Twerp will appeal to higher level tweens. While initially it appears to pull in reluctant readers based on the circumstances, many will be lost with references of Shakespeare and times too far in the past.

Julian is a 12-year-old that got suspended for something he has done. His teacher tasks him with writing an assignment about what happened so he can escape another assignment.

"Julian Twerski isn't a bully. He's just made a big mistake." but is that the truth?

My biggest issue with this novel is that - it is not for kids and it is not written for adults either. It is stuck in a limbo. The plot doesn't go anywhere for the majority of the novel and I see adults understanding it, being a little slow, but I don't see why a middle-grader would read this with interest. The life of a 12-year-old boy is as uninteresting as it sounds like, plus the boy, Julian, only talks about what happened in the last two chapters. That is just cruel. It is also not a plot twist because you can see it coming.

Personally, as an adult, I couldn't enjoy most of it because it is written in first-person POV and the kid lacks a clear moral understanding of things. As a reader you don't really get Julian to be introspective, you get him being biased and an immature kid. And as a reader, I couldn't care about him. I feel this novel needed to be for adults where we could explore Julian's psyche, why he did some things, and why he felt that way, but we just gloss over a lot of things that could be more in-depth.

Overall I felt the plot needed different things, it has a beginning and an end, which are the best parts of the novel but the middle goes nowhere for a while - a lot of nothings happen, and only three events give a hint to the reader about what happens. He says he's not a bad kid - not a bully and then he does some bad things one, which will get him suspended and I feel it gets really glossed over. Sometimes Julian is an immature kid other times kids are praising him for being nice and calm. These two sides of him are not developed any further - the things happen and then the scene is over. He does a bad thing - next chapter he's being a "good guy", and there is no time to reflect or plot action points that make you establish a connection with him because in each chapter he can be a different person.

This is not the first time I've read books with this structure- where not a lot happens and then the plot hits you at the end. I'm not a big fan of those, but that is personal - I feel really sad because that's the good part and then the book is over! Here's the twist that makes this all make sense, goodnight and goodbye!

The novel never addresses the theme of bullying specifically, it glosses over a lot of important topics that perhaps should have been discussed with more care.

This book asked the right questions, never took the easy way out when it came to depiction of issues like bullying and innocence and I applaud the author for that! Overall, Twerp was a rewarding and accurately portrayed coming of age story that is sure to have more of an impact on younger readers.

I'm sorry for not being able to read this book, but I appreciate the opportunity to provide a review. I want to thank Netgalley and the publisher.

"Julian Twerski isn't a bully. He's just made a big mistake. So when he returns to school after a weeklong suspension, his English teacher offers him a deal: if he keeps a journal and writes about the incident that got him and his friends suspended, he can get out of writing a report on Shakespeare. Julian jumps at the chance."

Julian "Twerp" Twerski is a 6th grader in the late 60s who has been assigned to keep a journal by his English teacher when he gets back from a week's suspension following an "incident." He finds out that writing about his experiences and thoughts helps him navigate this dreaded preteen year. I thought it was a very powerful thing to have learned, both for him and for those of us reading it.

Mark Goldblatt is a very thoughtful writer, which makes this an easy book to read and to get invested in. It really did bring back how difficult it is to be 12 years old, no matter the decade. I loved the format of a journal for this story as well.

I can definitely recommend this book for middle grade readers, and give it 5/5 stars.

I received a copy of this book free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion.

Mark Goldblatt is a wonderful author, I really enjoyed this story and how it was semi-autobiographical. Perfect for tweens entering middle school or students already in middle school. This would make a really good summer reading book to keep the kids engaged and excited about reading. I think it would also pair well with a journaling assignment over the summer to not only keep kids reading, but writing, too.

I tried to read this one as a read-aloud with my own 6th grader with mixed results. Neither of us fully got into the story but it was an enjoyable read.

This book offers great point of view. Twerp has been suspended from school for being a bully. His English teacher gives him a chance to get out of writing an essay on Shakespeare, if Twerp will keep a diary of the events that led up to his suspension. I think this book offers some real opportunities for discussion on bullying and making responsible choices.

This is a fascinating read, where Julian Twerski writes a journal about something which got him suspended from school. The narrator skirts around the issue for as long as possible - leading it to initially feel more like an interconnected set of short stories than a novel - but things eventually get tied together superbly. Great characters and an awesome New York 1960s setting add to reasons to recommend it, while Julian's voice is fabulous.

Julian Twerski has something on his mind, he just isn't sure what it is. He has been asked by his English teacher, Mr. Selkirk, to "write something - and it has to be long - because of what happened over winter recess." So Julian begins writing about his life: his best friend, Lonnie; Jillian, the girl Lonnie convinces him to write a love letter to (ala Cyrano de Bergerac); his other friends and school in general, including the fact that he is the fastest boy at PS 23. What he doesn't write about (though he's supposed to) is "the incident" involving the boy down the street, Danley Dimmons. Things start to get complicated in Julian's life when Jillian starts to show an interest in Julian, rather than Lonnie, and a new boy, Eduardo, shows up who just might be able to outrun Julian at this year's track and field day. As Julian writes all this down, he begins to learn some crucial lessons about himself and about life. "I'm glad you [Mr. Selkirk] made me keep going because you made me realize what I had to do."

This would be a great novel to discuss with regards to friendship. Is Lonnie a good friend? Is Julian a good friend? How do you feel about Julian's philosophy that he takes from Hamlet that we are all just "Quintessence of dust" and nothing we do will matter in 1000 years? Why does Julian take so long to write about what happened at the Ponzini?

Julian is a very likable 6th grader, who is assigned by his teacher to write in a journal about an incident that happened over break. As we read the journal, we find out so much about Julian, his life, and what it is like to be a 12 year old boy—a boy who is just trying to figure out how to live in his world.

Twerp was a very enjoyable read for me, even though it's not the typical kind of story I usually read. Sometimes it's refreshing to step outside the box and discover new authors and new worlds.

Julian, aka Twerp, was involved in a bullying incident and was suspended. On his return his English teacher gets him to keep a journal and write about the incident. But Twerp says it wasn't that bad a thing and instead goes into detail about his other misdeeds, until he eventually gets around to the incident he was suspended for.

Told in journal format, this was a surprisingly good read. A little slow going but it held my attention till the end. I didn't particularly like Twerp but it was good to get a look into his thoughts on his actions. It's an important lesson for young people!

In all, this was good. There were parts I liked and parts I didn't. It took me a while to read though, because it was so slow going, but I'm glad I gave it a go.

Not the worst treatment of bullying, but not the best either. I didn't like the main character, especially after learning more about him, in the beginning. While Julian did some growing through the story, I didn't like the ending very much. I think it's important to remember that even bullies (and bully toadies) are more than just their mean actions, but I don't think the subject was handled as well as it could have been.

A free copy was given in exchange for an honest review.

This was a good book but the cover was a bit strange.

I picked this book for my son to review a long time ago (I feel horrible that it has been sitting on my kindle for so long) but at the time my son decided he didn't want to read ebooks. So there the book sat until now. I picked up the book on December 30th in the evening, finishing it on Jan 1st after dinner. I would have finished it in one sitting I am sure if I didn't have other things that had to get done.

The author writes this novel in a journal format of a young sixth grader named Julian. Julian has done something with his friends that had gotten him suspended from school for a week. His English teacher wants Julian to write about what happened and why it happened, if he does this he will get out of his English assignments. At the start Julian says what happened wasn't that horrible, that he has done worse things and goes into depth about some of the things he has done. We follow Julian through the ups and downs of sixth grade - love, friendship and running. Julian isn't a bully but we know that something terrible has happened to another student and Julian was part of it.

The author did a great job hooking the reader into Julian's life. There were moments of laughter, shock and tears. Finally getting Julian to admit to his part of what happened to a boy who lives in the neighborhood, who has a hearing impairment. Learning about going along with the group and getting carried away even when you know you shouldn't be doing it.

I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars and would love to read more from Mark Goldblatt. I know my son will love this book and he has showed interest in reading it now.

~*Disclaimer: I reaceived a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*~Hi

The narration was ok. The story was about a boy from the 1960s who gets suspended from school for something really bad. Listen to the entire rambling to find out what he did but there doesn't seem to be enough remorse. Perhaps it's the narration but I thought the story fell somewhat flat.

Journey inside the mind of a middle grader, as he shares his fears, regrets, and hopes through a touching journal exercise.

Just by the passage I shared with you, I think you can tell at least one reason why I enjoyed this read. What makes this book is the voice. Hands down. Julian has a unique tone to his attitudes about his experiences, I couldn't help but like him. He's bright for his age--which he seems embarrassed about--and comprehends the world around him. I loved how honest he was about his view of the world while writing in his journal.

The next element I thought of while reading was how easily middle graders could relate to Julian's position: being a watcher while negative action is taking place in front of him. Then, one of life's big choices presents itself to him: does he join in or walk away? It also gave a vibrancy to the thought we've all had--"Thank God it's not me being picked on."

Setting the story during the 1960s worked, eliminating distractions from all our technological devices of today; it gave the story a direct focus on Julian's issues at hand.

His thoughts in his journal were always addressed to his teacher, which gave an intriguing glimpse at student/teacher relationship. The more he wrote about events during his days the more intimate and in tune with himself he became. It was wonderful watching his maturing process. Of course, there was plenty of the average and expected events that happen to him as a middle grader. Girls, rough-housing with the boys, and other growing pains that make this book interesting.

I'd recommend this book to any MGer who likes older settings and a more personal view inside a character. There's not much fantasy or adventure, so I wouldn't recommend it to those kiddos.