Ungifted by Gordon Korman

Ungifted, Gordon Korman. New York: Balzer + Bray/ HarperCollins Publishers, 2012. e-book, 172 pps.


     Some will recognize Gordon Korman as a prolific author of children's books. Ungifted is a cute book about a middle school boy named Donovan Curtis. Donovan whacked a school statue with a tree branch and there were consequences to his actions. The superintendent of schools was the one who caught him. Much to Donovan's surprise and the surprise of his entire family, he is sent to the gifted school.

     The gifted kids in his new classroom are portrayed as if they had Asperger's along with their superior I.Q.s. One is stuck on plaids, another does social stuff even less well than the others, and all of them are bad at sports. Donovan is a welcome addition to the class in spite of not really belonging there. 

sapphoq reviews says: The gifted kids I have known-- the ones who aren't Aspies anyway-- are prolific at social skills and at sports in addition to excelling at schoolwork. In spite of this small misgiving, I enjoyed Ungifted and I think middle school kids would also. Highly recommended.