What a great book! Loved the characters! ( )

I found myself chuckling through the first 3/4 of the book, and then was facing different emotions at the end. Sweetly funny and poignant, I truly loved reading of the mis-adventures of 5th grade Robbie and his quest for finding magic in his life. ( )

Recommended Ages: Gr. 4-6

Plot Summary: Robbie wants to be a magician. He works hard at it but every time he tries his magic at school, it goes disastrously wrong and he ends up in the principal's office. At his mom's birthday dinner, he manages to pull the table cloth out from under the dishes, but during his bow he caused chaos. Suddenly, his room is taken away from him (he has to move in with his little brother) because his grumpy Grandma is living with them while she prepares for knee surgery. He does his best to avoid her scary gaze but she seems to offer him magician training. A magician's box appeared in the garage. Do she really know magic? Will she teach him anything? Will he be able to leave school having successfully completed a magic trick in the talent show?

Setting: somewhere in the midwest where it's safe enough to ride a bike 5 minutes away

Characters:
Robbie Darko - 5th grader,
Nate Watkins - 5th grade, makes fun of Robbie often
Principal David Adolphus -
Harry - AKA Ape Boy, 6 y/o, Robbie's brother, chews on everything and now is given gum to help
Grandma Melvyn - actually Robbie's great-great-aunt, gives the Wicked Wobble Eye, mean, grumpy, calls everyone Trixie as an insult, was a famous magician who was in love with her partner magician but her partner magician married their assistant Trixie and the two of them died in a car crash
Dad - works out of town and isn't home, was unemployed for a while
Mom - works really hard, worries about not having enough money, likes to watch old movies with Robbie but fell asleep last time they tried
Aunt Trudy and Uncle Pete - usually take care of Grandma Melvyn
Cat - Robbie's best friend, female, very independent and confident

Recurring Themes: magic, sarcasm, bully, friendship, family, practice makes perfect, persistence

Controversial Issues: none

Personal Thoughts: This was a good book but I'm not sure it will stay with me over time. I liked the character development (although there could have been more). I thought the beginning was slow because there wasn't a conflict introduced to keep me reading. The narrator talks directly to the reader and is sarcastic. I was surprised that the end continued past the magic show. I didn't think it was necessary to have Melvyn die because I thought it was already clear that their relationship was strong and positive by the end.

Genre: realistic fiction

Pacing: medium, no big conflict is introduced until a third of the way through the book, and even then it's not clear if that is the main conflict, a lot of dialogue
Characters: decent character development, not as much action
Frame:
Storyline:

Activity: ( )

As I read this enjoyable book, I thought of one student who I will hand it to: a magic loving 5th grade boy. Someone just like the main character. Kids who love magic will love Dorko's self-effacing humor and love of magic. His cranky grandmother, on the other hand, is someone we all, Dorko included, have to learn to get along with.

This book reminds me of Aces Wild (Erica Perl), as far as the role of a cantankerous, though wise, grandparent imparting their wisdom to a precocious grandchild. ( )

This isn't what I was expecting. When I think of Andrea Beaty I think of Attack of the Fluffy Bunnies! Oh, and the Ted picture books. So, going into this and looking at the cover (which in my version has a "From the author of Attack of the Fluffy Bunnies" blurb), I was thinking Attack of the Fluffy Bunnies (which, in case you don't know, is about alien rabbits, Spam, and marshmallows). However, it turned out this was much more bildungsroman middle grade. It was hard for me to judge it objectively, since it was like expecting ice cream and getting pickles, you know?

Robbie Darko is obsessed with being a magician. Unfortunately, his tricks don't always work out the way he expects. He's got plenty of family issues to deal with too - his horrible Grandma Melvyn (really a great aunt) has moved in with his family while she waits for knee surgery, which means that he's stuck sharing with his annoying younger brother. His mom is tired and stressed all the time and his dad travels constantly. Nobody in the entire fifth grade has forgotten his last disastrous trick and his only friend is Cat, who's a bit kooky herself.

Robbie is, for most of the book, very self-absorbed. Even when he pretends to himself he's helping others, all he really wants to do is work out his magic tricks and get an audience. In other words, pretty typical fifth grader. However, as he gets to know Grandma Melvyn, he gains some empathy for her and for his family and starts to grow up. Just when things are going well though, Grandma Melvyn gets some tragic news.

I just don't know what to think about this. On the one hand, it's got lots of magic tricks and embarrassing, ridiculous moments. On the other hand, the cover (to me anyways) promises non-stop hilarity and it's actually a pretty serious book with all the problems Robbie's family is having, his inability to see anyone's point but his own, and SPOILER Grandma Melvyn's death at the end.

Verdict: I think it will appeal to fifth graders who don't feel they're too sophisticated yet, but it's really a little old for the cover and for readers younger than fifth grade and most fifth graders and older kids won't like the more childish elements.

ISBN: 9781419706387; Published 2013 by Amulet/Abrams; ARC provided by publisher at ALA