Another Gordon Korman middle grade hit! Like most Korman novels, Slugfest is funny and shows kids being leaders. The story reminds me of Bad News Bears.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the opportunity to read this book. Gordon Korman never disappoints! This was such a great story of overcoming obstacles.

Another knockout from Gordon Korman. My students are going to love this just as much as they love his other titles. They will be able to relate to the main characters and the humor will keep them interested!

A classic underdog sports story (aka Bad News Bears story for my fellow 80s kids) that hooked me from the first page. I love how Gordon Korman can capture how kids think and feel timelessly. There were just enough twists and turns and unique characters to keep my interest while following a familiar trope many readers love. I am excited to share this book with my students who love realistic fiction, sports, and friendship stories that have drama and humor.

A really enjoyable read. It was funny and exciting. The characters had some layers to them do they weren’t just a stereotype. I could see this book being a Maud Hart Lovelace winner. It would appeal to many types of middle grade readers. Highly recommend.

Another fun Gordon Korman home run. I'm sure my middle school students will devour this funny and heartfelt take on the underdog to victors trope. Even though the plot was far-fetched and contrived, the maturation of the characters was genuine and impactful.

Gordon Korman’s Slugfest introduces readers to star athlete Yash, who learns that despite playing on the high school’s JV team, he’ll need to satisfy a middle school PE credit requirement to start high school. This means he’ll have to go to summer school PE, also known as Slugfest. Slugfest is notorious for being a class for hapless non-athletes. Yash can’t believe he’s going to have to endure this, especially after meeting the rest of his classmates and the home ec teacher running the class. Despite their differences, as the summer progresses, the Slugs find reasons—and a way—to come together for a shared purpose. The book alternates between multiple points of view, giving us insight into more than just Yash. This one is a fun story about underdogs who come together to display teamwork and build authentic friendships in the process. Sports fans and non-sports fans alike will enjoy it and root for the Slugs to come out on top.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of the book to read and review.

Gordon Korman does it again. A diverse cast of students who start off as misfits and learn how to become not just a team, but friends. Excellent pacing and clear POVs.

I just really didn't like this one. The whole plot was absolutely absurd. There were too many characters with too many side plots and I couldn't find myself interested in any of them, and I really disliked pretty much all of the characters.

I have never heard of a summer school that you go to for an entire day and can just randomly pick extra classes to fill you time? And the whole thing where the one character randomly got obsessed with outting their PE teacher as a fake was just...why?

For me this one was a mess. I'm disappointed.

In typical Korman fashion, Slugfest is a super fun book to read, with a lot of important messages for the reader. All of the characters are lovable, even the "villians" are likeable and not really that bad. This book does a great job of encouraging readers to not give up when you have a huge setback in life. You never know who will have your back when you need a friend, Sometimes there can be a lot of gray area when it comes to doing the right thing. This is an important book, that even the most reluctatn reader will love.

I am most definitely a @gordonkorman fan . . . and I can imagine quite a few middle grade students who will fall into that category after reading his latest novel, Slugfest!
I can't wait to share this story with our #SpringGroveTigers . . . they will love this group of misfits who must band together during Summer School PE. Full of sports that even the least sporty students will relate to, Slugfest is full of fun, hijinks, courage and more!

Slugfest is another great read by Gordon Korman. Because of an oversight, 8th grader Yash has to make up a PE credit during summer school. He won't be able to join the JV summer football practice, and prove he's the best on the team. Yash joins a class full of misfits, with a teacher who doesn't seem qualified to teach PE. Can Yash survive the summer, especially since there's another star-athlete slated for his position on the team? A story of finding friendship in unlikely places. Great read.

In this story the focus is on a summer school PE class for students who need it to graduate from 8th grade. It is told from multiple points of view, including the star athlete, a burgeoning investigative reporter, and the former athlete. You have a whole case of characters including the twins whose mission in life it to outprank one another. It is classic Korman, with a nicely wrapped up ending.

Pretty hilarious book about an athletic prodigy who's so good at football he's allowed to skip PE and play on the high school JV team, only to learn that he can't graduate the 8th grade without a PE credit. His only option is to enroll in summer school which means he will miss summer football practice. It also means he will be taking PE with the least athletic kids in the school, aka the slugs.

