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madden_b's review against another edition
5.0
This was heartfelt, sweet, HILARIOUS and entertaining. I couldn't stop reading it!! So much so that I wasn't putting it away in class after I was told to many times... that landed me with a detention :/ so for that alone I HAD to give it 5 stars... although I do wish there was an option for 4.5 stars. Nice work, Ali.
christiana's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. Pretty wacky and unlikely, but a fun read nonetheless. I wish the ending would have been a little more decisive, but still pretty sellable to 5th and maybe 6th graders.
libwinnie's review against another edition
4.0
What this book did really well--character growth and development and insight into the fact that people are so much more than we can see from the outside. Things that may be barriers for kids--it takes about half the book to really gain momentum and the premise of finding the next Paulie Fink, as well as some of his hijinks, just didn't ring true. Overall, though, this was an insightful and enjoyable read.
racham1123's review against another edition
3.0
Told in present tense POV of our MC Caitlyn with interviews spread out along the way between Caitlyn and her various new classmates/faculty. The point of the interviews? For Caitlyn to learn more about the First Paulie Fink, a trickster character who had been a student at the rural Mitchell school for several years now- and who wasn't enrolled in their district this year.
This book is about a competition put forth by the remaining 7th grade class, and judged by their new (and completely unbiased) classmate, Caitlyn. It's a really small class, like 11 students total. The completion? To find the Next Great Paulie Fink.
Honestly, the book is really bizarre. The characters are all over the place and it's like instead of having a school that has this one quirky thing the whole book is the quirky thing. It took me awhile to get into it/used to it. All that being said, I'm also not the target audience.
But there's a lot going on behind the quirkiness too. The seventh graders are learning about Plato and the Cave, the Greek Gods, and how history relates to their current lives at Mitchell. Mags, is a good teacher and she relates the kids everyday thoughts back to the lessons at hand.
You also learn with our our main character Caitlyn, that she was a bully at her old school. We spent a bit of time on Caitlyn making this realization and how to be better moving forward, but I would have rather seen this fleshed out a bit more given how many times Caitlyn thought about Anna (the girl she was mean to). I understand the message that we're given, that she knows she was wrong but isn't sure if she's ready to face that yet, and maybe she never will be but that's kind of a crap take a way too. I mean, Caitlyn was so scared when she started at Mitchell and she didn't feel like she was ready for that, but she took a breath and got through it. I guess I wish she had just taken the same chance on herself in apologizing to Anna. 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
I also don't love that we don't actually get a clear verdict on how everything pans out.
However, the 'bonus' content to support Caitlyns interviews was perfect, especially the last page of the student election. You know, when the ballot was rocked and the new student president of the seventh grade was a six-pound potato-shaped stone.
This book is about a competition put forth by the remaining 7th grade class, and judged by their new (and completely unbiased) classmate, Caitlyn. It's a really small class, like 11 students total. The completion? To find the Next Great Paulie Fink.
Honestly, the book is really bizarre. The characters are all over the place and it's like instead of having a school that has this one quirky thing the whole book is the quirky thing. It took me awhile to get into it/used to it. All that being said, I'm also not the target audience.
But there's a lot going on behind the quirkiness too. The seventh graders are learning about Plato and the Cave, the Greek Gods, and how history relates to their current lives at Mitchell. Mags, is a good teacher and she relates the kids everyday thoughts back to the lessons at hand.
You also learn with our our main character Caitlyn, that she was a bully at her old school. We spent a bit of time on Caitlyn making this realization and how to be better moving forward, but I would have rather seen this fleshed out a bit more given how many times Caitlyn thought about Anna (the girl she was mean to). I understand the message that we're given, that she knows she was wrong but isn't sure if she's ready to face that yet, and maybe she never will be but that's kind of a crap take a way too. I mean, Caitlyn was so scared when she started at Mitchell and she didn't feel like she was ready for that, but she took a breath and got through it. I guess I wish she had just taken the same chance on herself in apologizing to Anna. 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
I also don't love that we don't actually get a clear verdict on how everything pans out.
However, the 'bonus' content to support Caitlyns interviews was perfect, especially the last page of the student election. You know, when the ballot was rocked and the new student president of the seventh grade was a six-pound potato-shaped stone.
hamckeon's review against another edition
4.0
This middle grade book has such an engaging, unique concept. It has some interesting, unique characters and really makes one think about the stories we tell ourselves.
rachelwrites007's review against another edition
4.0
Stick with this one. I thought I was going to give it up by page 50, then by page 100, but once I hit 130 pages somehow I was totally sucked in. Middle school me would have LOVED this book. In 6th grade we did an entire class-wide unit on Ancient Greek and Ancient Egypt (we read an abridged version of the Odyssey and wrote our own myths in Language Arts and Social Studies, and then mummified chickens in science class and wrote stories in Papyrus font in Language Arts, for ex.). I didn't love Caitlyn but I love love LOVED all of the Ancient Greek stuff. And the goats!! I love them too! Ali Benjamin, too, nailed the small weird school stuff (been there, done that). But I just didn't love this one as much as her debut, 'The Thing about Jellyfish' (hence the 4 stars).
goosemixtapes's review against another edition
4.0
normally books that remind me of middle school are... touchy, because middle school sucked. but this one made me feel like a preteen again in a good way. in a warm and comforting and... dare i say... tender way. also just... very well-written. the mockumentary narrative technique? [chef's kiss]
silkmo's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely perfect book. I laughed out loud multiple times while reading. I KNOW Fiona and Diego and Caitlyn, or at least kids who are identical to them. Who weaves ancient Greek philosophy, reality television competition, goats, and personal growth into a seamless narrative? Incredible.
theoglibrarianmom's review against another edition
5.0
FIVE HUGE LOUD STARS for this book. I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I picked this up, but I couldn't put this one down. I cried a couple times and literally clapped when it was over because I wanted to give the book and the characters (and Paulie Fink) a standing ovation. This is a book that will make you think and examine life and I absolutely recommend it.
victorialynch's review against another edition
4.0
On the 21-22 WAW list. A couple notes for educators/librarian friends...
- I liked it!
- The plot is definitely more complex which makes it "read up" but there really aren't adult topics. It's still very elementary friendly!
- Better as a novel than an audiobook because the formatting switches up throughout the book.
- I liked it!
- The plot is definitely more complex which makes it "read up" but there really aren't adult topics. It's still very elementary friendly!
- Better as a novel than an audiobook because the formatting switches up throughout the book.