The Misadventures of Max Crumbly 2: Middle School Mayhem

Misadventures of Max Crumbly #2

by Rachel Renée Russell

Max Crumbly faces the music in this second book in the series from #1 New York Times bestselling Dork Diaries author Rachel René​e Russell!When we last left our hero, Max Crumbly, he had crash-landed on top of a Mighty Meat Monster pizza after taking a late night tumble through the vents at South Ridge Middle School—and he was completely surrounded by three ruthless criminals! Will Max be shredded to bits like mozzarella cheese on the hard and crunchy pizza crust of doom? Can his friend and sidekick, computer whiz Erin, help get him out of this sticky situation alive?

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

238 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2017

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

[reenie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Once upon a time about four years ago, I adored Rachel Renee Russell for being witty and realistic and relatable and honest in Dork Diaries. And somewhere along the line, I lost the adoration when she lost her connection to reality, but still, hold hope and still read her books, wishing for her to return to her roots. I put my faith in Max Crumbly, but it was a pointless attempt.
Alas, the roots have lifted, and in all the books she has written recently, the signature voice that I loved is gone, and only disappointment remains.

[Bees · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man, I really thought this whole misadventure would be over!! Oh well, anything to make more books, I guess...anyway not bad, but I'd really like a series more like Dork Diarys! *sigh* oh well,not bad but I'd like to see more of middle school than the air vents. I like the book, don't get me wrong but I just expected more... )-=

[Sanja_Sanjalica · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5
Just as the previous book, full of Home Alone (School Alone??) scenes and little else.
Really like the rap.
Everything else was just...I don't know. I know I said I wouldn't read the sequel after not liking the first book, but I came across it related to my work so I gave it a shot. Can't say it was worth it.

[Shreya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just like the previous book in this series, this book was filled with, embarrassment, surprise, and most importantly, another major cliffhanger! I get that the author wants to hook the reader with all the surprise in the story, but I can’t wait for the next book in the series! I bet it’ll be just like this one, including the most important element this author uses, surprise! The most surprising part in this book was definitely when Max had tried to escape the middle school, safely with his dad’s comic, and Ralph, the main burglar, pops out of the door and scares him, half to death! I did not see that one coming at all! The main story is, Max Crumbly is trying to escape the homeschooling with his grandma, to what he think is the better world of public school! When he finally gets a shot there, the bully, Thug Thurston, is there to destroy his life, by locking him into his locker! The second time Max gets trapped, opportunities come knocking at the door, but he can’t get his chances to fall into place! Long story short, Max ends up traveling the school ventilation system, in hopes to get out, and finds himself trapped in a bigger situation. Turns out that three burglars are burglarizing the school, very same night! When the burglars realize a kid is in the school, they need to stop him from escaping the building and informing the police about the theft. In this book, Max and his friend, Erin gain control over the security system, and work together so they can get his dad’s expensive comic, and leave the premises to inform the police. They team up to track the burglars, and create booby traps to stop the burglars from catching him. I think that this book was amazing, so great job on that, Rachel Renee Russel. This book really impressed me, and made my day!

[Kaylee · Rating 5 out of 5]

For my second book I read max crumbly locker hero middle school mayhem. In this book we got brought back to where we lead off in the other book. Max flew through the vent and ruined the burgers dinner break and now they are mad Ralph tries to go in the vent but gets stuck and moose and tucker try to get him out and pull Ralph pants down. Then they lower moose into the kitchen and rap him in plastic food rap. Then lower tucker into the gym and get him in a net connect the net to the basket ball hoop and pull him up so he can't escape. Finally he is almost out but he runs into Ralph and Ralph chases him down and Ralph gets rapped in a snake called Tinkerbell. Then Max runs and jumps out the window after his dads comic book and falls into the dumpster and then Erin comes and tries to get him out of the dumpster but falls in too. And again it ends on a cliff hanger.
The theme for this book is anyone can be a hero no matter what people have done in the past. In the book in the past Max throws up on thugs shoe. Max has also lied to Erin but she still helped him so she was a hero to him. He has also been a big baby and weakling in the past but now he is a hero and he has a trusty side kick Erin.
In my opinion this is a really good book. I liked the book because there are some pretty close calls. Like when Max slides across there pizza and they are about to get him but the lights go out and he gets away. That was a close call!! I also like the book because There are some pretty cool raps and funny comic book things in it. The author did a really good job on this book it is one of my favorites.

