Been meaning to write about this book since June, but I only recently got around to reading it... The Detention Club by our friend David Yoo, is his first foray into middle-grade fiction, set during what is universally the most painful and awkward point in anyone's life: middle school.
I'm a huge fan of David's previous young adult work, Girls for Breakfast and Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before. And while I'm obviously not the target demographic for this one, it kept me laughing like a silly kid during a recent plane ride. Yeah, I'm kind of immature like that.
Here's the publisher's description:
DetentionWhat happens when all the stuff that made you cool in elementary school become precisely the things that make you a loser in middle school? As with all of David Yoo's protagonists, there's a hilariously uncomfortable reality to Peter's predicament. The young readers in your life will get a kick out of this book.
The best worst thing to happen to Peter Lee?
Peter and his best friend, Drew, used to be so cool (or, at least, not total outcasts) in elementary school. But now they're in middle school, where their extensive mica collection and prowess at kickball have earned them a new label: losers. Then Peter attracts the unwanted attention of the school bullies, and his plan to become popular through his older sister, the practically perfect Sunny, backfires.
Things go from bad to worse when Peter gets detention. But what at first seems to spell his utter doom turns into an unlikely opportunity for making friends and influencing people. . . .
The Detention Club is available in hardcover from Balzer + Bray. For more information about author David Yoo, who urges you to buy his book so he can feed his 1-year-old son, go to his website here. Also check out the funny guest post he wrote last month while I was on vacation: Yellow Snow.