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Pack of Dorks #3
Super Dorks
As the school year begins, Lucy realizes that everyone in the pack of dorks is famous except for her. Sam becomes a local celebrity when he rescues twin toddlers about to get hit by a car. April and her brother help bring about the downfall of a ring of bicycle thieves. Sheldon and Amanda get into the paper for their campaign to protect turtle eggs laid on the school playground. Lucy's new teacher talks about what it means to be brave like them and how to be a leader. But Lucy? She doesn't even like to go to the basement by herself!
So Lucy decides she's going to do something heroic. This might be her chance to find her awesome. She'll be a super dork!
Unfortunately, all her attempts to help save the day of friends, family, and strangers seem to go awry -- and even make the situation worse. Can Lucy ever find a way to become a hero?
So Lucy decides she's going to do something heroic. This might be her chance to find her awesome. She'll be a super dork!
Unfortunately, all her attempts to help save the day of friends, family, and strangers seem to go awry -- and even make the situation worse. Can Lucy ever find a way to become a hero?
304 pages, Hardcover
First published May 8, 2018
9 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Beth Vrabel
17 books154 followersBeth Vrabel is the author of Cyblis-nominated Caleb and Kit, ILA award-winning A Blind Guide to Stinkville, JLG-selection A Blind Guide to Normal, and The Reckless Club and Pack of Dorks series. She can't clap to the beat nor be trusted near Nutella. Beth loves traveling around the country to meet with young readers and writers, sharing a message of grit, resiliency and heart.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 17, 2018
Thanks, Edelweiss Plus, for giving me a digital ARC of the third book in Beth Vrabel's Pack of Dorks series. I loved it and am definitely going to purchase it, along with books 1 and 2, for my 4th and 5th grade libraries. The series revolves around a group of students who are not very popular at school and find that together, they make a great "pack" of friends. In this installment, Amanda, Lucy, Sheldon, April, and Sam are in the fifth grade and the upcoming election of class officers is on their minds. Added to this emotionally charged event is an act of heroism, an environmental disaster in the making, a lost/found mother, a wedding, and a variety of family and school-related dramas. The focal character in Super Dorks is Lucy, who is desperately seeking her "awesome" but seems to fail at all that she tries. Readers will make connections with her in every chapter whether they are popular at school, right in the middle, or on the outskirts. Those same readers may find new ways to express their own awesome or the bravery to seek it out. Lessons in friendship abound as well. This one is highly recommended for readers in grades 4-7 who enjoy realistic fiction and who need more than a quick to read chapter book but don't feel like tackling a 200+ page novel. And while part of a series, this book 3 stands alone having only a few references to earlier books that in no way interfere with understanding. Parents and librarians will be thrilled with another high-interest book that refrains from any profanity, violence, or sexual content.
December 30, 2024
Copy provided by the publisher
Lucy is no longer friends with Tom and Becky after Pack of Dorks and Camp Dorks, but they are still attending fifth grade with her. Lucy does have a small group of friends that includes Sheldon, who loves dinosaurs; April, who used to eat boogers; Amanda, who has anger management issues; and Sam, who is very invested in gymnastics. Lucy has Miss Parker, who is a bit quirky and into LARPing, but her friends are in other classes, which doesn't get the year off to a good start. It doesn't help when Sam saves twins from being run over by a car and breaks his arm, perhaps ending his gymnastics career, April catches a bike thief, Sheldon saves endangered turtles on the school grounds. Everyone else is doing heroic things, so Lucy decides to run for student government. Since Sam is getting so much attention, especially from the popular Tom and Becky, Lucy nominates him, and signs herself up as his running mate. As the election plans start, and secrets about her friends are revealed, Lucy starts to doubt her plan. Will she be able to make an impact in her world and still keep her few but loyal friends?
Strengths: I love the message that you don't have to have a lot of friends; you just need really good ones. To me, five friends is a lot. Lucy is not afraid to step out of her comfort zone when she is in search of something that matters to her, and she is supportive of her friends (especially Amanda, whose mother has abandoned her) even though she isn't especially respectful of Sam's wishes. The inclusion of the efforts to save the turtles was interesting.
