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Ungifted #1
Ungifted
Good book. Good author.
280 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
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12778 people want to read
About the author
Gordon Korman
249 books4,406 followersGordon Korman is a Canadian author of children's and young adult fiction books. Korman's books have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide over a career spanning four decades and have appeared at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list.
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August 15, 2012
This is going to be a review in two parts.
Part the First: In Which I Talk About the Plot, Characters and General Thoughts About Ungifted
If Donovan Curtis has one gift, it is his gift for troublemaking. With his poor impulse control and his recklessness, chaos follows him wherever he goes. After a particularly stupid prank with its costly and dangerous result, he thinks he has gone too far. But instead of being punished for it, an error by his school’s administrator sends him to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction, a special program for gifted kids with high IQ.
As an average student, Donovan is the proverbial fish out of water at the Academy, at least to start with. Soon though, he and the other students start to realise that Donovan is exactly what the Academy needed: a breath of fresh air and limitless creativity. Its short chapters alternate between several characters’ point of view including Donovan’s, some of his teachers’ and a few of his fellow students’ at the Academy.
On the surface, Ungifted is a pretty decent, fun book. I read it in one go and enjoyed my time reading it. Its prose is competent and it has truly funny moments. By comparing the day to day life of highly gifted students and that of “normal” (word used in the book) students it makes really good points about how expectations can shape the life of students (gifted or not ), how educational labelling can be problematic and how separating talented students from the rest of the student body is questionable when it completely sets them apart (they don’t even interact socially).
The way the story progresses and how Donovan manages to get away with his trouble-making tendencies as well as the hero-worship for his daring-do sort of reminded me in part of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off although Donovan doesn’t have half of Ferris’ charisma, which is essential for a story like this to work.
Other characters are much more likeable like the two gifted kids Chloe and Noah – both of them – understandably – wishing their school was not separated from the rest of the student body, wishing for a more “normal” life. To them Donovan is a godsend.
BUT
Part the Second: In Which I Lose My Shit and Get Ranty
The fundamental premise of Ungifted is completely, totally LUDICROUS. And I really can’t stress this enough.
ALL of the students at the Academy are portrayed as socially awkward nerds; most of them have a tendency for scientific subjects and none for the arts; none of them were presented as “creative” because obviously, high IQ plus science = uncreative people.
This is where things get really shady for me. If the point the book is trying to make is that these high IQ kids live a sterile, sad life because their teachers and the education system don’t nurture their creativity, I thought that point was really badly done. Because in the book there is a real dichotomy between “normal” kids and high IQ kids that is portrayed as FACT. The high IQ kids are all portrayed as lacking this potential for creativity, unlike Donovan, whose potential for creativity is limitless. A few examples are in order:
1)The first thing that Donovan does when he joins the Academy’s robotic class? He NAMES the Robot they are constructing. The other students’ reaction is one of AWE and RESPECT because and I quote: “Nobody’s ever thought of naming the robot before”.
2)Noah, whose IQ is 206 and therefore is a recognised genius, had never heard of youtube before Donovan told him about it. Once he comes across youtube, he becomes addicted to it and Donovan becomes his idol. I found it really hard to believe that a smart kid like Noah would not have heard about youtube EVER. It’s 2012, youtube is everywhere. Are you telling me none of the other kids or members of his family ever watched a clip and talked about it; that he has never come across it online, or on TV, or newspapers’ articles?
3)At the robotics competition at the end of the book when Donovan realises they are losing, he sets the robot to destroy the whole thing creating the chaos and destruction he is known for and…he is lauded for it. Because even turning a robot “into an instrument of destruction requires a kind of giftedness that none of us have”. Are. You. KIDDING. Me.
4)Some of the kids at the Academy are portrayed as wanting to lead a normal life amongst other students. I can totally understand that. But the only kid whose point of view differed from this and who is happy about what they have at the Academy is portrayed as a vapid, egotistic girl who only care about her results and getting into college.
5)There is a ridiculous amount of unexplained Donovan-worship just because he is “normal” and creative. The teachers, the students all worship him. One of the kids says “He’s more important than any of us” because he has “an uncanny knack for making a difference”. This got tiresome really soon.
Separating kids so completely from the rest of the student body is a bad thing in many ways – it separates them from the rest of their colleagues, it can create too high expectations and it can also result in creating too low expectations for all the other kids. But high ability groups (not schools) are, I think, necessary because these kids need to be challenged.
But the biggest problem I had with the book is the fact that the high IQ kids are portrayed as lacking any creativity (this is reinforced by all characters and by the plot). This is extremely problematic because it stems from an undeserved stigma that associates science and high intelligence with uncreativity. And that is, for lack of a better word: stupid.
I’d like to quote Thea when she wrote about another book (The Unwanteds) that had a similar problem because she says it so well and I agree with the sentiment completely:
"Some of humanity’s most brilliant and creative minds have been mathematicians, scientists, engineers, and yes, even economists (as an economics graduate, I resent these implications so very much). The central premise of the novel precludes the possibility – nay, the reality – that it takes creativity to be in the sciences or related subjects. You’re trying to tell me that Einstein’s theorems are the product of a non-creative mind? That brilliant economists like John Nash or Adam Smith, or that Watson, Crick and Franklin in their discovery of the double helix structure of DNA have not an iota of creativity in their being? What of Euler, Da Vinci, Tesla, Curie, Newton, Darwin, or Galileo?
I’m sorry, but I call BULLPUCKY."
Exactly.
Ultimately, I think MG kids would enjoy this book immensely and as I said some really good points are made. But I feel I can’t really recommend Ungifted unreservedly.
Part the First: In Which I Talk About the Plot, Characters and General Thoughts About Ungifted
If Donovan Curtis has one gift, it is his gift for troublemaking. With his poor impulse control and his recklessness, chaos follows him wherever he goes. After a particularly stupid prank with its costly and dangerous result, he thinks he has gone too far. But instead of being punished for it, an error by his school’s administrator sends him to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction, a special program for gifted kids with high IQ.
As an average student, Donovan is the proverbial fish out of water at the Academy, at least to start with. Soon though, he and the other students start to realise that Donovan is exactly what the Academy needed: a breath of fresh air and limitless creativity. Its short chapters alternate between several characters’ point of view including Donovan’s, some of his teachers’ and a few of his fellow students’ at the Academy.
On the surface, Ungifted is a pretty decent, fun book. I read it in one go and enjoyed my time reading it. Its prose is competent and it has truly funny moments. By comparing the day to day life of highly gifted students and that of “normal” (word used in the book) students it makes really good points about how expectations can shape the life of students (gifted or not ), how educational labelling can be problematic and how separating talented students from the rest of the student body is questionable when it completely sets them apart (they don’t even interact socially).
The way the story progresses and how Donovan manages to get away with his trouble-making tendencies as well as the hero-worship for his daring-do sort of reminded me in part of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off although Donovan doesn’t have half of Ferris’ charisma, which is essential for a story like this to work.
Other characters are much more likeable like the two gifted kids Chloe and Noah – both of them – understandably – wishing their school was not separated from the rest of the student body, wishing for a more “normal” life. To them Donovan is a godsend.
BUT
Part the Second: In Which I Lose My Shit and Get Ranty
The fundamental premise of Ungifted is completely, totally LUDICROUS. And I really can’t stress this enough.
