The Losers Club: 12/18/17

The Losers Club by Andrew Clements is a middle grade fiction about a boy who loves to read to the point that his reading is getting in the way of other things, like his classwork and his social skills. After numerous referrals to the principal, he is told he has to participate in a after school club or face disciplinary action.

As with Frindle, Clements takes a school situation — a moment of a student pushing back against the adults in his life — to the extreme to see how transformative that initial push back can be.

When Alec's not allowed to just join a club and read in a corner, he choses to create a reading club — not a book club where everyone reads the same books — but one where kids who want to read and not be interrupted, can. Like Cameron Boxer in Slacker, Alec wants his club to fail. He sets it up to be the worst club ever and even calls it the "Losers Club" figuring the name will keep other kids away.

But what happens if the self sabotaged club takes off? What happens if Alec finds many more secret lovers of books just looking for a place to read? What happens if his club ends up being one of the most popular after school programs? Then how does he explain the name, "The Losers Club"? All of these questions are answered over the course of this book.

Four stars

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