Unplugged - Gordon Korman

Unplugged
Gordon Korman
Scholastic
ISBN 9781443187411

eISBN 9781443187442

ASIN B08T6JCNP9

This was the twelfth book from the masterful pen of Gordon Korman that I have read. Over the last few years my son and I have read about a dozen books by Gordon Korman. And we plan to read many of the older titles, but love picking up his new releases and giving them a read. We have loved all the books we have read so far, and have many we want to read. Most of them deal with series matters, and yet there is always a great deal of humour to the storytelling. My son wants to read this one and we will once he is done his current book. But I could not wait. And devoured it spending a good chuck of a Saturday reading. I just did not want to put it down. 

Like many of Korman’s books this one is told in a series of chapters in the first-person perspective. The points of view we have for various chapters are:

Jett Baranov 

Grace Atwater 

Tyrell Karrigan 

Matt Louganis  

Brandon Bucholz  

Brooklynne Feldman 

Two of the characters on have a chapter each and Jeff has the most at 11 chapters. Jett Baranov is the spoiled brat child of a Silicon Valley tech genius billionaire. He crosses the line one time too many and is sent to the Oasis Mind and Body Wellness Center. Here he is supposed to remain unplugged. No devices, no screen time. No meat. But Jett is use to bending, diverting and outright breaking rules. But something different happens here. Jett sort of makes some friends. And finds out he care about something other than himself or getting his father’s attention. 

This is an excellent Middle Grade read about friendship and coming to know yourself. But it is full of Korman’s usual humour, and all wrapped up in a mystery. Oh and there are crocodiles. Who wouldn’t trade tofu for BBQ. And Brussel sprouts for burgers. But once Jett is on the trail of something not being right he cannot let it go. Even if he has to go it alone. To find out what happens. You will need to read this excellent volume.

With every book IO read from Korman’s pen the more impressed I am. His books have great appeal to younger readers but are written so that parents, adults, and educators can enjoy them as well. Another great read from Gordon Korman. 

Books by Gordon Korman:

MacDonald Hall Series:

This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall  (1978)

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)

Bugs Potter LIVE at Nickaninny (1983)

…

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: Criminal Destiny (2016)

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)

Now You See Them, Now You Don't (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:

Slacker (2016)
Level 13 (2019)

...

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)

A Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag (1987)

Radio 5th Grade (1989)

Losing Joe's Place (1990)

The Twinkie Squad (1992)

The Toilet Paper Tigers (1993)

Why Did the Underwear Cross the Road (1994)

The Chicken Doesn't Skate (1996)

Liar, Liar Pants on Fire (1997)

The Sixth Grade Nickname Game (1998)

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)

Mixed Up (2023)

Slugfest (2024)

Faker (2024)

Old School (2025)

…

Gordon Korman - Sheelagh Matthews - Remarkable Writers 

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