The Unteachables

The Unteachables is such a fun and inspiring read! The characters are quirky, lovable, and full of surprises, and the story delivers humor and heart in equal measure. I love how it tackles themes of redemption, teamwork, and believing in yourself without feeling heavy-handed. Perfect for middle-grade readers, but adults will enjoy it too! It’s one of those books that makes you laugh, think, and cheer for the underdogs. Highly recommend!

You can never ever judge a book by a cover and this book is a life lesson why great for young readers at 4th grade to 7th grade who loves Gordon Korman cause I sure do!!!

My daughter is absolutely obsessed with this author, so she had to get this book—and it did not disappoint. She loved it so much that she finished it in less than a day! The story was engaging, well-paced, and exactly what she was hoping for. If your child is a fan of this author, this book is a definite must-have—it’s sure to keep them completely hooked.

Like most of Korman's books, this has a good mix of humor and educational perseverance. A group of students whom the school gave up on years ago, are placed with a teacher who's counting down the days to his early retirement after a cheating fiasco killed hos career and dreams over a decade ago. With the help of an old enemy and an overly enthusiastic fellow teacher, maybe the class and their teacher aren't as hopeless as everyone, including themselves, expect them to be. I liked that each kid in the class, plus the teacher, had their own chapters to present the story from their own perspectives. Sometimes, that ruins a book for me - switching between people just when I connected to them. It wasn't so jostling here. The story flowed nicely, and because the plot focused mostly on their class and school instead of closeups of their personal lives, it didn't matter so much when a different kid picked up the narrative. It was a good uplifting story about the power of self belief and perseverance.

6th grader loved, teacher recommended it.

Captivating book that is also funny in places. Realistic fiction at its best. I couldn't put the book down. I bought it for middle schoolers, but I liked it as an adult. Fun Read.

The Unteachables by Gordon Korman was an entertaining read. Mr. Kermit, otherwise known as ribbit by his students, is just putting his time in until he can qualify for early retirement. He is saddled with the worst class in the school called SCS-8. These are the kids that everyone has pretty much given up on. Kermit begins each day by showing up late, passing out worksheets, drinking tons of coffee from a huge cup called "the toilet bowl," and working on his daily crossword puzzle. At first, the kids don't have much use for him either because he hasn't even bothered to learn their names, and he isn't teaching them anything. To make matters worse, Miss Fountain, the daughter of his ex-fiancee, teaches in the next room over. She runs her seventh grade like a kindergarten class by doing things such as circle time. As the story progresses, we learn that Mr. Kermit used to be an excellent teacher, but things have gone downhill since one of his classes was involved in a cheating scandal. Even though Mr. Kermit wasn't involved, the superintendent, Dr. Thaddeus, blames him for the whole incident and does whatever he can think of to get rid of him. If you're expecting a true portrayal of a middle school classroom, this isn't the book for you. On the other hand, if you like a humorous story with lots of memorable characters, I would recommend this book.

Granddaughter loves this author

divertente e leggero. un libro da consigliare a un pubblico di young adults con un livello linguistico B2

The summer after Grade 7 I went on a week long Girl Guide camping trip. We had an eight hour bus trip to get there and my leader instructed each girl to pack one book and then we could trade books if we needed something else to read. With such a long bus trip up, I think I read the book I packed and one other before we'd arrived at our destination. I borrowed a Gordon Korman book from another girl, The Zucchini Wars, and I was HOOKED on his books. Looking at Goodreads now, this is the fifth book in the MacDonald Hall series -- but the adventures of Bruno and Boots were laugh out loud funny and I enjoyed every instalment. I was browsing on Edelweiss one evening and noticed The Unteachables and downloaded it without even reading the synopsis because I had such fond memories of his writing. On the plane ride home from Disneyland, my brain was so exhausted from our trip that I wasn't able to focus on Kingdom of Ash, so I decided to give this book a shot. From the first chapter, I was hooked on the story and I finished the book that day, exhaustion and all. Then I promptly ordered a copy for my husband after he expressed an interest in reading it and reminisced about hearing Gordon speak at a writing workshop when he was in middle school. Plus, it's about a teacher and teaching, so I know he's going to like it! The story centres around Mr. Kermit, a teacher who has one year of teaching left before he qualifies for early retirement, who is given the toughest class to teach, The Unteachables. Each chapters switches the point of view between the children in the class, Mr. Kermit, and other characters. Like most middle grade, the story is an absolute delight to read and had me grinning, laughing, sitting on the edge of my seat and racing through the pages, eager to find out how the story would wrap itself up. I highly, highly recommend this one if you enjoy middle grade, or even if you're not an avid middle grade reader. It has a cast of absolutely delightful characters and the story will keep you hooked right up until the final page. Note: An egalley was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

燃え尽きた教師が手に負えない生徒を任されるという、わりとよくある設定のお話ですが、よくできています。著者ゴードン・コーマンは邦訳も出ているベストセラーを書いた人なので（『リスタート』, 千葉茂樹訳, あすなろ出版, 2019）、話のクオリティは信頼して大丈夫です。読者対象は8〜12歳ですから、大学生くらいでペーパーバックの小説など読んだことのある人ならば読めます（若干よくわからない表現や言葉などあるかもしれませんが、その辺は調べても、無視しても構わないでしょう）。 グリニッチ・ミドルスクール（アメリカの学校種は地域によってばらつきがあり、この学校は6年生から8年生のようです）の117教室は、字が読めない子、怒りをコントロールできない子、何かの手違いで入ってしまったけれども誰もそれに気づかない子などの寄せ集め、8年生の問題児クラス（教育不可能な子たち：the unteachables）です。このクラスを任されたのは、若く熱意溢れる教師だった27年前に生徒が起こしたカンニング騒動でダメ教師のレッテルを貼られ、以来意欲を失って、今は1年後の早期退職を待っているだけのザッカリー・カーミット先生でした。彼は生徒を含め誰かのためを思う（care）ことはトラブルにつながり、自分のためにならないと決め、何も気にしないことで日々やり過ごそうとしています。けれども... すごく面白かったので、一気に読んでしまいました。教師をしている人には特に泣けるところ満載のおすすめの1冊です。でも、爽やかな「泣ける」です。

This is the best book in worlds history and if I had an option I would rate it 100 out of 5!

I never write reviews and read around 300 books a year but I loved this book and want to thoroughly recommend it to everyone. Give it a try.