Review - Middle School: Ultimate Showdown

Middle School: Ultimate Showdown

By James Patterson and Julia Bergen

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Pub. Date: March 31, 2014

Retail: $13.99

ISBN: 978-0316322119

Pages: 256

Buy Link:

Hardback

Book Description: 

Readers get a chance to participate in James Patterson's wildly successful Middle School series in this interactive book featuring more than 80 hilarious anecdotes from dueling siblings Rafe and Georgia Khatchadorian--plus dozens of fun-filled activities!

The Khatchadorian kids are an opinionated duo, and as readers of the Middle School stories know, they don't exactly see eye to eye. But when wild-card Rafe and mostly-straight-laced Georgia go at it, the only thing more fun than their ranting is getting to join in! Their back-and-forth banter on a range of topics--from bullying to cafeteria food to school dress codes--introduces more than 40 writing and drawing prompts and other games, along with room for readers to share their own points of view. (Includes over 200 illustrations.)

Review:

It seems there is a new James Patterson thriller being released every other month, but in between Alex Cross sequels and the new installments of the Women's Murder Mystery Club, Mr. Patterson co-authors several book series that are aimed for children. The latest installment of the Middle School series, titled Middle School: Ultimate Showdown, which is co-authored by Julia Bergen, was released last week.

Middle School: Ultimate Showdown once again focus on Rafe Khatchadorian, a middle school character who tells each story from his point-of-view, while at the same time he interacts with the readers. This installment has a twist, as his little sister, Georgia, is giving her point-of-view on everything, but the brother and sister both think they have the best tales and advice, so they are letting the readers decide who is the best. 

Unlike the previous installments, there isn't one main plot here, but a bunch of random tales, games, puzzles and other fun entertainment for kids to interact with these two fictional characters. The two battle it out for the best advice on how to handle school bullying, they share their thoughts on school dances and just about anything and everything that goes through a middle graders mind. Rafe even has his own fart chart. There is also a short crossover with Jamie Grimm from James Patterson's I Funny series.

Books are unfortunately becoming a thing of the past with all the video games, i-Pads, cell phones and every other new electronic device that kids are exposed to. It is nice to see a new books aimed for middle graders that is well-written and funny. Middle School: Ultimate Showdown has plenty of games and jokes throughout the book to keep the interests of any middle grader. Overall, I thought Middle School: Ultimate Showdown is a cute book for kids and that it would make a great present for Easter.

*Disclaimer - I received a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.