Weaknesses: Something about the way Lucy describes her friends and their dorkitude (dorkosity) seems a half bubble off to me. I suspect that Ms. Vrabel was actually a very cool kid in fifth grade!
What I really think: This has a lot of attitudes and occurrences that are more suited to elementary schools, where this would be an essential purchase, but I haven't bought these for middle school even though Vrabel's other work is very popular.
Lucy is no longer friends with Tom and Becky after Pack of Dorks and Camp Dorks, but they are still attending fifth grade with her. Lucy does have a small group of friends that includes Sheldon, who loves dinosaurs; April, who used to eat boogers; Amanda, who has anger management issues; and Sam, who is very invested in gymnastics. Lucy has Miss Parker, who is a bit quirky and into LARPing, but her friends are in other classes, which doesn't get the year off to a good start. It doesn't help when Sam saves twins from being run over by a car and breaks his arm, perhaps ending his gymnastics career, April catches a bike thief, Sheldon saves endangered turtles on the school grounds. Everyone else is doing heroic things, so Lucy decides to run for student government. Since Sam is getting so much attention, especially from the popular Tom and Becky, Lucy nominates him, and signs herself up as his running mate. As the election plans start, and secrets about her friends are revealed, Lucy starts to doubt her plan. Will she be able to make an impact in her world and still keep her few but loyal friends?
Strengths: I love the message that you don't have to have a lot of friends; you just need really good ones. To me, five friends is a lot. Lucy is not afraid to step out of her comfort zone when she is in search of something that matters to her, and she is supportive of her friends (especially Amanda, whose mother has abandoned her) even though she isn't especially respectful of Sam's wishes. The inclusion of the efforts to save the turtles was interesting.
Weaknesses: Something about the way Lucy describes her friends and their dorkitude (dorkosity) seems a half bubble off to me. I suspect that Ms. Vrabel was actually a very cool kid in fifth grade!
What I really think: This has a lot of attitudes and occurrences that are more suited to elementary schools, where this would be an essential purchase, but I haven't bought these for middle school even though Vrabel's other work is very popular.
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June 11, 2025Eldest read
October 9, 2024
Lucy continues to feel so lucky she has found her pack…of dorks. School is getting ready to start up again, but it is nothing like Lucy imagined. April is going to a different school. Lucy is put in a new classroom away from everyone else. When Sam suddenly gets thrust into the spotlight, much to his chagrin, the dynamics completely change. Sam becomes a true hero when he saves twin toddlers from getting hit by a car, but in the process breaks his arm and ruins his gymnastics career. Lucy sees how sad her best friend, Sam, is, and wants to fix everything for him. Obviously, she didn’t learn her lesson from all of her “help” over the summer and everything just keeps getting worse. All Lucy wants to do is support her friends and figure out how she fits into the group she values so much. Can she find “her awesome” and still keep her friends?
What a fabulous conclusion to the Pack of Dorks series! I love the theme woven throughout the book - “find your awesome.” It is tough reading all of the struggles Lucy goes through when you know she is just trying to be a good friend. But, it is an amazing snapshot into the brain of a middle grade kiddo. Kids want so badly to belong and often don’t know what they did or didn’t do to make them fit in, or not. The relationships grow as the book moves along, and the reader really falls in love with all of the characters (except maybe Tom.) I really think this series should be in every 4th, 5th, and 6th grade classroom and encouraged for those readers.
What a fabulous conclusion to the Pack of Dorks series! I love the theme woven throughout the book - “find your awesome.” It is tough reading all of the struggles Lucy goes through when you know she is just trying to be a good friend. But, it is an amazing snapshot into the brain of a middle grade kiddo. Kids want so badly to belong and often don’t know what they did or didn’t do to make them fit in, or not. The relationships grow as the book moves along, and the reader really falls in love with all of the characters (except maybe Tom.) I really think this series should be in every 4th, 5th, and 6th grade classroom and encouraged for those readers.
