Summer Reading Day 54: The Detention Club by David Yoo
296 p. Balzer + Bray/ HarperCollins, June 21, 2011. 978-0-06-178378-4.
The back cover of David Yoo's middle grade debut is classic. Classic David Yoo and classic mind of middle school male. There's a series of questions from Mom, that I'm too lazy to type out, starting with, "Why did you steal the poisonous chemicals from science class?
Me: I don't know.
"I don't know," is Me's answer to Mom's next three questions. Then,
"Here's a secret: I know the answer to all of these questions. But I know my parents, and the truth would just make them more mad or sad or confused. So I just play dumb in order to spare them the additional heartache. It does make me look like an idiot though."
Peter Lee was mostly looking forward to starting sixth grade and middle school. After all, he and his best friend, Drew, ruled elementary school. They were champion collectors and have been collecting mica all summer. They truly believe that their mica collection will blow away the competition. He also received a letter stating that he was chosen for the Gifted and Talented program, which galls his sister, Sunny, who is in eighth grade and is perfect. They hate each other and bait each other in a way that makes their father rub his temples.
There is no question that Peter Lee is bright. The problem is, that he was bright enough to do well without much effort in elementary school, but is totally clueless about how to study or take notes in middle school, where the work is harder. He's also nearly totally clueless socially. When he finally realizes that he's a giant loser, with a capital L, he goes about gaining popularity with a clueless zeal.
Make no mistake, Peter is not likable. He's arrogant, self-centered and selfish. While I can forgive the way he treats his big sister, Sunny, who is equally arrogant, I could not forgive Peter for his shoddy treatment of his best friend, Drew. Drew is loyal. He sticks by Peter long past his "sell by" date. What a good friend.
Laugh-out-loud moments vie with the cringeworthy ones. Just as I was wondering how Peter/ Yoo was going to dig himself out, the plot takes a neat little twist and resolves quite satisfactorily.
I am a huge fan of Yoo's YA offerings. I read Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before first. Then, I read his YA debut, Girls for Breakfast. His entry in Guys Read: Funny Business, is one of my favorites in the collection. I laughed and cringed; felt guilty about laughing and cringed some more; compared his humor to Larry David's; and rued the fact that his books were a bit mature for my middle school library. I'm so happy that he made the transition to a middle school audience.
He gets so much right: the terrifying eighth graders, the desire to fit in, the cafeteria hierarchy, the bewildered realization that the rules have suddenly changed. Many middle school readers will relate. I can't wait to booktalk this come the new school year.