Losing Joe's Place
Gordon KormanISBN 9781443113045
eISBN 9781443124508
ASIN B078H2RL7M
I have now read over 50 volumes from the masterful pen of Gordon Korman, I am about halfway through his whole canon. My son who is 17 still loves his books, my daughter in 14 picks and chooses, But I am trying to work my way through his complete catalogue, in my mid-50’s.
Most of the titles by Korman I have read, I read over the last 6 year. I had read a few back in 2009 when the 39 Clues first came out. I do not recall reading any when I was young, but with my dual form of dyslexia I did not read many Children’s or Middle Grade books. It was only later I learned to really read.
My son and I started reading Gordon Korman books together six years ago, when he was given one as an end of year gift by his teacher. She gave the whole class the same Scholastic edition and wrote a note to each student in their copy of the book.
When reading Korman books; some he reads to me, some we use adaptive technology and listen to in the car, and some I just read on my own. This one we listened to in the car on a trip to and from seeing a production in Stratford.
The description of this book states:
“Jason's going to have the summer of his life - as long as he doesn't lose Joe's place.
Sixteen-year-old Jason is looking forward to spending the summer in the big city with his friends Don and Ferguson. They've convinced their parents to let them sublet Jason's older brother Joe's apartment in Toronto. All they have to do is pay the rent each month and not, under ANY circumstance, put Joe in jeopardy of losing his lease. Easier said than done.
What they didn't count on was dealing with Joe's eccentric landlord, Mr. Plotnick, or his strange friend, Rootbeer. And they certainly weren't expecting Joe's Camaro to be mistaken for a stolen car and get towed away. One crisis after another conspires to ruin their summer, but with Gordon Korman's trademark wit the journey is guaranteed to be both inventive and hilarious.”
An older description states:
“Joe Cardone is about the coolest big brother a guy could ask for...at least that's what Jason thinks. How is going to let Jason use his apartment for the entire summer and drive his black Camaro. But there is one catch: Jason cannot under any circumstances put Joe in jeopardy of losing his lease.”
According to Goodreads there are 12 editions of this book, as of the writing of this review. All published by Scholastic, published between 1990 and 2013. To date there are multiple eBook editions of this story.
Which group of teenagers would not think a summer in Toronto and a great ride would be the best time of their lives. And that is what the three friends from up north are expecting at the beginning of this story. But things do not always go as expected. Yet the three persist and keep trying, one moving up through the company they all started at, one who loses job after job after job, and one who finds he is becoming his mother in looking after the place, cleaning, laundry, cooking and more. But when Joe left town before they got there and forgot to pass on key information the summer of fun soon turns into a summer of stress and conflict. Throw in a girl who is dating 2 of the friends, and a super cranky landlord and deli owner, over which they live and we are in for some serious laughs. Oh and let's not forget the giant in a poncho who crashes and stays with them off and on who goes by the name Rootbeer Racinette. (By the way Racinette is French for Rootbeer so from the introduction of the character we know we are in for some extra laughs.)
To find out if they make it through the summer without calling home for help, and who ends up with the girl check out this fun story that does show some serious insight into life in the big city and first time away from home.
This was a really fun story and one that I can easily recommend. A great read from Korman’s masterful pen!
Books by Gordon Korman:
MacDonald Hall Series:
Go Jump in the Pool (1979)
Beware the Fish! (1980)
The Wizzle War (1982)
(formerly The War With Mr. Wizzle)
The Zucchini Warriors (1988)
Light’s Camera, Disaster (1991)
(aka Macdonald Hall Goes Hollywood)
The Jokes on Us (1995)
(formerly Something Fishy at Macdonald Hall)
…
Bugs Potter Series:
Who is Bugs Potter? (1980)
…
Jeremy Bloom Series:
The D−Poems of Jeremy Bloom (1992)
The Last-Place Sports Poems of Jeremy Bloom (1996)
…
Monday Night Football Series:
The Quarterback Exchange (1997)
Running Back Conversion (1997)
Super Bowl Switch (1997)
Heavy Artillery (1997)
Ultimate Scoring Machine (1998)
NFL Rules! Bloopers, Pranks, Upsets, and Touchdowns (1998)
…
Masterminds Series:
Masterminds (2015)
Masterminds: Payback (2017)
…
Slapshots Series:
The Stars From Mars (1999)
All-Mars All-Stars/The Dream Team (1999)
The Face-off Phony (2000)
Cup Crazy (2000)
Ouch I got slapped (2023)
…
4-in-1 Slapshots: The Complete Collection (2008)
…
Nose Pickers Series:
Nose Pickers from Outer Space! (1999)
Planet of the Nose Pickers (2000)
Your Mummy Is a Nose Picker (2000)
Invasion of the Nose Pickers (2001)
…
4-in-1 The Ultimate Nose-Picker Collection (2006)
…
Island Series:
Shipwreck (2001)
Survival (2001)
Escape (2001)
…
3-in-1 Island Trilogy Collection (2006)
…
Son of the Mob Series:
Son of the Mob (2002)
Son of the Mob 2: Hollywood Hustle (2004)
…
Everest Series:
The Contest (2002)
The Climb (2002)
The Summit (2002)
…
Everest Trilogy Box Set (2002)
Dive Series:
The Discovery (2003)
The Deep (2003)
The Danger (2003)
…
On the Run Series:
Chasing the Falconers (2005)
The Fugitive Factor (2005)
The Stowaway Solution (2005)
Public Enemies (2005)
Hunting the Hunter (2006)
…
Kidnapped Series:
The Abduction (2006)
The Search (2006)
The Rescue (2006)
…
Swindle Series:
Swindle (2008)
Zoobreak (2009)
Framed (2010)
Showoff (2012)
Hideout (2013)
Jackpot (2014)
Unleashed (2015)
Jingle (2016)
…
Titanic Series:
Unsinkable (2011)
Collision Course (2011)
S.O.S (2011)
…
The 39 Clues Series:
One False Note (2008)
The Emperor's Code (2010)
Vespers Rising (2011)
The Medusa Plot (2011)
Flashpoint (2014)
…
Hypnotists Series:
The Hypnotists (2013)
Memory Maze (2014)
The Dragonfly Effect (2015)
…
Ungifted Series:
Ungifted (2012)
Supergifted (2018)
…
Slacker Series:
...
Non Series Books:
I Want to Go Home! (1981)
Our Man Weston (1982)
No Coins, Please (1984)
Don't Care High (1985)
Son of Interflux (1986)
Radio 5th Grade (1989)
Losing Joe's Place (1990)
The Twinkie Squad (1992)
The Toilet Paper Tigers (1993)
The Chicken Doesn't Skate (1996)
Liar, Liar Pants on Fire (1997)
No More Dead Dogs (2000)
Maxx Comedy: The Funniest Kid in America (2003)
Jake, Reinvented (2003)
Born To Rock (2006)
Schooled (2007)
The Juvie Three (2008)
Pop (2009)
Restart (2017)
What's His Face? (2018)
The Unteachables (2019)
Notorious (2019)
War Stories (2020)
Game On (contains The Chicken Doesn’t Skate and The Toilet Paper Tigers (2021)
Unplugged (2021)
Linked (2021)
Operation Do-Over (2022)
The Fort (2022)
The Super Teacher Project (2023)