June 26, 2018
#partner Thank you @kidlitexchange for a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own. I found this to be a very realistic depiction of life as a 5th grader. Lucy feels like she’s not necessarily fantastic at anything, which I can definitely relate to! She works hard throughout the book to run for class president, dealing with friend and classmate issues along the way. Although I overall enjoyed it, I think it could use a little polishing and more consistency in the middle and end. There are some references to puberty, a catchy phrase she uses like crazy for only a couple chapters, and in the end there are some feminist references that are not necessarily bad, just feel out of place. It’s overall worth a read!
March 24, 2018
Beth Vrabel writes about kids who are trying to find their way those early teen years mean so much and you are trying to figure who I am —- within or a part from our pack/tribe.
Lucy wants to be s hero like each of closest friends, but fears she lacks the special talent, knowledge or fearlessness it takes to be a real hero.
But she just might be wrong...
Lucy wants to be s hero like each of closest friends, but fears she lacks the special talent, knowledge or fearlessness it takes to be a real hero.
But she just might be wrong...
January 10, 2022
I know this is a series written for kids (I would guess 3rd-8th grade-ish) but I absolutely loved them! They had me laughing out loud as well as choking up with tears! Lucy and Sam were great characters! The silly stories and side characters helped to make the plots engaging! Proud to be a Super Dork!
August 13, 2022
What it's about: Lucy and her wolf pack are back! Lucy is feeling a little left out after it seems like everyone around her suddenly finds themselves getting public recognition. Sam saves two children, April helps foil a bike thief, Sheldon and Amanda are saving endangered turtles.
Lucy's attempts to become a hero never quite seem to go how they're supposed to. She's still trying to find her "thing", that special something she's naturally good at. Everyone else seems to have found theirs - why is she having so much trouble?
The more she tries to be like her friends, the more trouble she stirs up. And the more she manages to drive away every member of her pack.
Adding to Lucy's problem: Her friends seem to be changing in ways Lucy doesn't understand, but definitely doesn't like. Why can't things stay the same?
Unfortunately, Lucy's learning how difficult it can be to grow up. Hopefully, she can figure out how to do it before she gets left behind.
What I thought: This installment in the series expands the characters' lives and adds depth to characters who have been rather thin supporting characters in previous volumes. I still find it frustrating how self-centered Lucy is, especially after two previous books in which she supposedly learned a bit about looking beyond herself. But I suppose it's realistic that kids (and, let's face it, humans) often don't learn their lesson the first time around.
Why my chosen shelves: medical, mental health:
Why I rated it like I did: This book does a great job of helping younger readers see that jealousy of their peers is not productive. I also really appreciated Sam's journey in this story. There's also a great lesson on being aware of the environment around us, and standing up for what you believe in, even when that might not be a popular position.
Lucy's attempts to become a hero never quite seem to go how they're supposed to. She's still trying to find her "thing", that special something she's naturally good at. Everyone else seems to have found theirs - why is she having so much trouble?
The more she tries to be like her friends, the more trouble she stirs up. And the more she manages to drive away every member of her pack.
Adding to Lucy's problem: Her friends seem to be changing in ways Lucy doesn't understand, but definitely doesn't like. Why can't things stay the same?
Unfortunately, Lucy's learning how difficult it can be to grow up. Hopefully, she can figure out how to do it before she gets left behind.
What I thought: This installment in the series expands the characters' lives and adds depth to characters who have been rather thin supporting characters in previous volumes. I still find it frustrating how self-centered Lucy is, especially after two previous books in which she supposedly learned a bit about looking beyond herself. But I suppose it's realistic that kids (and, let's face it, humans) often don't learn their lesson the first time around.
Why my chosen shelves: medical, mental health:
Why I rated it like I did: This book does a great job of helping younger readers see that jealousy of their peers is not productive. I also really appreciated Sam's journey in this story. There's also a great lesson on being aware of the environment around us, and standing up for what you believe in, even when that might not be a popular position.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews