Ungifted

Korman, Gordon. (2012). Ungifted. HarperCollins Publishers: NY. Donovan is ungifted in that he has not realized what he is capable of doing except stirring up trouble.  Through a chain of events after he has crashed a giant brass ball through the gym, he is sent by mistake to the gifted magnet school for the district. It is clear that he does not belong academically yet he becomes instrumental in the success of the other students.  Friendships are formed, a baby is born and robots fight. This is really a true underdog story that has you cheering for the juvenile delinquent. I think that this would be a great book for middle school because it is the time period for the characters.  If offers a good place to start examining how we see each other within the parameters of school and could help to bridge the gaps between different groups. In this book there is an unspoken interest in the opposite sex but no relationship is pursued. According to Havighurst's Theory of Developmental Tasks, Donovan is currently working through adolescents need to develop an easy relationship with the opposite sex as he transfers schools and seeks to work with peers who are also girls. Even seeing one in a new light at a dance.