A hilarious story about a group of underdogs who come together when they are forced to attend summer school—for failing PE.

Funny and fast-paced like all of Gordon Korman’s stories, this one offers whacky characters and situations, and winning lines.

Its only problem is having so many characters, all written in first person, presented unevenly throughout the book. For instance, the book allots eleven chapters to main character Yash (initially every other chapter, and further on every two-plus chapters). In contrast, it gives six chapters each (of 29) to two other characters, three to one other, and one each to others. In other words, unlike books that alternate chapters between two or three characters, this one feels all over the place, and it’s a given that we don’t get to know anyone well (although, technically, they each manage to have micro-arcs of character growth by the end).

Also, with so little wordage per character, they’re predestined to be unidimensional. Indeed, the twins Sarah and Stuart do nothing but fight each other the entire novel, which gets tiring and feels cliché-ish. It’s as if each character is defined by one personality quirk, which gets a little over-milked. Strange, too, that the final chapter doesn’t go to Yash.

Never mind, because the overall story is fun and moves quickly, with a surprise teacher and twists that aren’t entirely predictable. Final word? Not as great as other Gordon Korman stories (and a terrible cover, for some reason), but reliably good reading for Korman fans and those wanting fast, light fare.

– Pam Withers