Feature Book of the Week
Ungifted
by
Gordon Korman
The word gifted has never been applied to a kid like Donovan Curtis. It's usually more like Don't try this at home. So when the troublemaker pulls a major prank at his middle school, he thinks he's finally gone too far. But thanks to a mix-up by one of the administrators, instead of getting in trouble, Donovan is sent to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction (ASD), a special program for gifted and talented students.
It wasn't exactly what Donovan had intended, but there couldn't be a more perfect hideout for someone like him. That is, if he can manage to fool people whose IQs are above genius level. And that becomes harder and harder as the students and teachers of ASD grow to realize that Donovan may not be good at math or science (or just about anything). But after an ongoing experiment with a live human (sister), an unforgettably dramatic middle-school dance, and the most astonishing come-from-behind robot victory ever, Donovan shows that his gifts might be exactly what the ASD students never knew they needed.
It wasn't exactly what Donovan had intended, but there couldn't be a more perfect hideout for someone like him. That is, if he can manage to fool people whose IQs are above genius level. And that becomes harder and harder as the students and teachers of ASD grow to realize that Donovan may not be good at math or science (or just about anything). But after an ongoing experiment with a live human (sister), an unforgettably dramatic middle-school dance, and the most astonishing come-from-behind robot victory ever, Donovan shows that his gifts might be exactly what the ASD students never knew they needed.
About the Author
Welcome to the wonderful world of a regular guy who just happened to write 80-something books for kids and teens.
I was born on October 23, 1963 in Montreal, Canada, and grew up mostly in the Toronto area.
My writing career began virtually by accident when I was in 7th grade. The track and field coach had to teach English. For creative writing, he gave us total freedom to work on whatever we wanted for the rest of the year. It was February. That added up to a class period per day for more than four months. The result was my first novel, THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING AT MACDONALD HALL.
I sent my manuscript to Scholastic because I was the class monitor for Scholastic Book Orders, and figured I was practically an employee. Seriously. (Full disclosure: my mom had to type my book for me.) It was a totally flukey and random way to launch a publishing career, but here’s the thing: It worked.!THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING AT MACDONALD HALL was published by Scholastic when I was a freshman in high school, and I was on my way.
I’ve been writing for more than three-quarters of my life. My books have been translated into close to 30 languages and have sold over 25 million copies worldwide. I have a BFA degree from New York University with a major in Dramatic Writing and a minor in Film and TV.
I now live on Long Island, outside New York City, with my wife and family. When I’m not writing, you can usually find me driving one of my three kids to some practice or rehearsal or game. Either that, or I’m on the road, appearing at schools, libraries, and bookstores, meeting my readers. Visit Korman's website to see all of his published books
2 Delicious Comments:
We LOVED this book! This was one of the first books that our team read this year, and it immediately got us excited about the rest of the books on the list. We really enjoyed the humor in this book from Donovan's misadventures. We especially liked the character of Noah, even though we couldn't believe that he had never heard of YouTube before Donovan had introduced him to it. The final scene at the robotics competition was dramatic, funny and sort of bittersweet. Overall, BW Book Battle Team gives this book two thumbs up!
I think it's awesome that Mr. Korman started his writing career in 7th grade! We have some student authors at our school, too. With CreateSpace, students can actually become published authors while they are still in school. Our library actually has some student-written books in it for checkout. --Shannon Parker, Librarian, Lift for Life Academy.
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