A stellar ensemble cast brings crowd-pleasing personality to a diverse group of misfit students and their teacher in this funny classroom story. Mr. Kermit is counting the days until his retirement, but in his final year of teaching, he is relegated to the “Self-Contained Special Eighth-Grade Class”—a.k.a. “The Unteachables.” Over the course of the school year, this underdog group experiences mischievous mayhem, as well as friendship and triumph. Chapters rotate first-person narration between students and school faculty, and each narrator adds depth to the different perspectives. Most memorable are the gruff, jaded indifference of Oliver Wyman’s Mr. Kermit, the well-meaning enthusiasm of Josh Hurley’s Parker, and the frenetic, high-pitched energy of Chris Gebauer’s Mateo. S.C. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

10/15/2018
Mr. Kermit was once among the best teachers at Greenwich Middle School, but a cheating scandal 25 years ago dampened his passion for the job, and now he is biding time until his early retirement. After the superintendent assigns him to the “Self-Contained Special Eighth-Grade Class”—widely called “the Unteachables”—he resigns himself to getting through the year, transferring his coffee and crossword habit to the new room, and ignoring his new students. The small class is known for being troublesome: Parker can’t make sense of letters, tough Elaine terrifies the others, Rahim sleeps all the time, and Kiana ends up in the class when her stepmother fails to register her for school. After Mr. Kermit’s former fiancée’s daughter turns out to be the new teacher next door and meddles with disciplining the bunch, Mr. Kermit stands up for the kids, and both students and teacher realize the value of their abilities. Chapters rotate narration between students and administrators, giving varied perspectives to this humorous classroom underdog story that champions teamwork, kindness, and hidden sparks. Ages 8–12. Agent: Elizabeth Harding, Curtis Brown Ltd. (Jan.)

[An] underdog story that champions teamwork, kindness, and hidden sparks.” — Publishers Weekly

“Korman infuses such humanity into this tightly controlled ensemble piece and so deftly skewers school politics and classroom management eccentricities that middle-schoolers will recognize and appreciate both the absurdities and the frustrations.”   — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“This crowd-pleasing school story delivers the straightforward humor and warmth that Korman’s many fans expect.” — School Library Journal

Korman infuses such humanity into this tightly controlled ensemble piece and so deftly skewers school politics and classroom management eccentricities that middle-schoolers will recognize and appreciate both the absurdities and the frustrations.”  

Korman infuses such humanity into this tightly controlled ensemble piece and so deftly skewers school politics and classroom management eccentricities that middle-schoolers will recognize and appreciate both the absurdities and the frustrations.”  

Praise for MASTERMINDS: “Masterminds takes readers on a wild ride with terrific humor, a surprising mystery, and characters you can’t help but root for.

Praise for MASTERMINDS: “It’s hard to express how much I loved Masterminds without spoiling it. Real characters that make you laugh, twists that genuinely surprise, a plot that reveals itself perfectly. Another instant classic by one of my favorite authors.

Praise for UNGIFTED: “From its lovable-robot jacket art to its satisfying conclusion, this will please Korman’s fans and win him new ones.

Praise for SUPERGIFTED:  “Managing a large cast of characters with ease, Korman creates a comedy of compounded errors leading to a public disaster and, strangely enough, a happy ending.

Praise for MASTERMINDS: “[A] compelling, twisty mystery . . . [with] a truly gratifying payoff

Praise for MASTERMINDS: “A terrific page-turner. Full of unexpected twists and revelations. Buckle up.

Praise for MASTERMINDS: “[A] compelling, twisty mystery . . . [with] a truly gratifying payoff

Praise for MASTERMINDS: CRIMINAL DESTINY: “Cat-and-mouse chase scenes deliver thrills…Volume 3 can’t get here soon enough.

Praise for SUPERGIFTED:  “Another chortleworthy outing from Korman.

11/01/2018

Gr 4–6—When Mr. Zachary Kermit, a burnt-out teacher nearing early retirement, is assigned to teach Greenwich Middle School's most challenging students, he's unfazed. However, once Mr. Kermit and his class of so-called "Unteachables" discover their mutual frustration with the education system, they start striving to do better on each other's behalf. Korman keeps this twist on the "inspiring teacher" trope moving at a breezy clip by dividing the first-person narration between five students, Mr. Kermit, and assorted other adults. Though many of the characterizations are slight, and the adult points-of-view serve mainly to advance the plot, the student perspectives ring true. And while their circumstances sometimes strain credulity (it's tough to believe that an unregistered student could escape notice for months), the students' antics—which include a daring vuvuzela heist and a disastrous science fair stunt—are both endearing and entertaining. VERDICT Despite some missteps, this crowd-pleasing school story delivers the straightforward humor and warmth that Korman's many fans expect.—Rebecca Honeycutt, NoveList, Durham, NC

A stellar ensemble cast brings crowd-pleasing personality to a diverse group of misfit students and their teacher in this funny classroom story. Mr. Kermit is counting the days until his retirement, but in his final year of teaching, he is relegated to the “Self-Contained Special Eighth-Grade Class”—a.k.a. “The Unteachables.” Over the course of the school year, this underdog group experiences mischievous mayhem, as well as friendship and triumph. Chapters rotate first-person narration between students and school faculty, and each narrator adds depth to the different perspectives. Most memorable are the gruff, jaded indifference of Oliver Wyman’s Mr. Kermit, the well-meaning enthusiasm of Josh Hurley’s Parker, and the frenetic, high-pitched energy of Chris Gebauer’s Mateo. S.C. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

2018-09-17

An isolated class of misfits and a teacher on the edge of retirement are paired together for a year of (supposed) failure.

Zachary Kermit, a 55-year-old teacher, has been haunted for the last 27 years by a student cheating scandal that has earned him the derision of his colleagues and killed his teaching spirit. So when he is assigned to teach the Self-Contained Special Eighth-Grade Class—a dumping ground for "the Unteachables," students with "behavior issues, learning problems, juvenile delinquents"—he is unfazed, as he is only a year away from early retirement. His relationship with his seven students—diverse in temperament, circumstance, and ability—will be one of "uncomfortable roommates" until June. But when Mr. Kermit unexpectedly stands up for a student, the kids of SCS-8 notice his sense of "justice and fairness." Mr. Kermit finds he may even care a little about them, and they start to care back in their own way, turning a corner and bringing along a few ghosts from Mr. Kermit's past. Writing in the alternating voices of Mr. Kermit, most of his students, and two administrators, Korman spins a narrative of redemption and belief in exceeding self-expectations. Naming conventions indicate characters of different ethnic backgrounds, but the book subscribes to a white default. The two students who do not narrate may be students of color, and their characterizations subtly—though arguably inadequately—demonstrate the danger of preconceptions.

Funny and endearing, though incomplete characterizations provoke questions. (Fiction. 8-12)