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No More Dead Dogs, by Gordon Korman
Nov. 18th, 2020 08:08 pmI'd forgotten how genuinely great this kid's book is. What a delight. What a perfect book to speak to the middle-grade psyche.
This book is about a middle-schooler named Wallace Wallace (yes his first and last names are the same, yes this is in fact incredible) who writes a book review for English class of one of those award-winning depressing kids books about a dog that dies. You know the kind. Wallace thinks this is a bunch of crap and writes a review that says so, and ends up in detention because his english teacher thinks that if he doesn't like the book then he can't be taking it seriously.
And then he ends up accidentally helping out with the production of the middle-school play, which just so happens to be based on the book he wrote the negative review on!
Who are Wallace's real friends, the theatre nerds or the football team he used to be on before he was stuck in detention? Does a play belong to the director or to the actors? Are you allowed to have a different interpretation of a book than your english teacher? Should the dog really die at the end of all the Famous Important Stories About Dogs? All these questions and more will be addressed!
I love it all and honestly it's asking some important questions, all with a funny and irreverent and page-turning tone. And lots of additional background details added in bring the story to life too, and not everything is answered.
My main question at the end of the book is WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN WALLACE AND STEVE. Prior to the beginning of the book, Wallace and Steve had been best friends and then had a major falling out. That fact is a running through-line in the book, and the very first beginning steps towards a reconciliation happen at the end of the book. What exactly happened between them though, to cause such a major rupture? It seems likely it has something to do with what happened in the previous year's football season, but the reader is not told specifically. Which is fair honestly! But their relationship is clearly important and I am fascinated and want to know more of their story.
This book is about a middle-schooler named Wallace Wallace (yes his first and last names are the same, yes this is in fact incredible) who writes a book review for English class of one of those award-winning depressing kids books about a dog that dies. You know the kind. Wallace thinks this is a bunch of crap and writes a review that says so, and ends up in detention because his english teacher thinks that if he doesn't like the book then he can't be taking it seriously.
And then he ends up accidentally helping out with the production of the middle-school play, which just so happens to be based on the book he wrote the negative review on!
Who are Wallace's real friends, the theatre nerds or the football team he used to be on before he was stuck in detention? Does a play belong to the director or to the actors? Are you allowed to have a different interpretation of a book than your english teacher? Should the dog really die at the end of all the Famous Important Stories About Dogs? All these questions and more will be addressed!
I love it all and honestly it's asking some important questions, all with a funny and irreverent and page-turning tone. And lots of additional background details added in bring the story to life too, and not everything is answered.
My main question at the end of the book is WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN WALLACE AND STEVE. Prior to the beginning of the book, Wallace and Steve had been best friends and then had a major falling out. That fact is a running through-line in the book, and the very first beginning steps towards a reconciliation happen at the end of the book. What exactly happened between them though, to cause such a major rupture? It seems likely it has something to do with what happened in the previous year's football season, but the reader is not told specifically. Which is fair honestly! But their relationship is clearly important and I am fascinated and want to know more of their story.
