Field Trip Fiasco

Middle School #13

by James Patterson, Martin Ed Chatterton, Tre Lewis (Illustrations)

Things have quieted down for lovable troublemaker Rafe Khatchadorian, and after all the mishaps and adventures he's been through, he's feeling a little restless. So when he's invited to attend an all-expenses paid art field trip in California, Rafe jumps at the opportunity.
But things go sideways, as they always do for Rafe, when he arrives and realizes his trip isn't the Hollywood vacation he thought it would be. Instead, he'll be participating in a "Cultural Campout" in the desert.
What follows is a series of unfortunate events that only Rafe could find himself in, including an encounter with a cranky crocodile, a claustrophobic trip into an ancient cave, and a set of cave ancient cave paintings that may or may not have been faked.
To make matters worse, Rafe finds himself smack dab in the middle of a plot to smuggle a legendary missing diamond. Has he finally stumbled his way into an adventure he can't get himself out of?

Genres: Middle Grade, Fiction, Childrens, Humor, Young Adult

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 25, 2021

About the author

Official US Site
Official UK Site
JIMMY Patterson Books
ReadKiddoRead

James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time and the creator of such unforgettable characters and series as Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride. He has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton, Dolly Parton, and Michael Crichton, as well as collaborated on #1 bestselling nonfiction, including The Idaho Four, Walk in My Combat Boots, and Filthy Rich. Patterson has told the story of his own life in the #1 bestselling autobiography James Patterson by James Patterson. He is the recipient of an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.

Reviews

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for a challenge. Fun story, will read other books in the series

[Samuel Aitkenhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rafe the loser strikes again

[Siddharth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rafe Khatchadorian is excited to go to Hollywood...until he finds out that he's actually going camping!
⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of five.
This is a brilliant tale in the Middle School series!

[B.J. Burgess · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Middle School books have always been well-written with funny illustrations, but that's not the case with Middle School: Field Trip Fiasco. The narration feels a bit off compared to the previous installments, and this more or less has to do with the new co-author, Martin Chatterton, and illustrator, Anthony Lewis. The writing isn't up to par with the rest of the series.


The art camp plot isn't necessarily a bad idea, but the story falls apart midway. The missing diamond subplot would be better suited for Mr. Patterson's Treasure Hunters book series. The illustrations in this book are generic at best. They don't have the same comedic look to them as were featured in the other Middle School books.


Overall, Middle School: Field Trip Fiasco is the worst book in the series. The writing feels rushed, and the illustrations are a yawn. Let's hope this isn't going to be a new trend for the series.

[Storm · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rafe's art has gained him enough attention to win an all expenses paid trip to California for Culture Camp, where he will get to mix with budding young artists who work with all mediums, from all over the world. His friend Ellie, from Middle School: Escape to Australia happens to be one of the artists! A friend, he realizes he has a crush on. What a great premise! The Cultural Campers are heading to see Cave Paintings at Crocodile Rock. What's could go wrong?



No, Rafe can't possibly get into THAT much trouble, right? Wrong. Of course he can. We are treated to a slew of stupid decisions, lucky guesses and Rafe like shenanigans. The charm of this series is wearing thin. It reached a high point with Just My Rotten Luck and has gone downhill since. Everything is horribly improbable. The only saving grace that made this have 2 stars is the presence of the other artists, which is the most interesting part of this book but we did NOT get to read enough about them. I wish they had spent more time fleshing out the secondary characters, something Patterson and his co-author managed to do with great effect in the Jamie Grimm books.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

School library copy

Rafe gets an unexpected scholarship to an art camp that he thinks will be in Hollywood. His mother and grandmother are reluctant until they find out that the school principal will be chaperoning. Rafe and Mrs. Donatello fly out and end up at Bigbottom Creek, in a sketchy motel. They meet other campers and find out they will be camping in the desert. They get to see cave paintings, but the trip turns out to have little art and a lot of odd mysteries, as well as crocodiles. In the desert.

So many things didn't make sense about this story. I can't imagine a principal and one student flying off to an art camp. Ellie, whom Rafe met in Australia, has flown in for this camp, where little art seems to happen. Like the other books in this series, this had a lot of vaguely humorous anecdotal scenes, but did have a rather Scooby Doo mystery involving an evil corporation at the end of it.

I've missed the last couple of these, but think that I will stop buying these at number 15, Winter Blunderland. They circulate decently, but usually only at the beginning of the year.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book for the most part was really good. It was nice to see Ellie from Escape to Australia again, but it has a few flaws that can't be overlooked. I'm gonna start off with the fact that the illustrations look like they were drawn by a little kid. If this was earlier in the series, it would be understandable. But one of the best parts about the Middle School series was that the illustrations became more sophisticated as the series went on. But this one just wasn't it. And the book also took a step away from its regular humor filled story. This book was more action in my opinion. And some parts were rushed, especially at the end. Even though this book has quite a few flaws it was still pretty good. Not all books are perfect, and this one certainly is not, but just because something isn't perfect doesn't mean that it's horrible.

