdagavond....
Verplaatsend in de doelgroep: kinderen zullen het ongetwijfeld leuk vinden en wachten graag op deel 2 wat in maart 2018 zal verschijnen!

[Kelly Carey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fans of Dork Diaries will appreciate this new series. The cliffhanger at the end will have readers begging for the 2nd book.

[Sylvaninaza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este libro es muy gracioso , max crumbly es patoso y desastroso. ❤😂

[H.M. Shander · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hesitate to rate this, but will, basing my review on the two littler ones I read it to.

Since I am a librarian at an elementary school, I know firsthand how popular Dork Diaries are, and how both girls and boys love them. We agreed to book one in this new series as our nightly read, as the kids liked the cover, and it 'sounded fun'.

On the one hand, the writing is great. My kids laughed out loud, cheered, and gasped at all the right spots. They were hooked, begging for 'one more chapter' each time I'd go to close the book for the night. At the end of each chapter we'd make our guesses on what could happen next, and see if we were right when we did read it.

Then as we're getting very close to the end, I started to question HOW things were going to get wrapped up in the few pages we had remaining. My kids had grand ideas. As there were only 10 pages left, things would have to wrap up PDQ.

But they didn't. Nothing got resolved. NOTHING. My kids, who were on a high wondering how Max would solve the problem, crashed when it ended with a 'to be continued'. They were very upset. We'd been reading this book for nearly a month, and there was no resolution. No end to the story. One of them even said they'd felt 'ripped off'.

My oldest said up until the last chapter it was a 5 star read. After the to-be-continued, it dropped to a 2 star. He didn't like that he'd been excited 'for nothing'.
My youngest, was a little more generous, and gave it a 3.5 star review, but added he too hated the way it ended.
So I evened it out, giving it 3 stars. The writing was great, engaging, funny - but the complete cliffhanger ending sucked.

That being said, we'll likely hunt out the second book.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Max Crumbly, 8th grader, previously homeschooled by his grandma, is friendless, clueless, and bullied. New at school, he is just trying to stay out of super-bully, Doug "Thug" Thurston's way. Of course, Max gets on his bad side right away when he tosses his cookies all over Thug's shoes during gym class. That gives Thug his license to lock Max in his locker. This time, though, it is right before the school is closing up for a 3-day-weekend. Yikes! How will he survive?

Using his ingenuity and a little luck, Max squirms his way out, right into a burglary in process. Three thieves are stealing the school's new computer equipment. Now, not only does he have to deal with the parental problem of explaining his tale of woe, he has to get passed these evil-doers.

The Midadventures of Max Crumbly: Locker Hero is the new companion series to Dork Diaries, this time with a male protagonist. Kids who like Nikki and her friends, will love Max, too. Clearly, a new series since there is a blatant cliff-hanger at the end of the story...it leaves you wondering if Max will even survive (of course, he will, or otherwise there wouldn't be a series). A quick, fun, humorous read for reluctant readers.

[Mrs. Melaugh · Rating 2 out of 5]

In first person prose spelled out on lined notebook paper and including crossouts and hand drawn sketches, Max tells his experiences starting public school for the first time as an eighth grader. He was previously home schooled by his grandma, a retired kindergarten teacher, and he is hoping not to jeopardize his new school situation. Unfortunately, through a combination of missteps and bad decisions, Max winds up stuck in his locker over a long weekend with no one looking for him. He escapes, only to discover burglars attempting to steal the school’s new computers. In what seems like a ploy to force readers to purchase the next volume, the author ended the story in the middle of the action with Max wearing superhero garb, trapped in the school with three adult burglars.

[Lisa Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was nothing like my daughter or I was expecting.
We raced through it with our nightly reading.
She loved it, getting stuck in lockers, being chased by robbers and even better landing on the pizza and leaving us hanging. Max is a hilarious character who is constantly comparing his life to how it would be if he was in a comic.
Can't wait for the next one to come out so we can see what happened to Max.

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review from my 13 year old:

The book was fun - Easily described as the Dork Diaries with more adventure. The author did a great job with making this interesting also funny - I laughed several times. The characters felt authentic and not too idealistic or made-up. I am rating this 4 instead of 5 stars because the humor felt both repetitive and lacking originality. I wanted more unique jokes in the end.

[Kristen Landon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sure kids will love it for its goofy fun and great illustrations--and it is a lot of fun and very funny. I've never heard of a locker that big in my entire life. As I was reading, I felt like the whole book could have fit into one chapter of a regular book--and then the author doesn't even finish this simple story line but ended at a huge cliffhanger. That annoyed me.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun story! I enjoyed everything about this fun-filled story. Kept my interest the entire time. Young readers will love this story. Max was the ultimate character!!!

[Scout Steinmiller]

wow this book is goooooooooooooood

[Charles Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book is really entertaining there is much action he gets trapped and does not know how to get out and is very relative to middle school life