Worse still is the PE teacher who has them playing duck, duck goose and making pizzas during class time. Arabella is convinced Mrs. Finnerty isn't certified to teach PE, which could potentially make their PE credit null and void. Yash is worried, but he's more worried about the new kid who's almost as good at football as he is. If he has any hope of being picked for quarterback, he's got to train on his own. So he recruits the slugs into his exercise routine. Before anyone knows what's happened, the slugs are playing in the flag football tournament against the high school team.

I love Korman's humor. His characters always have a sarcastic edge which makes the story that much more fun. Korman likes to tell his stories from multiple perspectives. That always makes things a bit more interesting. I just wish he were better at differentiating the characters. They all seem to have about the same voice and personality. Otherwise, another solid win for Korman.

Slugfest is the nickname for the summer school PE class, aka the students who have failed 8th grade PE. Who fails PE, you ask? Plenty of students with legitimate reasons for refusing to participate in PE class–bullying in the locker room, detention for playing pranks, injuries keeping them from class, and permission from the principal to participate in sports at the high school rather than take PE in middle school. Only when the state mandates that these students fulfill their 8th grade PE requirement, does the principal come down and demand they take summer school in order to graduate 8th grade and move on to high school in the fall. Tough break for all of them, but especially for Yash, who is an athletic superstar in the town. Not only does he have the embarrassment of taking PE during summer school, but he is not allowed to practice with the high school anymore. Told in multiple voices (something author Korman excels at), the reader is transported to middle school as these students overcome stereotypes to form a bond and defy the odds through PE summer school.

Slugfest is a lively and good-natured tale that balances humor and heart. The story follows a group of characters who are both plausible and a bit outlandish, making for a realistic yet slightly goofy adventure. Korman's snappy dialogue and idiosyncratic depictions of the characters keep the plot moving at a brisk pace, making it an engaging read for young readers. While most characters appear to be white, the story's universal themes and relatable characters make it accessible to a broad audience. Overall, Slugfest is a fun and lighthearted tale that will keep readers entertained from start to finish.

Gordon Korman delivers yet again with Slugfest. While the overarching plot is the 'football underdogs' storyline, there are a few subplots in the story that were absolutely phenomenal as well. My only complaint was that I wouldn't have minded if the more underrepresented characters were given more chapters, especially Kaden and Fiona, however, this book is still an absolute must-read.

Thank you to HarperCollins and Gordon Korman for providing me with an ARC. I was not required to write a review, and all thoughts presented in the review above are my own.

You might think that, because of the title, Slugfest is a book about people slugging it out. Well, that’s only partially true. In this hilarious, heartwarming book by a popular, prolific author, the term Slugfest is actually the nickname given to the group of kids who end up having to take the Physical Education Equivalency (yes, PEE) class in summer school in order to graduate from eighth grade. Each kid has a backstory, and in a class that no one wants to be in with a teacher who has never taught PE, you can be sure to expect the unexpected. Get out the pom poms and be ready to cheer for the Slugfest bunch as they fumble their way to a stellar finish. Another Korman winner!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have read quite a few of Gordon Korman's books, and this might be my favorite of them all. Korman knows how to speak to the middle grade audience, and this book, about a star athlete who has to take summer school PE with all the misfits of the school, hits the nail on the head. From the indignity of being made to play "kiddie" games like Duck, Duck, Goose and Musical Chairs, to the relationship that builds when Yash begins to give the "slugs" a chance, everything about this book made me smile. Without being preachy, Korman shows what can happen when you choose honesty and kindness, and how that can go a long way to making people feel good about themselves. I will definitely be getting it for my library and recommending it to all my students.

Super-athlete Yash skipped 8th grade PE to play on JV teams at the high school. At the end of the year, though, the state changed policies abruptly and required all 8th graders to have a specific PE credit before being able to advance to 9th grade. Yash is forced to attend summer school PEE (Physical Education Equivalent) with the Slugs (non-athletes). When a new kid moves in and threatens Yash's JV quarterback position, he navigates through being the bigger person and doing the right thing, even when what the right thing is gets confusing.

Classic Korman - real life kid problems, kids being leaders and doing the right thing, and humor....lots of humor! this book is a must for middle grade library collections!