Welcome to the Dweeb Club by Betsy Uhrig caught my attention not just for the fun title, but also its intriguing premise.
When Jason and his friends sign up for the mysterious H.A.I.R club, they have no idea what they are getting into.
The seventh graders soon find themselves in charge of a new and special security system for the school. And to their even greater surprise, they soon discover that the security footage will give them a glimpse into their own futures.
What would you do if you could see your future self and didn't like what you see?
In this sweet and clever story we discover how little decisions now can change our lives for the better or the worse in the future.
A fun and enjoyable story with likable characters.

This book is everything. An amazing middle grade novel that makes kids think about the future and how the actions of today are very important on how the future is shaped. I hope to read more from this author and share this book with all my teacher and librarian friends.

A group of seventh graders is put in charge of their school’s new high tech security system, which includes cameras set up all around the school. What could go wrong?

Fans of The Smartest Kid in the Universe and When You Reach Me won’t be able to put this one down!

Wow. I really, truly *adored* this book.

Not only is it such a unique and creative concept for a book, it's funny and incredibly enjoyable to read. Betsy Uhrig absolutely NAILS the voice of the narrator, and I was charmed and engaged from page one -- even sentence one. WELCOME TO DWEEB CLUB has humor (SO FUNNY) and heart and depth. Truly, we don't deserve middle-grade writers -- they produce some of the best work I've ever read!

I will be following Betsy's work and recommending this one to friends and family! An absolute treasure.

A big thanks to Margaret K. McElderry Books and NetGalley for the e-book in exchange for my honest, unbiased review. A full, shiny five stars from me!

Would you join a school club that you knew nothing about? That’s exactly what Jason and Glamourous Steve do on the first day of grade 7. I should say Galmoursous Steve convinces Jason to sign up for H.A.I.R club. They have no idea what kind of club it is but Steve looks at the bigger picture of it being a club and they can control it. Jason knows that if Steve’s name is there other kid’s names will be too.

To Jason’s amazement, ten kids signed up and that includes Jason and Steve along with Nikhil, Harriet, Andrew, Sonia, Laura, Vincent, and two other kids (who end up leaving when they thought this club wasn’t actually about hair). They are all 7th graders.

H.A.I.R is a brand new club to the school that no one really knows anything about, even the club advisor Ms. Grossman has no idea what it’s about. It’s only when she reads the backstory that you find out what it is. It appears that an anonymous successful entrepreneur has offered the services of his company to install a state-of-the-art security system to the school, with one stipulation and that stipulation is that the members are to take charge of the security system.

You are probably saying the same thing as me and that is what kind of security company would put students in charge of it? And should the students have access to all that information? Why is the principle even allowing kids to be behind this? The group is tasked with basically keeping on eye on everyone and report security issues.

This is pretty much where I instantly became hooked and needed to find out more about this and perhaps more about what the club and this security system are about.

The club is hit with their first case and must discover who has been stealing the cafateria’s croutons stash. When they go and check past security footage they soon discover something weird and a little creepy. Its reather unbelievable when they spot themselves in various spots in the cafateria. They soon realize they look different. They begin to think that the footage is meshing in with other footage. But soon realize that thats not the case they are viewing footage from 5 years in the future! How is that possible? The group soon discovers that they aren’t liking what they see and decide to try and change so that the future will change for them.

Finding this hard to believe they decide to scoop at the school at midnight and so discover that there is indeed someone stealing the croutons and its not what they expected. Can the group figure out what is really happening with what they saw?

Books that involve time travel are difficult to get right because they're never explained with paradoxes in mind. All the silly abbreviations weren't that funny. It's difficult to know who to give this book to. The characters are older middle grade, but they're focused on their teen selves and some of the shenanigans read like lower middle grade. I enjoyed it if I didn't think too hard about the mechanics.

Of course, there’s nothing like the reasoning of a seventh-grader.

Upon seeing that a new club is offered at Flounder Bay school, Jason Sloan immediately jumps at the chance to sign up. Though there is no one around the table to explain what the club is about, and almost no one is signing up, he has it all figured out. If he is one of the first to join then it’s almost a sure bet that he will be an officer in the new club. Maybe even president!

Sure, Jason. And what does the mysterious H.A.I.R club stand for? Would any seventh-grade boy want to make hair accessories? You could be making a very bad move? Or maybe just the right move? These are all things I’m wondering as I start reading.

This is a cute story full of lots of humor and mystery. What is the club? That’s a very good question. The members aren’t even sure. It will take some teamwork and a bit of sleuthing to figure out the purpose. The club members are each unique and add to the story. The writing flows and moves the story along at a good pace.

My Concerns
Though the team members are each fun and add to the story, there are several to have to keep track of.

The plot is a bit complicated.

This, for sure, is purely personal, but I hated that Jason’s sibling was so obnoxious.

Final Thoughts
The humor is wonderful and I loved the plot, which felt very original. I absolutely give this a thumbs up. It would be a great classroom read or one to surprise a reluctant reader with. The humor is bound to cause a few smiles, and a skunk will even cause some chuckles.

My thanks to Rockstar Book Tours and the publisher for a copy of this book to review and the ability to honestly post my thoughts.

I absolutely loved this book! I might be 43 years old but I truly loved it. I found myself laughing out loud several times! I loved the friendships. I loved the skunk! Lol! I love the idea of seeing your future self and changing what you see that you don't like. In a positive way. I don't want to spoil this for anyone. Just read it. Its is a super quick read!

This fun, comedic middle grade is about Jason Sloan, a seventh grader who just wants to join a new club. He decides to join H.A.I.R, following the lead of his best friend. He thinks it’s going to be a fun experience until the first meeting where everyone learns the mysterious nature of the club.