[Rainy Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second adventure of Max Crumbly. This time, he tried to capture the thieves that wanted to steal the school's computers and getting his dad's comic book with the help of his friend, Erin.

Personally, I think I prefer the Dork Diaries series more. But it's not like Max's story is not good. It's good, but it didn't really piqued my interest like Nikki's stories did. Besides that, Max's adventures were solely occur in one place only and that was, in Max's school ground. So, that made this series probably less exciting to me.

This book is suitable for young readers because there's a lot of illustrations (Max doing his "heroic" things). I probably will recommend to you the Dork Diaries series more.

[Ghost Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want a locker like his 😂

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book "Max Crumbly Middle school mayhem" is a good book. I like it because the character is a confident character and believes in him self. I also like it because the character is set on a quest to stop the crimi8nals inside the school.

[Seyma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dit boek was veel beter dan de eerste. Het was gewoon veel korter wat ik beter vond ook voor mijn concentratieproblemen want het eerste boek was echt veel te groot. en ik ging deze keer ook weer gewoon snel doorheen en ja.

[Riley]

The boy version of Dork Diaries. My student loved this book, and read without me. This book I used to start the transition away from only reading graphic novels.

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the girl is very annoying, but this book is good both the best from this author, but enjoyable.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Not as good as the first book but not too boring

[Kayleighbooks5 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very funny book I recommend this to people who like comedy have a good day!

[Lily Pierce · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Kumail A · Rating 4 out of 5]

a solid sequel, can’t wait for more.

[Carson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall an ok book. Pretty much a rip off of Diary Of A Wimpy Kid

[Chi Chi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was funny. I like how it was finishing the story from the previous book, but not finishing it completely. Hilarious and captivating, Middle School Mayhem really set expectations high on what the next book would be like.

If you don't like cliffhangers, in the first few pages, Rachel Renée Russell writes on how you might not want to finish this book. Still finish it though!

Also, it's a quick read! ;)

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silliness ensues as we revisit Max Crumbly still trying to recover his dad's comic book while three thugs are vandalizing the middle school. Bumbling, idiotic thieves are after Max, but he has one thing on his mind...get that comic book. Of course, the logical thing would be to call the police, but with the help of his friend and computer genius, Erin, he's sure to get it all worked out.

The Misadventures of Max Crumbly: Middle School Mayhem is quite repetitive and overly slapstick(y). Not as much fun as the first or even Dork Diaries...I think this misses the mark, but on the other hand, kids will probably love it. Sigh.

[Serena · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories were quite interesting. I like that Max and Nikki have a similar life.

[Sely · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've finally decided to continue this series forever... NOT. So long, Max. Nice to know you.

[Book Lover · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is about a boy called Max Crumbly who is stuck in his locker for a three day weekend. On top of that there are three burglars, Ralph, Tucker, and Moose who wants to steal the school computers. Luckily Max has a best friend called Erin who is a computer genius can work from home to hack in to the schools system. In the last book Max escapes from his locker into the boiler room and from there can crawl through the vents. In this book it starts by Max falling from the vents into the burglars pizza which they ordered because they were hungry. The book goes on to tell of how Max stops the villains one by one and tries to find his dads old and valuable comic.

The characters are really funny and can be sarcastic many times which I like. Even though getting trapped in your locker for a three day weekend while stopping burglars with your sidekick is unlikely there are a lot of relatable everyday things in the shape of something slightly different. For example, Erin insists that Max keeps his phone with him at all times so that she can contact him. However Max’s phone battery is running low and doesn’t see the point in keeping the phone on. This is relatable because sometimes when you are a teen your parents ask you to come home way earlier than you find necessary and you really don’t know why. There are a lot of character attributes that can be relatable as well. For example Max loves rapping and makes about three raps based on the situations in the book. This paints him as creative. Erin is a computer genius and uses her genius to do things such as hack into the systems and turn off the lights, turn on the sprinklers, and even raise the basketball hoop. Although most people cant do this I am sure they can relate to Erin’s love of computer science. The author has actually written the Dork Diaries series which is a bit more realistic but the main character, Nikki, faces a lot of conflicts as well. There is a lot of tension in this book like at one point when it looks like Max is going to get beaten up by Moose but I thought this was the end for Max but Moose just ends up sitting himself on fire.

