This book was funny in the same spirit as Diary of a Wimpy Kid but with a lot more detail and character development. I know my kids and I know they will enjoy it. I plan to buy it and use it as a read aloud this year.

Jack Reynolds’s is a Middle School self-made class clown. He figures that he may as well own his own discomfort and awkwardness by making fun of himself first. It is a habit he gets way too comfortable in. I have to say that class clowns are always funnier when you are not the one fielding the phone calls from everyone else’s parents or the one being stopped in the hallways every time you venture outside of your classroom. It also gets old when you are constantly suffering for the behavior of the class clown.

Jack starts to learn that being in trouble all of the time doesn’t really appeal to most people. There may be a down side to no one ever trusting you. Jack goes through friends like tissues in flu season. That’s just one of the consequences of your actions. It is not up to others when you get caught.

I enjoyed that there were breaks telling the story from the point of view of other characters. It shows kids that we are all insecure and second guess ourselves. We can’t really know what others are thinking unless we communicate. We also learn that middle school is hard because it is when we really start to care what others think.

This book was quite a hit with my kids. Jack is the middle-school class clown. He is always doing whatever it takes to get the laugh. He is always trying to think of the next big idea to get tons of “likes” and to go viral. I liked how issues of emotions one is feeling while attending school, feelings of societal pressure when it comes to social media, and just learning how to be an individual in a world where that now can be difficult was explored by the author.

My kids and I really enjoyed this book. While my oldest son is not yet middle school-aged, he still enjoyed the story and thought it was funny and enjoyable. As a mom, I enjoyed the way the author explored issues such as emotions one is feeling while attending school, feelings of societal pressure when it comes to social media, and just learning how to be an individual in a world where that now can be difficult. Very good read and really enjoyed.

Jack seems like the guy that everyone likes. He comes across as not having a care in the world, of not caring when all eyes are on him, and of being Mr. Confidence himself. Jack is enamored with prank videos, and is trying to increase his MyTube fame and go viral. His best friend suddenly ghosts him, and Jack is left without a sidekick. In an effort to find someone else to help him with his videos, he joins the after school Speed Friendshipping group, where he has to face other's perceptions of him and test his perceptions of others.

I didn't care for this book for the first couple of chapters. I thought Jack was very obnoxious and it was going to be rather silly, irreverent book. I'm glad I stuck it out and read a few more chapters. As the narrators changed in the chapters, the story began to be developed, and along with it, the students' characters. Through the stories, each student discovered the need for real friends, and what they needed to change in themselves to have real friends. This ended up being a very good book - I will be purchasing it for my elementary school library, and promoting it!

Wow! This is such a great book!

The story follows Jack, the middle school class clown, who loves to post his pranks and funny videos on social media. He is always trying to think of the next big idea to get tons of “likes” and to go viral. Making people laugh is easy for Jack but he finds keeping friends is not as easy.
With the talent show coming up, Jack is left looking for a new partner. Reluctantly, he stops in at the after school club “Speed Friendshipping” to possibly find a new partner. After a series of events, Jack eventually gets in trouble and gets his phone taken away. Throughout the story he learns many great lessons. He begins to realize that friendship is more important than internet fame and how many “likes” you get on social media.

My kids and I absolutely LOVED this book!!! It hooked us from the very beginning. I felt tons of emotions while reading this one. We laughed (a lot!😂), felt sad, and smiled throughout the whole book.

As a homeschool mom and educator, I highly recommend this book. It’s a very humorous and heartwarming story. A great read for all upper elementary and middle school aged children. It touched on many current topics that you could talk with your kids or students about.
💚 You will want this book for your home, library, or classroom!

Thank you so much to @randomhousekids and @netgalley for allowing my family to preview it. I will definitely be buying this for our home library when it is published!

Jack Reynolds loves to make people laugh and it can be at anyone's expense. His "hilarious" antics get him into trouble at school. When his parents put him on phone restriction, he quickly realizes how much he loves the "views" and "likes" from his social media videos.

The school talent show is approaching and he wants the best act in the school. When his friend ditches him, Jack has to find a new friend real fast. Jack find himself at an afterschool friendship club trying to make new friends. As the book progresses, Jack finds through his new friends that maybe he isn't the best friend to others after all.

This story is a wonderful read for upper elementary and middle school students. As a teacher, I highly recommend this book. I thought of numerous converstations that this book would allow as you are reading aloud to your class. Guidance counselors would also find this book helpful in dealing with peer relationships.

Sometimes being the Class Clown has its benefits, but what if others are hurt in the process? Jack wants to make friends and popularize his MyTube Channel, but at what price? Videos once seen cannot be unseen! Excellent middle grade read! Middle schoolers will connect with Jack and his friends!

So fun! This is middle school gold! Fitting in, burying feelings to get a laugh, opening yourself up to new friendships even when it's super scary. Loved this! And the illustrations!

Jack is your typical class clown who only cares about growing his Mytube subscibers list. Or at least thats how other's view him. Jack is a middle child who is trying to find his own path through middle school using creativity and comedy. His life changes when he attends a speedfriendshipping event because the school counselor offers doughnuts at the end and his best friend just dumped him. There we meet Mario, the kid with no phone, Brielle, the perfections, Tasha, the fashionista, and Mei-Ling, the Asian girl. Just like Jack, the class clown no one really lives up to their stereotypes and when Jack figures this out it is the start of something truly amazing. There are cute pencil sketches sprinkled throughout the novel to help bring things to life. The talent show at the end is a not to be missed event.

Jack likes to prank his family and friends and then post the prank on "My Tube,' As the story opens near the end of his seventh grade year, Jack is beginning to realize that he doesn't have any real friends. People think he is funny, but his relationships often don't last more than a few weeks. Over the course of a few weeks, Jack makes a few new friends and loses all of these friends due to his insensitivity. Of course, the opportunity arises for him to do something to make things better. Jack learns a lot about himself and his new friends. He has some successes and some failures. Overall, the book is not too didactic, has some truly funny scenes and likable people. the adults are not too intrusive, but they do hold a standard of behavior while trying to help Jack and the other middle schoolers learn how to treat one another. Jack achieved a certain amount of growth and self-knowledge, making this an enjoyable read.

I received an electronic ARC from Random House Children's Books through NetGalley.
Jack has been the class clown for years. He has found his niche on MyTube where he shares videos of his pranks and stunts. Readers see his latest friendship end as the book begins. He decides to join the speed friendship club to find someone to help him with his major stunt for the talent show. From this point, Costner weaves the various characters' lives in while still maintaining her first person narrator, Jack. To do this, she interjects Short Takes that offer information from various characters about their lives. Readers can compare and contrast this with how Jack sees them and their relationship. Again, readers learn how much deeper we all need to look at our friends and classmates to see beneath the labels.
Costner's writing style works for middle grade readers. They will identify with the various family issues and the friend concerns. They'll also recognize the labels they have either place on others or been identified with. The tenderness and compassion comes through along with the humor as Jack figures out how to be a better friend and help his friends find their way too.

I was excited to read this book because the title and cover grabbed my attention. The underlying themes were great for lessons for adults, teens, and older children. Jack was a true class clown with his antics and way of thinking. There are times when I feel like the storyline could have been shortened or didn’t see the point of some conversations.
Overall, it was a good story and will recommend it to my higher level readers.

WOW! Thank you Penguin Random House and NetGalley for this ARC.

This story hooked me from the beginning. As a teacher, I have had my fair share of class clowns (and I secretly love them). Jack wants to become internet famous, and it seems he will do what he needs to make that happen, even by going to the friendshipping event! Throughout the book, Jack comes to learn the real meaning of friendship, and the downside of social media. This book will resonate with 5th graders and up, and it will keep them laughing and smiling. It will be sure to warm the hearts of teachers too. You will want this book for your classroom, library, and home.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to preview this book.
Confessions of a Class Clown was my first middle school book review. As a grandma and avid reader, I am always trying to challenge my grandbabies to read and find books we can read and discuss together. Guys! This is a great book!!! Jack is the middle-school class clown. He is always doing whatever it takes to get the laugh. He is working so very had to get his MyTube up and running and is trying to plan the greatest talent show prank. You can follow him as he 'best friend" dumps him and he tries speed-Friendshipping to find a new friend (and possibly the best doughnuts!). This book is a great book with good themes for the kids in my life including failing and budding friendships, social media and navigating being the "class clown!" I can hardly wait for this to hit the shelves so I can share with the grands!

The best way I can describe this book is if the main character from Diary of a Wimpy Kid matured. The characters in this book do some dumb things, but go through their own journey and end up being quite enjoyable. I would recommend this to my reluctant readers.

This book is fine: a class clown slowly realizes that he needs to be more considerate. The finale, a talent show, is exquisite. And young readers may find the expected developments amusing. This adult reader is not the intended audience.

When I hear the phrase "middle grade" I think of a cute junior high story with a slight bump in the road. I also read it with a "will I let my kids read this when they are older" mentality. With all that in mind, I didn't expect Confessions of a Class Clown to have me rolling in all the feels. Friendships tested? Social media pressure? It's all here, and it's all real.

Starting out, we meet Jack. Not only is he the quintessential class clown, but he also has a popular YouTube-esque channel of pranks, called MyTube. He gets an idea that he will do a prank during the school talent show. The only problem is that his friend who he did pranks with is no longer speaking to him. Unsure, he pops into a "Speed Friendshipping" - which is like speed dating but for making friends. The POV changes after each speed friendshipping and we find out more about those that attended, such as Brielle (little-miss-perfect type who is running for class president, and has a MyTube channel for makeup), Mario (mom won't let him have social media and is growing out of his friendships), and Tasha (crafts her own hats and wears them daily - why is her head shaved?).

As I read, I could feel all the emotions everyone was going through as though I was back in my teenage years again. The feeling when you are confronted with that person who doesn't want to be your friend anymore. Trying to fit in. Trying to find someone who understands you rather than just be next to you during lunchtime. It was like my freshman year of high school all over again with an added pressure of social media. It's interesting to see that the emotions are still the same, but with a twist. I wish I could shield my kids from this, but I know I can't. At least there are books like this that I can give to my kids to let them know that they are not alone out there, no matter what they are feeling in the moment.

Will I let my kids read this book? Absolutely! Did I want a series to come out about these kids? Yes. Will I let my kids do social media? I have no idea. I'm just going to enjoy how young they are right now and be happy that I don't have to deal with these big kid emotions just yet.

Confessions of a Class Clown by Arianne Costner is a fun romp of a book. Jack is a middle-school class clown, always trying to make other students laugh. He states that making a fool of himself is his life's work. He is always trying to hit it big with a comedic viral video on MyTube, but needs help from a friend to make that happen. He wants to enter the school talent show with an epic comedic act. But despite being able to make friends easily, he has trouble keeping friends. So he decides to try the new after-school speed-friendshipping program to find a partner for the talent show. This book is full of humor and heart, two of my favorite things in books!

Jack Reynolds is the sort of kid that teachers put in the back of the classroom-- surrounded by all of the good kids, as a buffer. He's always trying to make people laugh with him so that they don't laugh at him. He's even posted videos on MyTube, including one of him "T. Rex-ing" at the JoAnn Fabric store. (A location chosen because he didn't care if he got banned from the store. Which he did.) Lately, he's been palling around with Zane, a football player who is pretty popular. They've had some fun, but recently Zane hasn't seemed amused by Jack's antics. When he realizes that Zane is not going to participate in an epic talent show prank, he needs to find someone else to help him. Enter the Speed Friendshipping Club, run after school by the well meaning guidance counselor, Mr. Busby. Jack knows it is lame, but there ARE powdered sugar jelly doughnuts. He's a little surprised at some of the people who are there, including Mario, who is a whiz at hacky sack, Tasha, who has a shaved head and always wears funky crocheted hats, and Brielle, who is pretty and popular, and has a make up tutorial on MyTube that gets a lot of likes. Jack connects with each of them for different reasons, although making videos for MyTube always features largely. Mario's mother is very strict about his internet usage, so when he and Jack post a food fight style video that gets a lot of likes, not only does Jack have to take the video down, but his parents ground him from his smart phone until he can get his grade up in math. Tasha is good at math, and the two get along well as she helps him study for his next test, which he needs to ace in order to get a C for a final grade. Jack finds out that Tasha's older brother died of cancer, that her parents are divorcing, and that her mother is renovating their house because she wants to flip it. They get along, but Jack accidentally spills a red Slurpee all over a dress she wants to enter into a competition. Brielle isn't as confident as Jack orginally thinks, and he approaches her to help with videos when his phone is taken away, since she makes them as well. The two have a lot of fun at the mall, but when he tries to get back into Zane's good graces, he makes fun of her in a really mean way. Will Jack be able to enter the talent show with a decent act that doesn't involve squirting ketchup on anyone, and will he finally understand a bit more about what it means to be a good friend?

Like this author's My Life as a Potato, Confessions of a Class Clown has an strong cast of appealing, nuanced characters. In between chapters, which are from Jack's perspective, we get glimpses into the feelings of Mario, Tasha, and Brielle. This slowed down the story a little, but the characters were so interesting that I sort of wanted a whole book about each of them. The most fascinating part of the characters was that each had a public persona, but a private one that often didn't match at all. I think that is very common in middle school students, but is not something I have seen portrayed often in books.

The middle school experience centers on two things: self-identity and friendships. Like Peirce's Big Nate, Jack is a lot more important in his own head. He's a slacker, doesn't do well in school, and isn't all that nice to people. He's not mean; he's just trying to figure out who he is, just like most middle school students. He's kindhearted, and means well, and when he stops his marshmallow throwing and video posting obsession long enough to listen to his classmates, he makes some friends and end up enjoying himself in the process.

It's easy to write tragedy. Humor is harder. Humor, when it also encompasses essential middle grade concerns and delivers important life lessons while throwing in lines about having to groom gerbils, is a very difficult feat. Costner accomplishes this with finesse, and clearly understands the way that tween minds work. From having the right socks to convincing a teacher he's serious about her class, Jack's painful middle school journey will get a lot of likes from readers who enjoy Richardson's Stu Truly, Greenwald's Charlie Joe Jackson, and Uhrig's Double the Danger and Zero Zucchini.

A relevant and engaging title for young readers given its incorporation of technology and discussion of social media fame, Confessions of a Class Clown appears light on the surface but manages to explore deeper themes of friendship. Recommended.