Search This Blog
April Reviews Link-Up
May Reviews Link-Up
June Reviews Link-Up
July Reviews Link-Up
August Reviews Link-Up
September Reviews Link-Up
October Reviews Link-Up
November Reviews Link-Up
December Reviews Link-Up
2024 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama (1)
- Alaska
- Arizona (1)
- Arkansas
- California (3)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii
- Idaho (2)
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (1)
- Maryland
- Massachusetts (2)
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York (2)
- North Carolina (2)
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon (2)
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (1)
- Utah
- Vermont (1)
- Virginia (1)
- Washington (1)
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.*
International:
- Australia (1)
- Canada (1)
- England (7)
- France (1)
- Ireland (1)
- Italy (1)
- Scotland (2)
- The Netherlands (1)
2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge
Monday, April 09, 2012
Showoff Unexpectedly Entertaining
1:00 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
(Note: Although this review will not contain spoilers for Showoff, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from earlier books in the Swindle series. As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.)
Hanging out with 12-year-old Griffin Bing, a.k.a. The Man With the Plan, can be dangerous. Just ask his best friend, Ben Slovak. He's already been roped into enough of Griffin's crazy schemes—he doesn't want to be involved in even one more. So, when Savannah Drysdale's ferocious Doberman goes crazy at a dog show, leading to the injury of a prize-winning Beagle and the subsequent incarceration of the Doberman, Ben begs Griffin to just leave it alone. The boys are both terrified of Luthor, but they can't stand to see Savannah so hurt by the loss of her beloved pet. Besides, there's something fishy about the whole thing. Luthor's not exactly the most docile pooch in the world, but why would he go bezerk all the sudden? It doesn't add up.
When Griffin makes one of his famous plans, this time to break Luthor out of the pound, he and Ben are unwittingly thrown into a whirlwind adventure involving a monster dog and the fussy, but cutthroat world of competitive dog showing. The misbehaving Doberman clearly isn't Best of Show material and yet, the only way to save Savannah's slobbering dog is to turn him into a model citizen. In the meantime, the boys can poke around all of New York City's most prestigious dog shows for clues as to who was really responsible for Luthor's strange behavior toward the Beagle. The boys will, of course, get more than they bargained for—the Man With the Plan wouldn't have it any other way.
Gordon Korman books are always hit and miss for me. My kids adore everything he writes, but I find some of his stuff (like Swindle) to be too underdeveloped, too far-fetched, to be truly appealing. Don't get me wrong—I love children's books, I just want them to be well-written, you know? At any rate, I wasn't super excited when the librarian at my kids' school asked me to read Showoff, the fourth book in the Swindle series. Being the dutiful volunteer that I am, I did it anyway. And was pleasantly surprised. Showoff turned out to be a fun, zany mystery that kept me laughing and turning pages. It's not like my favorite children's book of all time, but I actually enjoyed this one much more than I thought I would. My kids, of course, think it's Newbery material; I wouldn't go that far. Still it's a fun one.
(Readalikes: Swindle and the rest of the books in the Swindle series by Gordon Korman)
Grade: B
If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG
To the FTC, with love: I borrowed Showoff from the library at my children's elementary school and read it as part of my volunteer work with the school's Quest reading program.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(Atom)
Reading
Listening
Followin' with Bloglovin'
-
-
What’s Not Mine By Nora Decter3 hours ago
-
Bookish Quote of the Day!!6 hours ago
-
Daily Prompt 19 April Friday8 hours ago
-
-
43. The Mystery of Locked Rooms12 hours ago
-
2024 Reading Firsts15 hours ago
-
Sunday Post15 hours ago
-
-
The Gathering by C.J. Tudor16 hours ago
-
FO Friday: Nathair Mitts19 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Reading as a retreat from reality2 days ago
-
-
-
Novel Love Story5 days ago
-
-
Invisible Woman by Katia Lief1 week ago
-
Reading Recap March 20241 week ago
-
Waiting on Wednesday - Think Twice2 weeks ago
-
-
March Monthly Wrap-up2 weeks ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?6 months ago
-
6/25/23 Extra Ezra9 months ago
-
-
-
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
Grab my Button!
Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)
- ► 2014 (133)
- ► 2013 (183)
- ▼ 2012 (193)
- ► 2011 (232)
- ► 2010 (257)
- ► 2009 (211)
- ► 2008 (192)
0 bookworm(s) said...:
Post a Comment
Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.
P.S.: Don't panic if your comment doesn't show up right away. I have to approve each one before it posts to prevent spam. It's annoying, but it works!