Some of the key points and messages I am trying to make is that there are a lot of relatable points in this story and that even though the story isn’t very realistic the concept and a lot of conflicts can be relatable if you look at them in the right way. There is a lot of tension and the book even ends with a cliffhanger. Tue book also has some satisfying moments where you get the satisfaction of beating up the bad guys. It also as a lot of funny moments to make you laugh.

I would definitely recommend this book to another person. This book is funny and unrealistic but still relatable. It is sure to make you laugh if you are feeling down. I would recommend this to someone who loves superheroes and loves reading about other peoples funny life’s because this book paints Max as a hero who is an amateur but loves superheroes. He is super creative and funny so that it makes you laugh. I had a lot of laughs reading this book. I would definitely rate this book a five star. I would also recommend this book to dork diary fans because Max is a huge dork to and always tries to make his dreams like he imagined. However when things don’t go as planned he still finds a way to make it right. I definitely like this book and I have also made a plan and when things don’t go right I try to make them and they turn out better.

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book picks up where we left Max at the end of book 1 (though it does recap for those who forgot). In this one he continues to try and retrieve his father's comic book from the hands of thieves at the school and stop them from making off with all the school's computers.

With a large font and lots of illustrations, this is a pretty quick read despite its size. The content itself is also pretty fluffy though definitely not boring. It's definitely aimed to entertain and get reluctant readers into a book. (The 3rd & 4th chapters were completely random and I got worried the entire book would be that but thankfully Max gets back to the plot right after his weird ramblings.) Max's improbable adventures and zany plans to stop the thieves are definitely memorable. Kids should like it. Adults will probably roll their eyes at it. But if this is the gateway that opens the door to the magic of reading for some kid, I'm all for it.

Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content. Some events that probably would result in booboos in real life but the characters are almost cartoons and they seem ok. Also, some bathroom humor.

[Mariano Antolin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alright, I admit that I DO go back and read old books that are probably more appropriate for sixth grade and under... But its fun to see how much I’ve progressed in reading, and maybe just for fun. SO I was going back and reading this, and I realized it was actually a pretty good book! Just saying, this is the second book. Just to be clear, you’ll have no idea what the heck I’m talking about if you haven’t read the first one yet. Anyways, our 8th grade hero, (Seventh or eighth I dont remember) , max crumbly, is in a pretty bad situation. Where we last left off, you was gliding through the schools ac vents, when he suddenly reaches a dead end! Before he had realized it, it was already too late. He crashed the the vents, and landed on a giant pizza, he looked up to find the gang of robbers looking right down at him. He had to get out of their. Surprisingly, I do reccomend this book, with awesome raps, (Clean, obviously) action packed adventures, and seven some suspense. I spend a lot of time going back and reading books that I’ve finished already along time ago, and this one was pretty good! So, go ahead and try it.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this four stars because I got a kick out of it, liked Max and Erin, and think many kids would enjoy it.

Do I sound defensive? Did I say it is not great literature? But it is a fun read, there's a hero and his friend with whom kids can identify, and they, indeed, want to read it! Those are some of the best qualities of juvenile fiction in my book!

I will also note that out of 22 copies in the Fairfax County Public Library system, 21 are checked out and there are two holds on the title! I hope someone at FCPL has been smart enough to try to get Ms. Russell into a summer program at the library!

Therefore, I stand proudly beside my 4 stars and the author, who lives in my neck of the woods!

I saw this title on a list of graphic novel recommendations, but it seems to be almost a cross between regular fiction and graphic.

First Line: "I knew middle school was going to be challenging, but I never expected to end up DEAD in the computer lab, wearing a SUPERHERO COSTUME, with four slices of PIZZA stuck to my BUTT!"

[libs :p · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, so... this book was okay. I found the actual school scenes with the burglars really interesting and super fun, yet this book was just filled with sooooo much filler content.

Honestly, I said in my review of book one that it just felt like the beginning of the book and not the first book in the series, and honestly I feel like if you took the filler content out of both of the books and combined them into one, it would make one, almost complete, book.

This book also feels like it’s just missing the last twenty pages. It honestly feels like the whole storyline just needs and ending and that’s it, and it could really be resolved VERY quickly, so I’m not really sure why there’s a whole nother book?

Honestly, it does feel like these first two books have felt unfinished and that it’s ended at a really unerganomic point in the story. However, if you’re reading them back to back like I am, it’s not that big of a problem.

(Also I really didn’t love the treatment of turtles in this book 😢 It doesn’t send great messages to kids about keeping pets).

[Jenna Zak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Middle School Mayhem, written by Rachel Renee Russell, is a book about a boy named Max Crumbly that snuck into his school vents late at night. While he was crawling through the vents, he fell through and landed on top of a humongous pizza, but was surrounded by three scary criminals. Max then escapes the criminals but is locked in the school. While Max is in there, he decides to set some funny traps so he can get ahold of the mysterious criminals. Can max and his sidekick friend Erin get out of this dark scary situation?
I really enjoyed the book. I thought it was very funny, interesting and creative. One thing that I did not really like about the book was that Max’s family was never really involved. I don’t think I would change anything in the book besides involving the family a little more. Besides that, the book was awesome.
I think kids who are about 8-13 would really enjoy the book because it is creative and it has a lot of comedy. I also think that grown ups would also enjoy the book too.

[navybluecats · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual review of this book: 2.41

Why is Max such a pick me boy???

The Dork Diaries series was honestly such an amazing piece of literature and was literally a piece of art. Comparing the experience of Dork diaries and this “book” is like comparing renaissance art to contemporary art, utterly flawed in all ways.

Not to mention, the way the “villains” in this book were portrayed is so stereotypical and I honestly think she just searched up stereotypes of robbers and added those into the book.

The only semi good part was the raps, which still gave me “the ick”.

Personally, I like cliffhangers but with this book I just wanted to strangle the ending. It didn’t make sense at all. Also, I know the book is supposed to be like a diary but why is it written like he’s writing DURING the entire time?

This book is something that has to go back to studio for Mrs. Russell herself to redo.

Extra: the front cover of this book is so ugly.

Sincerely,
Crystalline 🫶🏼

[Eve L-A Witherington · Rating 5 out of 5]

We pick up the story of this book, the second in the new Max series where he had just interrupted the burglars, by landing on their pizza orders!



As Max tries to find his dad's precious comic book worth a lot of money whilst trying to escape unscathed from the burglars as they try to steal the school computers still.



Working on the phone with limited time to talk and fulfill their plan, Erin assists Max by using the school camera's to keep an eye on the action going down. Only when Erin get caught online by her parents she leaves Max alone to save himself from the crooks, but can he do so alone?



Another cliffhanger ending to another brilliant instalment in Max's life so far and I can't wait for more. The drawings are great as usual, the plot kept me guessing and the shocks kept coming!

[Applsd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I might have enjoyed book two even more than book one. It's at least as good. There's more Erin and less Thug! :)
Fast paced and illustration-packed, I don't see this series deteriorating anytime soon. The illustration style is completely the same as Dork Diaries, which only bugs me a little. I mean, what if Max and Nikki both entered the same art competition and--sorry, I'm getting off track. Anyway, while the art style is the same, the writing voice is noticeably different. Max seems to have a calmer laid back attitude than Nikki. He doesn't "squee". He doesn't obsess over his crush, won't even admit it. This new POV is very refreshing!
So encourage you to read this book, and not just middle schoolers. (Chiminee, I'm not one!)

[Maddi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was about a kid named Max Crumbly who got stuck in his locker for a three day weekend. During his time trying to get out of his locker, he has to face three burglars in his school that have his dad's comic book. Max goes throughout the school with his friend Erin on the phone to help him with the cameras to see the burglars and help him deal with the burglars by making plans. Both then stopped the three burglars with sneaky plans and Max got back his comic book. Max then got out of the school and met up with Erin before the police came to the school.

I think this was a 4-5 review because the book was good, but i wish more events happened and that it wasn't to be continued. Also I wish there was more characters in the story.