Julia Bergen

I received this copy free from the author/publisher for a review.

Five may sound like a high rating for a book of this kind, but for the age group, it's excellent. Plenty of writing, art, jokes, and stuff to do besides just read, kids should dig it. I think it would cater more towards boys myself, due to some of the crude humor, but girls should like it as well. It's told through two opposing points of view - Rafe, as the stylish and gross brother who hates just about everything; the sister, Georgia, who is perky, nerdy, and loves school with a positive outlook on life.

The two jibe and disagree with each other for about anything related to school, including Summer vacation, school dances, librarians, dress codes, bullies, peer pressure, extra credit, homework, and about anything else. Each side is shown with small art and told in a different style to designate who is speaking. There are a few cut outs - such as Georgias "fill in yourself" bookmark for the librarian. There's plenty of mazes, scrambled words, fill in boxes, and other arts/crafts/projects that tie in with the story going on. Besides plenty to DO, it's just cute to read and look at, with creative text and fun voices that should resonate with children.

I would recommend this for high level elementary school children (fourth and fifth grade), and sixth grade middle school children. 7th grade may be pushing on how much they enjoy it depending on the books and subject the kid likes. I think they'd enjoy the text part as humorous more than the activities by that age.… (más)

Below is my review of the audiobook version only, as it appeared in the June, 2014, edition of School Library Journal. It is reprinted with permission.

Gr 3–6—Rafe Khatchadorian and his younger sister, Georgia, here engage in a series of rants about bullies, school dances, dress codes, and other middle school concerns. However, this work is not simply about rants. It centers on a showdown between the siblings—with listeners acting as judges. Included on the CD is a 66-page PDF offering. Listeners who print it out can vote, draw, play, and create, adding their own opinions to Rafe's and Georgia's. Narrators Bryan Kennedy and Cassandra Morris make it easy for listeners to follow the inevitable disagreements between the siblings. Morris, as Georgia, is likable, confident, and youthful. Kennedy's Rafe is perfect for the wisecracking troublemaker, but he suffers from the lack of character depth in the showdown format. Listeners not familiar with his character from other books in the series will find him shallow and arrogant. While considerable adaptations were made for the audiobook format, the necessity of printing and constantly referencing the lengthy PDF will likely limit this audiobook's appeal to book group facilitators and die-hard fans of the series.… (más)