ALL of the students at the Academy are portrayed as socially awkward nerds; most of them have a tendency for scientific subjects and none for the arts; none of them were presented as “creative” because obviously, high IQ plus science = uncreative people.
This is where things get really shady for me. If the point the book is trying to make is that these high IQ kids live a sterile, sad life because their teachers and the education system don’t nurture their creativity, I thought that point was really badly done. Because in the book there is a real dichotomy between “normal” kids and high IQ kids that is portrayed as FACT. The high IQ kids are all portrayed as lacking this potential for creativity, unlike Donovan, whose potential for creativity is limitless. A few examples are in order:
1)The first thing that Donovan does when he joins the Academy’s robotic class? He NAMES the Robot they are constructing. The other students’ reaction is one of AWE and RESPECT because and I quote: “Nobody’s ever thought of naming the robot before”.
2)Noah, whose IQ is 206 and therefore is a recognised genius, had never heard of youtube before Donovan told him about it. Once he comes across youtube, he becomes addicted to it and Donovan becomes his idol. I found it really hard to believe that a smart kid like Noah would not have heard about youtube EVER. It’s 2012, youtube is everywhere. Are you telling me none of the other kids or members of his family ever watched a clip and talked about it; that he has never come across it online, or on TV, or newspapers’ articles?
3)At the robotics competition at the end of the book when Donovan realises they are losing, he sets the robot to destroy the whole thing creating the chaos and destruction he is known for and…he is lauded for it. Because even turning a robot “into an instrument of destruction requires a kind of giftedness that none of us have”. Are. You. KIDDING. Me.
4)Some of the kids at the Academy are portrayed as wanting to lead a normal life amongst other students. I can totally understand that. But the only kid whose point of view differed from this and who is happy about what they have at the Academy is portrayed as a vapid, egotistic girl who only care about her results and getting into college.
5)There is a ridiculous amount of unexplained Donovan-worship just because he is “normal” and creative. The teachers, the students all worship him. One of the kids says “He’s more important than any of us” because he has “an uncanny knack for making a difference”. This got tiresome really soon.
Separating kids so completely from the rest of the student body is a bad thing in many ways – it separates them from the rest of their colleagues, it can create too high expectations and it can also result in creating too low expectations for all the other kids. But high ability groups (not schools) are, I think, necessary because these kids need to be challenged.
But the biggest problem I had with the book is the fact that the high IQ kids are portrayed as lacking any creativity (this is reinforced by all characters and by the plot). This is extremely problematic because it stems from an undeserved stigma that associates science and high intelligence with uncreativity. And that is, for lack of a better word: stupid.
I’d like to quote Thea when she wrote about another book (The Unwanteds) that had a similar problem because she says it so well and I agree with the sentiment completely:
"Some of humanity’s most brilliant and creative minds have been mathematicians, scientists, engineers, and yes, even economists (as an economics graduate, I resent these implications so very much). The central premise of the novel precludes the possibility – nay, the reality – that it takes creativity to be in the sciences or related subjects. You’re trying to tell me that Einstein’s theorems are the product of a non-creative mind? That brilliant economists like John Nash or Adam Smith, or that Watson, Crick and Franklin in their discovery of the double helix structure of DNA have not an iota of creativity in their being? What of Euler, Da Vinci, Tesla, Curie, Newton, Darwin, or Galileo?
I’m sorry, but I call BULLPUCKY."
Exactly.
Ultimately, I think MG kids would enjoy this book immensely and as I said some really good points are made. But I feel I can’t really recommend Ungifted unreservedly.
January 1, 2013
Korman stereotypes gifted kids and spec ed teachers throughout this book -- almost as though he had never met one. Fact: most gifted kids don't know they're gifted, and certainly don't know their IQ. Also fact: giftedness comes with a variety of benefits and challenges, and not all of them include tunnel vision, awkwardness, or the tendency to be sanctimoniously judgmental. Spec Ed teachers (and yes, gifted ed is Special Education)do not sit around wondering how a student got into the gifted school. Testing happens, but by a psychologist, not in a library on a computer.
This story was implausible, the characters were one-dimensional, the writing was pedantic. I hated everything about this book. Not only did it not make much-needed points about the delta between gifted kids and non-gifted kids, it underscored unfair and untrue prejudices toward gifted students. Ungifted
This story was implausible, the characters were one-dimensional, the writing was pedantic. I hated everything about this book. Not only did it not make much-needed points about the delta between gifted kids and non-gifted kids, it underscored unfair and untrue prejudices toward gifted students. Ungifted
October 10, 2022
করম্যানের অন্যান্য বইয়ের তুলনায় "আনগিফটেড" ম্লান। বিশেষ প্রতিভাবান স্কুল ছাত্রছাত্রীদের অতিরিক্ত বোকা, নিরীহ আর স্বাভাবিক বোধবুদ্ধিহীন জড় পদার্থ হিসেবে উপস্থাপন করা হয়েছে যা একেবারেই গ্রহণযোগ্য না।
October 16, 2014
I truly believe that Ungifted shows Mr. Korman at his best. I think that he stereo-typed that Gifted program a little. I'm in one and all the kids there are more crazy than socially awkward brainiacs. We know a lot and we do have high IQs, but Noah is unrealistically smart and stupid at the exact same time. I think Chloe shows the best example of what Gifted kids are REALLY like.
January 24, 2014
This book is Gordon Korman at his best. It's also not very old, so that gives me hope for his future books. I hate it when an author kind of slowly slides down in quality until you go from great books to reading mud, you know? But this is definitely not the case with Gordon Korman. He's at the top of his game in Ungifted, and I love it!
Donovan is not gifted. At all. He's average in every sense of the word - but he does get in trouble more than the average person. He has what could almost be some form of ADHD or something, where once he thinks of an idea he just has to try it - no matter the conseqences. So it's business like usual when Donovan grabs a stick and whacks it across the giant behind of a large metal statue of Atlas (the guy, not the map) holding up the world. When things get a little out of hand, however, is when the world literally falls out of Atlas' hands. The world portion of the statue falls off, rolls down the hill, and crashes into a mega-expensive sports building full of screaming sports fans. No one is hurt, but Donovan's in trouble.
But wait. Y'see, the superintendant of the school made a mistake. He wrote Donovan's name on the paper with kids who go to the special school for gifted kids down the road. That's right, Donovan didn't get expelled - he got promoted. He decides to stick it out with the geniuses to save his parents from footing the bill for the gym, and that's when he starts to realize that those geeks and nerds are very cool in their own way - they just need a little push in the right direction from someone who doesn't spend all his time stressing about grades or some new science concept. But this uneasy answer won't last forever, and Donovan knows it's only a matter of time before the super-intendant finds him.
This book is flat out hilarious. That's the first thing I'll say. Donovan is a hoot, and everyone around him, from the serious genius girl who can't think about anything but getting into a good college, to the freakishly smart boy who wishes he were normal and didn't have to go to the smart kid school (and so tries desperately to flunk, a running punch-line throughout the book) - and who discovers the secrets of YouTube and is suddenly addicted.
The book is told alternating views between classmates at the Academy (the gifted school), the teachers, the super-intendant, Donovan himself, and Donovan's also funny (and highly pregnant) sister. It is very cool reading how everyone thinks about Donovan and sees him, which is somehow very different from how he sees himself in certain ways.