Betsy Uhrig has such an effortless humor that really works for a young voice. Her writing style is a joy to read because it’s so adventurous and silly that you can’t help but love it.

As for the characters, I like how the main character has descriptions for all his friends and nicknames like “glamorous Steve” because when a cast is this big, you want to be able to recognize the characters from the first time they speak to the last. These characters were lots of fun to be around and the skunk added a lot of comedic effect and I wish he stuck around longer.

Overall, I think this was a very fun read. I would definitely give this to any reluctant middle school readers because I can guarantee this book will turn them into a reader. Go check this one out for yourselves!

This was really fun, even if there was a little less sci-fi than I expected. Solving the mystery of why the club can see the future versions of themselves was the main focus of the story, but I really liked that this story felt like a snapshot of life in a high school, as the gang made future plans and decided to change the paths they saw their future selves taking.

A story of unusually named medical conditions, a medical Google, very annoying little sisters and a countless amount of skunks, this is a quick read with a strong message of acceptance, being yourself and friendship. With strong characters and a skunk that doesn't smell as strong as the club expected, this story is a memorable one.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in return for an honest review.

I loved Welcome to Dweeb Club and my introduction to Betsy Uhrig, will definitely be going back to read her first book. I loved the science fiction, time-travel type elements of the story and laughed at quite a few parts in the story...I also enjoyed the antics that led to the golf cart scene. This feels like a book kids can read as a MG reader and then again as they get a bit older (upper MG/YA) and start to understand a bit more about how their current choices impact their future self. In other words, this book has a lot of great layers!

This book is probably one of the weirder books that I’ve ever read, but also one of the most fun books too. It’s not a book that takes itself too seriously or tries to teach overly important lessons to the reader. There are things that the character learns throughout the story, but it’s not preachy or anything like that. It’s just the character coming to terms with not being a perfect person.

I love how this book is written. Jason is our main character, and he was made Historian of the H.A.I.R club. This book is written as his form of notes from the club meetings and other events. The first line of each chapter even switches to a more handwritten font. I thought it was a really good way to show the story. It’s a first-person story but it’s not written in a way where it feels like the character is constantly thinking through everything in their life, it feels like someone who just writes in a journal a lot. I really enjoyed it, even if my previous ramblings don’t make much sense.

I really liked most of the characters in this book. I’ll be honest and say that Alice was really the only character that I didn’t like. Other than that, only Jason got on my nerves and that was very rarely. My only big issue with Jason was that sometimes he felt like he was dragging himself down farther than necessary. These characters are middle-schoolers, and they act like it. They’re sometimes conceited and trying to find a balance between being liked and what they like. They’re rude and speak without thinking. I loved them. They also had a really great dynamic with each other. It was fun, but they’re middle schoolers so there’s still some pettiness and meanness.

The plot…I don’t really know what to say about the plot of this book. It was weird but also very interesting. I don’t read mystery books because I’m not very good at figuring out mysteries. This one was fun to watch develop. Of course, there are hints as to who created Prescient, but it never seemed like the answers were just handed to the reader.

I have one word that I use to describe this book: fun. This book was fun to read. It was an absolute joy. I need more books like this. Books that aren’t rife with drama or life lessons that need to be hammered in. Books that are a bit silly with fun characters.

I really enjoyed this book. I would honestly recommend it to a lot of people, because it was a lot of fun.

Welcome to Dweeb Club is my first introduction to the talented Betsy Uhrig’s books. I thought it was great. Even though I am not the targeted audience for it but I was entertained and found myself laughing often. I kept thinking where in the world did the author come up with this stuff. It was fun finding out how it would end for Jason and his friends. I liked the concept of showing everyone what they would be like in the years to come.

I am giving Welcome to Dweeb Club a very well deserved five plus stars. I highly recommend it for readers who are between the ages of seven and thirteen and enjoy reading a fun filled book with a lot of humor.

I received a copy of Welcome to Dweeb Club from the publisher, but was not required to write a positive review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.

I loved Welcome to Dweeb Club. I need to go back and read Betsy's first book now too (Double the Danger and Zero Zuchinni). I laughed out loud at this comic adventure. And it has some time-travel-y elements to boot, so of course I'm a sucker for that... The comedy reminded me of a Dave Barry novel, and he is hilarious too.
This book is witty, funny, exciting, and there are some not-so-subtle lessons planted into the adventures that I know we can all relate to. Super fun read!

Jason Sloan is a quiet middle schooler who joins the mysterious H.A.I.R, club with other outcast students. The club is supposed to help keep an eye on things happening in the school and report security issues back to the principals. (I had some issue with this - so the kids in this club were going to narc out fellow classmates? And why would administration think it a good idea to have kids help with security. I would think it would be to easy for a high schooler to use that to assist in great pranks.) Instead of focusing on security issues, Jason and his friends find footage from the future; specifically, their senior year, in which none of them turn out like they expected. The kids try to change themselves so the future is changed, and they learn about friendship and what they want for their own futures.

This is being billed as a good recommendation for readers who like Gordon Korman, and as I was reading it, that was my exact thought: A touch of adventure, lots of humor, kids dealing with school stuff - classic Korman fare.....just not quite as good. I do think this book had room to expand the characters a little. I think some of the minor characters could have been rolled into the main four: Jason, Steve, Harriet, and Lara. I felt like I was missing out on the other's stories. I also wish the skunk would have played a bigger role; I think it could have fit in with the future videos, but it kind of seemed like it was placed for humor only. Also - why have a skunk if it is not going to spray the school so the kids can have a day off??

All in all - a fun read and a title I will probably add to my library's collection and recommend to Gordon Korman and Andrew Clements fans.