[Savannah McConnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Middle school Field Trip Fiasco is written by James Patterson and is about a by named Rafe Khatchadorian. The book is about how Rafe faces a crocodile, a quircky campout, and a dastardly diamond plot in his most tops and turny adventure yet. In the book, Rafe is offered a full paid trip to California and he takes the opportunity. When he arrives, he realives the trip wasn't to Hollywood but to a cultural campout in the desert. Rafe runs into the cranky crocodile.

After, Rafe end up in an ancient cave and finds a set of ancient paints that maybe fake. To make things even worse, Rafe finds himself in the middle of a plot to smuggle a legendary missing diamond. Rafe has finally found the worst problem to be stuck with

[Sandra 💜 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Status: read
Edition: paperback
My Reading Dates: 15 Sept - 17 Sept
Genre: Middle School, Comedy, Children's Fiction
Pages: 288
Pace: medium

My Thoughts
I usually like books in the Middle School series, but idk about this one. I feel like I wasn't in the right mood for it.

I also felt like I missed something with Ellie. I remember her from the book set in Australia, but honestly, I don't recall her being so rude to Rafe. Also, of all of the USA, they happened to only get 10, and they all happen to catagorize into different parts of art??

I was skimming the pages for the most part, but I still think it was an enjoyable book.

↝4 stars

[Steven Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rafe Khatchadorian is back in the latest adventure in the bestselling Middle School series

GUESS WHERE I'M GOING?

ON AN ALL-EXPENSES-PAID ART TRIP TO CALIFORNIA!

And it's going to be awesome.

I can't wait to see the big Hollywood sign, walk right past celebrities on the streets, and go to a red-carpet movie premiere.

And this time, nothing's going to go wrong!

Famous last words, right?

Well, let's just say there's actually no Hollywood on my trip, but there is camping, diamond thieves, and a big, hungry crocodile.

This field trip is going to be a CATASTROPHE!

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rafe Khatchadorian has been invited to spend an all expense paid trip to California to attend an Artist work shop. Rafe can't wait to get to Hollywood, and mingle with the stars. The only stars Rafe will be mingling with are the stars above his head as he finds himself camping out in the middle of the desert. but that doesn't stop Rafe from finding adventure as he and his friends are mixed up in a search for a stolen diamond.

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give this book a 3 star. I love James Patterson's books. I have watched the movie, but this was my first time reading the actual series. The movie must be very different from the books, because I see no resemblance. The plot was okay, I liked the mystery scope and at the end, I was hooked. I would recommend this book to kids around 8- 12.

[Katie Buckingham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun middle grade story about a kid that always seems to have the bad luck and gets in the craziest situations. This time he wins a trip to CA for an art camp. It turns into REAL tent camping in the desert with a girl he likes. He also happens upon a crocodile and a crime ring. It was a fast read and well written as you would expect from Patterson. It also was funny, sarcastic and witty.

[Julie Ditton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This entry in the Middle School series is rather disappointing. Patterson has both a new "coauthor" and a new illustrator. The author spins an interesting enough story, but the tone is off. The character of Rafe just doesn't quite ring true. The illustrations lack all the humorous detail that makes Graberstine so delightful.

[Ria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another brilliant Rafe saga

I've read all of the Rafe books to my son and we were so glad to see this new edition!! My son is 8 and he can't get enough of Rafes antics. Please write another Rafe book!!!!!

[Haelee Jenft · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had a super good and funny story. The characters in it were perfect for the story that it was telling and there were some great details added in. It had awesome illustrations that the theme it was going for.

[Katelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since I was a young teenager I had read the "Middle School" books and I thought they were really funny :) I've read several of James Patterson's books just this year and I still find them enjoyable even as a adult ♥

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun book.

[Vickie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very fast read.

[Diego · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was entertaining, some parts felt pretty rushed though.

[Jayden Liptak · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was good. thats all. Have a great day :)

[Oni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lord Katchadorian

[Izzie Wilde · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is exactly the same as the book "Going Bush" which is the 7.5 book of the series.

[coriolis]

This is the same book as Going Bush, so idk what the deal with that is, man.

[Endrit Nikqi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty fun installment in the series. Although the illustrations aren’t the best, they still had their own style to them. I also thought that the plot felt more like a plot from James Patterson’s series “Treasure Hunters,” but it was still fun. It also was nice to see previous characters again, like Ellie from Book 9. Overall, it was a fun read.