There is a reference throughout the book to an ancestor who survived the sinking of the Titanic, which for me (a tried-and-true Titaniac) was kind of a cool little tie-in to actual history. Also, for those who don't know Gordon Korman's works, he also wrote the Titanic trilogy and I find he fits in little references to the Titanic in many of his books. Got half an hour to kill? Ask me a question about the Titanic. Or books that even use the word titanic (i.e. "He took a titanic leap"). I probably know a little too much on the subject than it is really possibly to classify under "passing interest."
Parents, don't worry that this book might be inappropriate for your children. Katie (Donovan's sister)'s husband is stationed over-seas in the military, and rather than being anything bad her pregnancy is more of a running gag and something that comes in very handy when the Academy students realize they haven't taken "sex ed" yet - what's better education in that area than studying an actual child in vitro? Nothing inappropriate, and it's actually extremely sweet.
This book is awesome, and I have given it as a gift to a friend who loves Wendy Mass books (who said she loves it). It is a great, great book and even if it might be a little tilted when it comes to what smart kids are like, so what? I'm a smart kid (though no Noah), and I don't mind. You come into the story knowing it's not really the way life is, and it's the story (not the "message") that is the reason you should read it.
This review is also on my blog, at http://ireadtilldawn.blogspot.com/201...
Donovan is not gifted. At all. He's average in every sense of the word - but he does get in trouble more than the average person. He has what could almost be some form of ADHD or something, where once he thinks of an idea he just has to try it - no matter the conseqences. So it's business like usual when Donovan grabs a stick and whacks it across the giant behind of a large metal statue of Atlas (the guy, not the map) holding up the world. When things get a little out of hand, however, is when the world literally falls out of Atlas' hands. The world portion of the statue falls off, rolls down the hill, and crashes into a mega-expensive sports building full of screaming sports fans. No one is hurt, but Donovan's in trouble.
But wait. Y'see, the superintendant of the school made a mistake. He wrote Donovan's name on the paper with kids who go to the special school for gifted kids down the road. That's right, Donovan didn't get expelled - he got promoted. He decides to stick it out with the geniuses to save his parents from footing the bill for the gym, and that's when he starts to realize that those geeks and nerds are very cool in their own way - they just need a little push in the right direction from someone who doesn't spend all his time stressing about grades or some new science concept. But this uneasy answer won't last forever, and Donovan knows it's only a matter of time before the super-intendant finds him.
This book is flat out hilarious. That's the first thing I'll say. Donovan is a hoot, and everyone around him, from the serious genius girl who can't think about anything but getting into a good college, to the freakishly smart boy who wishes he were normal and didn't have to go to the smart kid school (and so tries desperately to flunk, a running punch-line throughout the book) - and who discovers the secrets of YouTube and is suddenly addicted.
The book is told alternating views between classmates at the Academy (the gifted school), the teachers, the super-intendant, Donovan himself, and Donovan's also funny (and highly pregnant) sister. It is very cool reading how everyone thinks about Donovan and sees him, which is somehow very different from how he sees himself in certain ways.
There is a reference throughout the book to an ancestor who survived the sinking of the Titanic, which for me (a tried-and-true Titaniac) was kind of a cool little tie-in to actual history. Also, for those who don't know Gordon Korman's works, he also wrote the Titanic trilogy and I find he fits in little references to the Titanic in many of his books. Got half an hour to kill? Ask me a question about the Titanic. Or books that even use the word titanic (i.e. "He took a titanic leap"). I probably know a little too much on the subject than it is really possibly to classify under "passing interest."
Parents, don't worry that this book might be inappropriate for your children. Katie (Donovan's sister)'s husband is stationed over-seas in the military, and rather than being anything bad her pregnancy is more of a running gag and something that comes in very handy when the Academy students realize they haven't taken "sex ed" yet - what's better education in that area than studying an actual child in vitro? Nothing inappropriate, and it's actually extremely sweet.
This book is awesome, and I have given it as a gift to a friend who loves Wendy Mass books (who said she loves it). It is a great, great book and even if it might be a little tilted when it comes to what smart kids are like, so what? I'm a smart kid (though no Noah), and I don't mind. You come into the story knowing it's not really the way life is, and it's the story (not the "message") that is the reason you should read it.
This review is also on my blog, at http://ireadtilldawn.blogspot.com/201...
August 27, 2012
When Donovan hit the Atlas statue with a tree branch, he really just meant it to make a loud, echoey clang. He had no way of knowing that the 400-pound-globe on Atlas's shoulders was held on with one single rusty bolt. Donovan didn't mean to send the ball careening down the hill, through the glass doors, and across the gym floor. So when a disciplinary screw-up sends him to the Academy for Scholastic Distinction, he didn't really mean for that to happen, either--but it's a great place to hide out for a while. It doesn't take long for anyone to figure out that Donovan doesn't belong with the geniuses at his new school--but Donovan does have some gifts the geniuses don't have. But it'll take more than joystick skills and a pregnant sister to keep him in the gifted school.
Really enjoyed this--sweet and sincere while still being goofy and funny. Donovan seems like a real 8th grader, with impulse-control issues and a prankster attitude. His immediate reaction to his new classmates is to see them all as huge, hopeless nerds, but he quickly comes to care about them, defending them against his thuggish old-school friends. He tries hard, and manages to be a really decent kid under all the mischief.
Definitely one to recommend to middle-schoolers; the brightly-colored robot cover should help it find an audience.
[Aside: as an adult reader, there are plenty of plot holes big enough to drive their robot through, and, like Schooled, Ungifted is plagued with similarly unrealistic expectations of what middle-schoolers are like. Still, it's charming and uplifting, as long as you don't think too hard about it.]
[Aside #2: I assume Korman doesn't have kids of his own, given the lack of fuss and drama made about a 4-hour labor, except to compare it against the 90-minute labor of a dog birthing 4 puppies, and say that the dog had it easy. A 4-hour labor is unusually speedy, though the book makes it appear that it took forever.]
Really enjoyed this--sweet and sincere while still being goofy and funny. Donovan seems like a real 8th grader, with impulse-control issues and a prankster attitude. His immediate reaction to his new classmates is to see them all as huge, hopeless nerds, but he quickly comes to care about them, defending them against his thuggish old-school friends. He tries hard, and manages to be a really decent kid under all the mischief.
Definitely one to recommend to middle-schoolers; the brightly-colored robot cover should help it find an audience.
[Aside: as an adult reader, there are plenty of plot holes big enough to drive their robot through, and, like Schooled, Ungifted is plagued with similarly unrealistic expectations of what middle-schoolers are like. Still, it's charming and uplifting, as long as you don't think too hard about it.]
[Aside #2: I assume Korman doesn't have kids of his own, given the lack of fuss and drama made about a 4-hour labor, except to compare it against the 90-minute labor of a dog birthing 4 puppies, and say that the dog had it easy. A 4-hour labor is unusually speedy, though the book makes it appear that it took forever.]
December 9, 2014
When I was in 1st grade, my best friend got into the gifted program. Boy, was I jealous. Every Thursday, 2 or 3 students in my class would go out to another classroom, and come back just before school ended. I felt stupid. Why were they smarter than me? I'm creative and clever and got good grades! At least, I thought I did. But seeing other kids get treated special, I felt left out. How were they better than me?
The next year, I was accepted into the gifted program. I was estatic! Finally, Thursdays would be filled of people telling me how smart, creative, and special I was! But the first day felt weird. It was no different than my other class, except we learned about different things, like volcanoes instead of math.
But I didn't say anything. Why? Because I still wanted to be special. I'll admit, that's the person I am. So I continued being in the program.
So I could totally relate to this book. Not only that, but it also had melodrama! A factor that boosts my rating on any book.
Donovan, the protagonist, was very cookie-cutter. He reminded me of many of the kids I knew. The kids at the gifted program were defiantly stereotypes, but each character was a different one. One person was a total-nerd, another was a smart person who didn't want to be a nerd (I've seen more than my share of those), and so on. I can't recall her name, sense I read this book ages ago, but I really liked the girl who was in the program that was socially awkward, trying not to be a nerd.
Typical schools. But I don't blame him for making them so ordinary, because there's only so much an author can do to make their work seem different.
An awesome book. I loved that Donovan was not actually supposed to be in the gifted program, but even when he was he seemed to get along. It says that everyone is gifted, not just the people labeled by superiors. I continue to love Korman's work. Everything he writes it so relatable.
Update 12/4/14: I just stopped by Barnes & Noble to pick up this book. I can't wait to read it again!
Update 12/8/13: Reread number 3!! I have been reminded of how much I love, love, love this book! SO GOOD.
The next year, I was accepted into the gifted program. I was estatic! Finally, Thursdays would be filled of people telling me how smart, creative, and special I was! But the first day felt weird. It was no different than my other class, except we learned about different things, like volcanoes instead of math.
But I didn't say anything. Why? Because I still wanted to be special. I'll admit, that's the person I am. So I continued being in the program.
So I could totally relate to this book. Not only that, but it also had melodrama! A factor that boosts my rating on any book.
Donovan, the protagonist, was very cookie-cutter. He reminded me of many of the kids I knew. The kids at the gifted program were defiantly stereotypes, but each character was a different one. One person was a total-nerd, another was a smart person who didn't want to be a nerd (I've seen more than my share of those), and so on. I can't recall her name, sense I read this book ages ago, but I really liked the girl who was in the program that was socially awkward, trying not to be a nerd.
Typical schools. But I don't blame him for making them so ordinary, because there's only so much an author can do to make their work seem different.
An awesome book. I loved that Donovan was not actually supposed to be in the gifted program, but even when he was he seemed to get along. It says that everyone is gifted, not just the people labeled by superiors. I continue to love Korman's work. Everything he writes it so relatable.
Update 12/4/14: I just stopped by Barnes & Noble to pick up this book. I can't wait to read it again!
Update 12/8/13: Reread number 3!! I have been reminded of how much I love, love, love this book! SO GOOD.
March 25, 2013
I borrowed this book from a student who had liked it, and since I teach gifted kids, I wanted to read it. I also read some criticism about it on a gifted education website, so I was curious about that. I thought the premise of the story was funny - a trouble-maker and middle-schooler of average intelligence, Donovan, pulls a prank that gets out of control, and the superintendent, who prides himself with a well-run district, wants him gone. However, Donovan's name gets accidentally picked up as someone whose scores send him to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction, the school for gifted kids. He knows it's a mistake, obviously, but his parents are so happy about it, and it's the perfect place to hide out until his mishap has blown over. What he doesn't expect is that he'll excel in some unexpected areas, especially robotics, and he'll learn to appreciate the kids who go there when he thought it was just Nerdville. There are some major stereotypes in this book, but I still liked it and think it's good not to take things too seriously. A redeeming value of the story is that Korman shows us that kids are kids, no matter what their iQ is - they want to be accepted, feel a part of something, and want adults to believe in them. Gordon Korman just knows middle school kids and write good books for them!
March 4, 2017
I really enjoyed this book, for me at every page something new kept happening, open begging to read more of the book. Ungifted reopened up the stereotypes of the gifted program, which I really enjoyed as well. Even though the book did switch people's views each chapter, it didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. This book is really good and keeps you reading the whole way through, for me at least, and I definitely recommend it to many people.
February 7, 2018
I had this middle grade fiction novel on my Kindle for some time and took advantage of the snowy weather to finally sit down and read it. I had high hopes for this book, as I really enjoyed one of Gordon Korman’s other novels, Masterminds. It has a premise that has the potential to be fun for middle grade readers: Donovan Curtis is an impulsive troublemaker who pulls a major prank at his middle school. Due to an administrative mix-up, he is sent to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction instead of being punished.
Donovan isn’t at his new school for very long before it becomes very apparent that he doesn’t belong there. But because the admission requirements for this school are so rigorous, the instructors are determined to find Donovan’s strengths and help him succeed. He becomes involved with the school’s robotics team and makes a big impact, not through any technical or mechanical talent, but through his ability to bring the power of his personality to bear on the robot and all the other students around him.
The problem with this book is that it relies so heavily on negative stereotypes: gifted kids are unattractive, socially inept nerds; educators and administrators are narrow-minded buffoons; school districts will put the interests of the gifted students above all the other students. As I read, I kept hoping that maybe through the development of the characters and the plot, readers might get the message that these assumptions aren’t true and that each kid is gifted in his or her own way. But the story clings to these ideas throughout. I think that this could have been a terrific book that would elevate the Donovans of the world to believe that they have talents and gifts to share without knocking down the gifted and talented students.
Donovan isn’t at his new school for very long before it becomes very apparent that he doesn’t belong there. But because the admission requirements for this school are so rigorous, the instructors are determined to find Donovan’s strengths and help him succeed. He becomes involved with the school’s robotics team and makes a big impact, not through any technical or mechanical talent, but through his ability to bring the power of his personality to bear on the robot and all the other students around him.
The problem with this book is that it relies so heavily on negative stereotypes: gifted kids are unattractive, socially inept nerds; educators and administrators are narrow-minded buffoons; school districts will put the interests of the gifted students above all the other students. As I read, I kept hoping that maybe through the development of the characters and the plot, readers might get the message that these assumptions aren’t true and that each kid is gifted in his or her own way. But the story clings to these ideas throughout. I think that this could have been a terrific book that would elevate the Donovans of the world to believe that they have talents and gifts to share without knocking down the gifted and talented students.
January 20, 2024
Alright, I enjoyed every part of this book...but one and that's why I docked a star. I'll explain further down.
In classic Korman style, we have several POVs and believable hilarious situations!
Characters:
Donavan was the main character, and he was fun, funny, and relatable. I quite enjoyed him.
The two Daniels were hilarious!
Chloe was fun, I loved how she thought in hypothesis...lol...
Noah was gold! So funny! Because he was so smart, normal things were beyond his understanding, and his obsession with YouTube was priceless!
Romance:
Chloe sort of had a crush on Donavan... sort of...
Language:
The word s*x is used in one spot by a teacher a few times. This is why a star was docked. The way he was referring to the Human Growth and Development Class and some suggestive wording in that area. It wasn't bad, but I just didn't like the way it came across, so I docked a star.
Themes:
Friendship, thinking of others, team spirit, and fitting in...it was really beautiful.
Overall:
I liked this book, I enjoyed the humor, and it was fun. Just the aforementioned scene that I could have done without. But again, not bad, I just didn't like the way what he was saying came across...it's hard to explain, though.
Something about they needed that class to go to high school and they had to be taught it or have hands-on experience...to which the other teacher seemed to take it the wrong way. You know?
But anyway... this was still a hilarious read.
In classic Korman style, we have several POVs and believable hilarious situations!
Characters:
Donavan was the main character, and he was fun, funny, and relatable. I quite enjoyed him.
The two Daniels were hilarious!
Chloe was fun, I loved how she thought in hypothesis...lol...
Noah was gold! So funny! Because he was so smart, normal things were beyond his understanding, and his obsession with YouTube was priceless!
Romance:
Chloe sort of had a crush on Donavan... sort of...
Language:
The word s*x is used in one spot by a teacher a few times. This is why a star was docked. The way he was referring to the Human Growth and Development Class and some suggestive wording in that area. It wasn't bad, but I just didn't like the way it came across, so I docked a star.
Themes:
Friendship, thinking of others, team spirit, and fitting in...it was really beautiful.
Overall:
I liked this book, I enjoyed the humor, and it was fun. Just the aforementioned scene that I could have done without. But again, not bad, I just didn't like the way what he was saying came across...it's hard to explain, though.
Something about they needed that class to go to high school and they had to be taught it or have hands-on experience...to which the other teacher seemed to take it the wrong way. You know?
But anyway... this was still a hilarious read.
August 23, 2013
Middle school students hankering for themes such as rebellion against school rules and authority, burgeoning interest in girls, friendship issues, identity, and growing up will get all that and more in Korman's novel. The writing is well-done along with the character development and humor, but my adult brain wanted the issue of "gifted" tackled even more. Several Goodreads reviewers have pointed out, and rightfully so, that the gifted students in this story are presented as stereotyped nerds with IQ's over 130 and the average students as "normal." This seemed to bother adults more than the 12 middle school students I'm friends with on Goodreads who rated the novel roughly 3.5 out of 5 stars. Perhaps the author did the stereotypes on purpose to emphasize the point that labels limit people whether calling someone, "stupid, gifted, ungifted, class clown, nerd" or whatever other word your cortex spits out. While I wished the stereotypes weren't there, I do think that the overarching message that any person can accomplish great things when given opportunities to prosper regardless of IQ is important and worth a discussion. Our middle school teachers have been using this book as a forum for character education as well. Readers can muddle along with the book's cast of characters who alternately show courage, fear; kindness, meanness; and more as they make good and bad choices at school.
Donovan Curtis, the protagonist, is the class clown who pulls a prank that lands him accidentally in the Academy for Scholastic Distinction, a gifted program for students (and teachers) with IQ's over 130. An average student, Donovan feels like a stowaway on the Titanic, avoiding the Superintendent's witch hunt for him because his prank had some serious consequences. When the gifted students meet Donovan they like him for his "normalness." He humanizes the robot by naming it in robotics, is skilled at driving it, and helps the class avoid taking summer school because of an administrative error. Eventually, Donovan has to own up for his prank and the consequences are difficult for his classmates, himself, and his family. Through it all he becomes a better person and learns to face his own prejudices and weaknesses.
The different points of view round out the characters from the students to the teachers. Chloe interprets the world creating hypotheses that she further explores as she gets to know Donovan. Other hypotheses are just funny such as when she jokes that the gifted students study so much they have prison-pale faces and perhaps the computer monitors could become Sun-lamped enhanced for a false tan? She has a crush on Donovan, just like boy genius, Noah, is fascinated by Donovan who makes guesses and is impulsive. Some reviewers have argued that the gifted students are inaccurately portrayed as uncreative like Donovan. Donovan could be used as a foil to explore this issue, but I agree that the implied message that gifted students are not creative is erroneous. Abigail is not star-struck by Donovan and insists he doesn't belong to the school. Her ambiguous actions are interesting at the end. I liked the character, Noah, except the wrestling bit was out there. The plot got more unbelievable as the story went on with robotics competition and Noah. Realistic fiction kind of gets a bum wrap when it comes to believability. Fantasy can get away with anything, but throw in something exaggerated in realistic fiction and the reader goes, "Huh?" I had some huh-moments at the end, but it is still fun.
The robot's name, Tin Man, and the robotics teacher, Oz, from the "Wizard of Oz," mirror Donovan's situation that is similar to Dorothy's who was dropped into an alternate world. Like Dorothy, Donovan is permanently changed by the experience and makes close friends along the way. Ms. Bevelaqua even makes a parallel to Donovan passing the Academy retest to Tin Man getting a diploma. " Even though he passed, he was still failing her class and all the others in school. Donovan can't keep up with the gifted students academically but he realizes later that he learned quite a bit. I kept waiting for Oz to be more of a mentor to Donovan, but that doesn't happen. Instead, Donovan learns what it means to work on a team, something he doesn't get at the beginning when he makes a goofy rhyme up saying his basketball team will lose by 50 points. He also doesn't understand the power of labels at first, but does at the end of the story.
I've lived with people who have IQ's in the 140s and know several geniuses and the one trait they all seem to have is a great memory and the ability to work on the same task for long periods of time. Some were nerds but others were athletes. Some were shy and others were outgoing. Some were successful and others were not. While Korman does question and point out the negativity of separating genius from average in school and society putting too much emphasis on IQ, I would have liked to have seen the teachers at the gifted school help Donovan more with academics and recognized other variables of giftedness. Perhaps the story would have felt more authentic instead of extreme in the school settings. Of course, the extremeness maybe makes it more poignant and contrasting. I don't know. This is one of those books I should turn around and reread so I can process it more. Whatever you decide, it is a funny novel with a thought-provoking topic.
Donovan Curtis, the protagonist, is the class clown who pulls a prank that lands him accidentally in the Academy for Scholastic Distinction, a gifted program for students (and teachers) with IQ's over 130. An average student, Donovan feels like a stowaway on the Titanic, avoiding the Superintendent's witch hunt for him because his prank had some serious consequences. When the gifted students meet Donovan they like him for his "normalness." He humanizes the robot by naming it in robotics, is skilled at driving it, and helps the class avoid taking summer school because of an administrative error. Eventually, Donovan has to own up for his prank and the consequences are difficult for his classmates, himself, and his family. Through it all he becomes a better person and learns to face his own prejudices and weaknesses.
The different points of view round out the characters from the students to the teachers. Chloe interprets the world creating hypotheses that she further explores as she gets to know Donovan. Other hypotheses are just funny such as when she jokes that the gifted students study so much they have prison-pale faces and perhaps the computer monitors could become Sun-lamped enhanced for a false tan? She has a crush on Donovan, just like boy genius, Noah, is fascinated by Donovan who makes guesses and is impulsive. Some reviewers have argued that the gifted students are inaccurately portrayed as uncreative like Donovan. Donovan could be used as a foil to explore this issue, but I agree that the implied message that gifted students are not creative is erroneous. Abigail is not star-struck by Donovan and insists he doesn't belong to the school. Her ambiguous actions are interesting at the end. I liked the character, Noah, except the wrestling bit was out there. The plot got more unbelievable as the story went on with robotics competition and Noah. Realistic fiction kind of gets a bum wrap when it comes to believability. Fantasy can get away with anything, but throw in something exaggerated in realistic fiction and the reader goes, "Huh?" I had some huh-moments at the end, but it is still fun.
The robot's name, Tin Man, and the robotics teacher, Oz, from the "Wizard of Oz," mirror Donovan's situation that is similar to Dorothy's who was dropped into an alternate world. Like Dorothy, Donovan is permanently changed by the experience and makes close friends along the way. Ms. Bevelaqua even makes a parallel to Donovan passing the Academy retest to Tin Man getting a diploma. " Even though he passed, he was still failing her class and all the others in school. Donovan can't keep up with the gifted students academically but he realizes later that he learned quite a bit. I kept waiting for Oz to be more of a mentor to Donovan, but that doesn't happen. Instead, Donovan learns what it means to work on a team, something he doesn't get at the beginning when he makes a goofy rhyme up saying his basketball team will lose by 50 points. He also doesn't understand the power of labels at first, but does at the end of the story.
I've lived with people who have IQ's in the 140s and know several geniuses and the one trait they all seem to have is a great memory and the ability to work on the same task for long periods of time. Some were nerds but others were athletes. Some were shy and others were outgoing. Some were successful and others were not. While Korman does question and point out the negativity of separating genius from average in school and society putting too much emphasis on IQ, I would have liked to have seen the teachers at the gifted school help Donovan more with academics and recognized other variables of giftedness. Perhaps the story would have felt more authentic instead of extreme in the school settings. Of course, the extremeness maybe makes it more poignant and contrasting. I don't know. This is one of those books I should turn around and reread so I can process it more. Whatever you decide, it is a funny novel with a thought-provoking topic.
October 9, 2018
This book was a clear example of a personality changing because of an experience. This is the first book of a two book series. The theme in this book to me is to take charge of your actions and don't hide from your problems. The protagonist made a mistake he would not have in the end of this book and instead of fessing up he tried to hide from his problems. He got more problems than if he had just admitted it was him. I can connect this to real life because I know most people have done something they shoudnt then try to hide it instead of confessing then later just wish they had. I suggest this book to people who like to be kept on their toes when reading books and to people who can relate to the characters because that just makes it so much better.
August 15, 2022
A bit predictable plot developments and stereotyping of cliched student traits (gifted brilliant student = unsocial, awkward, weird; ungifted not-brilliant student = social, cool, casual), but still as compulsively readable from first page to last with instantly likable well-developed characters as ever.
Even with some overused tropes, really enjoyed my consecutive fourth read Gordon Korman middle-grade novel under a week. Seriously, I just can't stop myself from keep reading these books! Up next: Supergifted.
Even with some overused tropes, really enjoyed my consecutive fourth read Gordon Korman middle-grade novel under a week. Seriously, I just can't stop myself from keep reading these books! Up next: Supergifted.
June 29, 2019
I actually just read this cause it was short and free but it wasn't that bad after all
I really liked how Donavan was not stupid or dumb as was just...normal
and I go to a school for gifted teenagers myself and I'm sure we have a way more fun than normal students cause we have lots of hacking geniuses and most of us plan super big pranks on school so...
that's why I found the Academy in the book a little unrealistic
I really liked how Donavan was not stupid or dumb as was just...normal
and I go to a school for gifted teenagers myself and I'm sure we have a way more fun than normal students cause we have lots of hacking geniuses and most of us plan super big pranks on school so...
that's why I found the Academy in the book a little unrealistic
May 9, 2025
Hilarious and heart-warming middle-grade novel
Due to a series of comic twists and turns, 14-year-old eighth grader, Donovan Curtis, who is of an average IQ, ends up at a special school for highly gifted students. He strongly connects with a coterie of quirky, brilliant students while working on the school's robotics team.
I absolutely adored this book! I have strongly recommended it to my 9-year-old granddaughter, who is the perfect age for this middle grade novel, which is primarily targeted at children aged 8-10. The characters in this book are absolutely adorable, especially Donovan and Noah, a genius with an IQ of 207, who is a huge contributor to some of the funniest scenes in this book. I am so delighted that Noah is the major character in the sequel to this book, Supergifted.
This is the second book I have read by this prolific children's author, and I am going to be seeking out many more.
I checked out the audiobook version of this novel through Hoopla. The novel is told from multiple points of view, and each of the POV characters is narrated by a different voice actor. The recording is quite well done.
Due to a series of comic twists and turns, 14-year-old eighth grader, Donovan Curtis, who is of an average IQ, ends up at a special school for highly gifted students. He strongly connects with a coterie of quirky, brilliant students while working on the school's robotics team.
I absolutely adored this book! I have strongly recommended it to my 9-year-old granddaughter, who is the perfect age for this middle grade novel, which is primarily targeted at children aged 8-10. The characters in this book are absolutely adorable, especially Donovan and Noah, a genius with an IQ of 207, who is a huge contributor to some of the funniest scenes in this book. I am so delighted that Noah is the major character in the sequel to this book, Supergifted.
This is the second book I have read by this prolific children's author, and I am going to be seeking out many more.
I checked out the audiobook version of this novel through Hoopla. The novel is told from multiple points of view, and each of the POV characters is narrated by a different voice actor. The recording is quite well done.
November 7, 2014
This is a really impressive novel! Lots of a adults try to write books from the point of a child, and fail. This doesn't. When a kid named Donovan accedently destroys his school gym with a large bronze sphere (don't ask), a principle screws up and gets him sent to a smarty-pants private school instead of juvenile detention. There, he's the only one who's ever:
Explored YouTube
Skateboarded
Made a half-decent joke
Played a video game
Wrecked a school gym with a bronze ball (no surprise there)
He's going to have to try to stay with his new schools standards, try to give his peers a life, and stay under the school boards radar... Or he's dead!
Explored YouTube
Skateboarded
Made a half-decent joke
Played a video game
Wrecked a school gym with a bronze ball (no surprise there)
He's going to have to try to stay with his new schools standards, try to give his peers a life, and stay under the school boards radar... Or he's dead!
June 23, 2022
This was such a fun book! All the robot talk made my geeky heart more than happy! All the characters were so amazing and the story itself was super fun! Gordon Korman is obviously a talented author and I'm hooked! His books are filled with good truths that kids need to hear. So amazing!!
February 19, 2021
Completely unpredictable but by the end it got sort of repetitive and boring. I wish the author would show more of Donovan's other classes,he only showed a little portion of Donovan at the academy
August 12, 2024
⭐️ 4.5 ⭐️
June 8, 2012
Richie's Picks: UNGIFTED by Gordon Korman, Balzer+ Bray, September 2012, 288p., ISBN: 978-0-06-174266-8
"You may ask yourself, 'Well, how did I get here?'"
-- Talking Heads, "Once in a Lifetime"
Donovan Curtis, IQ: 112:
"Nussbaum noticed my zombielike concentration. 'Dude, what are you doing?'
"I didn't answer, and he didn't really expect me to. He knew me. They both did.
"I cocked back the branch, and unloaded a home run swing. The impact vibrated up through my arms to my brain stem, and into every cell of my body. The branch shattered in my hands.
"I have to say that this was always the best part of it for a guy like me -- the split-second the tomato hits the car; the very brief flight as I drop from the edge of the roof to the pool; the instant that the balloon lifts the toupee and the sun's rays glint off that shiny bald head.
"Or, in this case, the go-o-o-ong! sound from the statue's bronze behind. The payoff. It was usually downhill from there. Sometimes literally."
After Hardcastle Middle School student -- and class clown -- Donovan Curtis sneaks out of detention early (being that the teacher in charge has snuck out of supervising him in order to go watch the big basketball game in the school gymnasium), Donovan impulsively decides to give the school's statue of Atlas a big smack in the bronze butt. Of course, he had no idea that his home run swing will unexpectedly cause Atlas to drop his four-hundred pound bronze globe. Or that the four-hundred pound bronze globe will roll down the hill, shatter the gymnasium doors, destroy the gymnasium floor, and prematurely terminate the basketball game. Or that School District Superintendent Dr. Alonzo Schultz will come running out of the gymnasium and grab him. Or that Dr. Schultz will mistakenly use the blank form that is meant for listing gifted and talented students for school transfers when the Superintendent scribbles down Donovan's name. Or that School Secretary Mrs. Cynthia De Bourbon will subsequently refer to that form in order to prepare a letter for Dr. Schultz to sign that mistakenly transfers Donovan to the district's Academy of Scholastic Distinction for gifted and talented students.
Of course, given the damage to the gymnasium, coupled with Dr. Schultz's fortunate (for Donovan) lapse of memory as to the name of the culprit he'd scribbled down, Donovan is certainly not about to clarify the situation. And so off he goes to the ASD.
Chloe Garfinkle IQ: 159
"Abigail leaned over to me. 'That can't be right! He's coming to this school?'
"I was intrigued. 'You know him?'
"'We went to the same elementary. He's the kid who jumped off the roof with one of those Gymboree parachutes.'
"I sized him up. He was kind of cute in a careless, windblown way. Great eyes -- black fringed, pale blue.
"'Well, he must be smart if he passed all the tests to get in here.'
"Abigail was unconvinced. 'Maybe. But he would have had to change a lot since I knew him.'"
Changes, eh?
There are lots of changes in store for Donovan, and for all of his new classmates at the Academy of Scholastic Distinction when these two seemingly opposing forces begin to occupy the same space. In fact, it takes Donovan less than sixty seconds of being in his new homeroom at his new school for these changes to begin:
"I was fascinated. Now everybody was referring to this array of nuts and bolts and circuits as he. Was it possible that, in not naming our robot, Donovan had just named our robot?"
Behind the waves of hilarity, for which Gordon Korman is so deservedly known, we also discover in UNGIFTED some pretty significant social commentary about the state of education here in the twenty-first century. Who gains and who loses -- both socially and academically -- when all the talented students are pulled out of the "normal" schools and given a disproportionate share of scarce resources, whether it is in a charter school or a magnet school or a school for gifted and talented? And -- as I have been asking for decades now --how the heck is it that we, as a nation, have repeatedly chosen to provide far less overall in terms of public education for our children than our parents did for us?
(Or are we just so blind that we don't even realize how we got to here?)
Richie Partington
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com
Moderator http://groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_... http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/people/facult...
"You may ask yourself, 'Well, how did I get here?'"
-- Talking Heads, "Once in a Lifetime"
Donovan Curtis, IQ: 112:
"Nussbaum noticed my zombielike concentration. 'Dude, what are you doing?'
"I didn't answer, and he didn't really expect me to. He knew me. They both did.
"I cocked back the branch, and unloaded a home run swing. The impact vibrated up through my arms to my brain stem, and into every cell of my body. The branch shattered in my hands.
"I have to say that this was always the best part of it for a guy like me -- the split-second the tomato hits the car; the very brief flight as I drop from the edge of the roof to the pool; the instant that the balloon lifts the toupee and the sun's rays glint off that shiny bald head.
"Or, in this case, the go-o-o-ong! sound from the statue's bronze behind. The payoff. It was usually downhill from there. Sometimes literally."
After Hardcastle Middle School student -- and class clown -- Donovan Curtis sneaks out of detention early (being that the teacher in charge has snuck out of supervising him in order to go watch the big basketball game in the school gymnasium), Donovan impulsively decides to give the school's statue of Atlas a big smack in the bronze butt. Of course, he had no idea that his home run swing will unexpectedly cause Atlas to drop his four-hundred pound bronze globe. Or that the four-hundred pound bronze globe will roll down the hill, shatter the gymnasium doors, destroy the gymnasium floor, and prematurely terminate the basketball game. Or that School District Superintendent Dr. Alonzo Schultz will come running out of the gymnasium and grab him. Or that Dr. Schultz will mistakenly use the blank form that is meant for listing gifted and talented students for school transfers when the Superintendent scribbles down Donovan's name. Or that School Secretary Mrs. Cynthia De Bourbon will subsequently refer to that form in order to prepare a letter for Dr. Schultz to sign that mistakenly transfers Donovan to the district's Academy of Scholastic Distinction for gifted and talented students.
Of course, given the damage to the gymnasium, coupled with Dr. Schultz's fortunate (for Donovan) lapse of memory as to the name of the culprit he'd scribbled down, Donovan is certainly not about to clarify the situation. And so off he goes to the ASD.
Chloe Garfinkle IQ: 159
"Abigail leaned over to me. 'That can't be right! He's coming to this school?'
"I was intrigued. 'You know him?'
"'We went to the same elementary. He's the kid who jumped off the roof with one of those Gymboree parachutes.'
"I sized him up. He was kind of cute in a careless, windblown way. Great eyes -- black fringed, pale blue.
"'Well, he must be smart if he passed all the tests to get in here.'
"Abigail was unconvinced. 'Maybe. But he would have had to change a lot since I knew him.'"
Changes, eh?
There are lots of changes in store for Donovan, and for all of his new classmates at the Academy of Scholastic Distinction when these two seemingly opposing forces begin to occupy the same space. In fact, it takes Donovan less than sixty seconds of being in his new homeroom at his new school for these changes to begin:
"I was fascinated. Now everybody was referring to this array of nuts and bolts and circuits as he. Was it possible that, in not naming our robot, Donovan had just named our robot?"
Behind the waves of hilarity, for which Gordon Korman is so deservedly known, we also discover in UNGIFTED some pretty significant social commentary about the state of education here in the twenty-first century. Who gains and who loses -- both socially and academically -- when all the talented students are pulled out of the "normal" schools and given a disproportionate share of scarce resources, whether it is in a charter school or a magnet school or a school for gifted and talented? And -- as I have been asking for decades now --how the heck is it that we, as a nation, have repeatedly chosen to provide far less overall in terms of public education for our children than our parents did for us?
(Or are we just so blind that we don't even realize how we got to here?)
Richie Partington
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com
Moderator http://groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_... http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/people/facult...
February 27, 2013
This book was recommended to me by one of my baby nerdfighter friends at the STEM school. He said it was "awesome", "hilarious", and he wanted to see the graphic novel verision. They want a graphic novel verision of everything, which is good because I was there for graphic novel book club...Anywho, Gordon Korman knows his audience, and I can see why middle school guys - gifted and ungifted alike - dig this book. It reminded me a bit of a Carter Finally Gets It or Swim the Fly but for the younger set.
September 13, 2015
It was a well written book. There weren't to many deep meanings but if you dig beep you could find a few. I really liked the book for an easy read but I am still looking forward to reading something a bit more challenging.
November 24, 2015
A book that I would definitely recommend to anyone is Ungifted by Gordon Korman because of the relatable characters, the suspenseful plot, and the meaningful theme that can really relate with anyone. The story is mainly about a real goofball named Donovan and he really messed up while joking around with his friends. Destroying the school gym and having the school headmaster now hunting him down, Donovan really needed to find a way to distance himself from the school headmaster without his parents knowing what he had done. However, instead of getting caught and put in huge trouble, he accidentally got put into a gifted school instead. Donovan finds it to be the perfect hideout to avoid contact with the headmaster. The thing was, being an “ungifted” kid in a school full of brainiacs wasn’t a very good welcome to poor Donovan! First off, I believe that the characters in Ungifted are very effective because they are quite easy to relate with. There are many of the smart characters in this story such as Noah, Abigail, and Chloe. Yes, I’m not as smart as these characters and I don’t have an IQ of 150+, but there are still similarities. The fact that all these smart characters really struggled with their social lives and had many insecurities can make every reader feel at ease due to the easy connections that they can make with them. Even if it may sound silly, having similarities with smart characters also made me feel somewhat better about myself. Not only that, but the main character Donovan/Donny is easy to relate to as well. Donovan shows the silly, fun and nonchalant side of many people. To me, I felt like I could relate to Donovan the most because he was such an active character with so much energy and willpower, based off of how much he tries to get out of the messes that he’s put himself into. This leads into my next reason why you should read this book. There are many themes in this story, and it’s very easy to put real life situations into these themes. For example, just like Donny, I try to avoid consequences from problems that I create myself… and I’m sure many others can relate to this as well! From this book, however, I learned that facing your problems can be the simplest and easiest way out of things. It may not feel good to be punished, but the right thing to do will always be the most best solution in the end (which I will not spoil!). Not only that, but this book taught me that even the smartest people in the world struggle in life. This can show all readers that everyone has their highs and lows, no matter how smart or dumb you are. “Smart” people all have difficulties in life, whereas everyone else does too. I feel like all the different themes in Ungifted teach very nice and comforting lessons that anyone can benefit from. Therefore, I think that the many different themes in Ungifted were very well-developed and beneficial to the real world. Finally, the suspenseful plot in Ungifted is another reason why I recommend this book. The rising action that revolves around Donovan’s destiny and outcome made me really think of questions like, “What will happen to Donovan?” or, “Does he get caught?”. I feel like when we don’t know what twisted outcome the author is going to end the story like really makes people want to continue reading more of the story. Mainly, I really wanted to know if Donovan would get caught by the headmaster or not, and I’m sure you’d like to know too! If you think that this kind of story is for you (although I’m sure that this story is for everyone), go to the library and check it out before it’s all out! In conclusion, because of the relatable characters, the accurate themes, and the suspenseful plot that’s all packed into this story, it’s a great novel that I would want everyone to read.
August 8, 2015
Honestly, I would not have picked up this book if it had not just made the CCBA (Colorado Children's Book Award) nominee list for 2015. I had seen an advertisement for this book when it was among the selections in my most recent book fair, and, although the premise sounded cute, it didn't grab me.
Well, silly me! I actually got a big kick out of this story, and appreciated the clever way it is laid out. Basic premise: Donovan Harris is a middle school class clown. By his own admission, he just never thinks before he acts. If it looks like it'll be funny/dangerous/crazy, he leaps before he looks. However, his latest prank sets off a chain reaction he could never have anticipated. He ends up in the superintendent's office, and when the man writes his name down on a piece of paper so he doesn't forget, it turns out the paper is a list of students who qualified to be sent to the school for gifted children.
Donovan is shocked and bewildered. However, if hanging out in the genius academy means he can hide from the superintendent and not have to face the consequences of his actions, he's all for it! Not surprisingly, he actually starts to like some of his new, ultra-geeky classmates, and they, in turn, are 'enlightened' by his ordinari-ness!
I liked how Mr. Korman captioned each chapter with an "UN" word, and how many of the characters take turns telling their version of the story first person in each chapter.
This book should appeal greatly to many older elementary and middle school readers. I also hope it helps the readers to understand that every kid can have some redeeming qualities, and that categorizing people as "goof-offs" or "geeks" (among other labels) doesn't really give them a chance to appreciate what they have to offer.
Well, silly me! I actually got a big kick out of this story, and appreciated the clever way it is laid out. Basic premise: Donovan Harris is a middle school class clown. By his own admission, he just never thinks before he acts. If it looks like it'll be funny/dangerous/crazy, he leaps before he looks. However, his latest prank sets off a chain reaction he could never have anticipated. He ends up in the superintendent's office, and when the man writes his name down on a piece of paper so he doesn't forget, it turns out the paper is a list of students who qualified to be sent to the school for gifted children.
Donovan is shocked and bewildered. However, if hanging out in the genius academy means he can hide from the superintendent and not have to face the consequences of his actions, he's all for it! Not surprisingly, he actually starts to like some of his new, ultra-geeky classmates, and they, in turn, are 'enlightened' by his ordinari-ness!
I liked how Mr. Korman captioned each chapter with an "UN" word, and how many of the characters take turns telling their version of the story first person in each chapter.
This book should appeal greatly to many older elementary and middle school readers. I also hope it helps the readers to understand that every kid can have some redeeming qualities, and that categorizing people as "goof-offs" or "geeks" (among other labels) doesn't really give them a chance to appreciate what they have to offer.
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July 13, 2024Idk, how can I rate this??? 😭 I've had this book since I was in middle school, and it was one of my favorite comfort books that I would AT LEAST 3 times a year, so considering that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that I've read it nearly 20 times or more! :) As a 12/13 year old, I loved it, and would have rated it 100+ stars!! Now, I think I still would, but because of nostalgia 😌 For the people (presumably adults?) who rated in less than 3 stars because it wasn't "accurate", it's not made for adults!!! It's made for KIDS, who don't know and don't care!! It's a unique concept and fun plot, and that's really what matters 🙌
June 19, 2020
1 Sentence Summary: Donovan Curtis is a Troublemaker, and when one of his pranks causes major property damage at his school he knows he's in for it this time—except, a mix-up happens and instead of getting in trouble, he gets sent to the gifted school where he 100% does not belong, because Donovan Curtis is Not Gifted.
My Thoughts: This book is seriously hilarious. Gordon Korman is so good at writing interesting, developed characters. I loved Donovan, and even the secondary characters (like the Daniels) all have depth.
Recommend to: Anyone looking for a fun, lighthearted read.
My Thoughts: This book is seriously hilarious. Gordon Korman is so good at writing interesting, developed characters. I loved Donovan, and even the secondary characters (like the Daniels) all have depth.
Recommend to: Anyone looking for a fun, lighthearted read.
June 21, 2021
2.5 stars. The first time I read this book, I enjoyed it quite a bit. The second time through, about a year later, I found it uninteresting, undetailed, and unimportant (to continue with Korman’s “un” theme). Although I enjoyed Donavan’s voice, I found the switching between so many people’s perspectives confusing for the reader. Their voices came across far less authentic, almost as if Korman didn’t feel like looking into them better. The storyline was strange, and I failed to find a good moral. Overall, this book was not overly enjoyable for me personally, but I didn’t hate it.
September 27, 2014
This book was amazing. But its is pretty easy so high leveled 5th graders and average 6th grade readers should be challenged with it
March 13, 2017
LOVED everything about this quirky book! And I firmly believe it will resonate with those readers that are hard to find books for. It's humorous, clever, and keeps you reading. It is the story of middle schooler, Donovan, who is known for being in trouble. After a major catastrophe at school, that Donovan was responsible for, he is oddly sent to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction. He has no idea how he got there, but if it gets him out of trouble, he will take it. What ensues is a delightful story of Donovan coming to form relationships and even enjoy those "brainiacs" and even what he gives to them in return. I loved everything about this one!
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