The Wizzle War
MacDonald Hall Book 4
Gordon KormanISBN 9781443124959
eISBN 9781443128049
ASIN B078GZ6L4S
This book was the seventh middle grad novel published by Gordon Korman, it was published it when Korman was in University in New York City. Midyear, in 2022, Korman published his 100th book. Yes you read that correctly, his hundredth book. My introduction to Korman’s works was the 39 Clues back in 2009. Since then, I have read 45 of his books. Starting to make a dent in the bucket. With each one I read I am entertained and often challenged. My son often reads these books to me or with me. I picked up this to read on my own to continue where it all began. At the time of the original publication of this book he had published a first book in another series and 2 stand-alone stories. The story is the midpoint in the MacDonald Hall series with three volumes before and three following it. I am currently bouncing around several of his series and from his most recent to oldest books.
My son and I started reading Gordon Korman books together a few 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. Prior to that I had a read a few of his contributions to the 39 Clues series and had enjoyed them. After reading book 1 in the Bruno and Boots or MacDonald Hall series I was hooked and know I will be reading all the volumes that Korman has written. And maybe trying to track down some of the older editions before they were updated. The series consists of:
Beware the Fish!
The Wizzle War
(formerly The War With Mr. Wizzle )
The Zucchini Warriors
Light’s Camera, Disaster
(aka Macdonald Hall Goes Hollywood)
The Jokes on Us
(formerly Something Fishy at Macdonald Hall)
Book 6 was renamed in 2003 the stories were originally published between 1978 and 1995, though some have been rewritten to be more up to date. Three of the original 7 have been renamed at some point over the years. It should also be noted that the series was originally called Bruno & Boots and later rebranded MacDonald Hall. But back to the volume at hand. The current description of this volume is:
“Macdonald Hall's ivy-covered buildings have housed and educated many fine young Canadians. But Bruno Walton and Boots O'Neal are far from being fine young Canadians. The roommates and best friends are nothing but trouble! Together they've snuck out after lights-out, swapped flags, kidnapped mascots . . . and that's only the beginning.
Macdonald Hall is under attack. Where once tradition and freedom of speech ruled the campus, now there is a dress code (ties even), psychological tests for all students, and surprise dorm inspections ― all brought to Macdonald Hall in the name of progress by Mr. Wizzle. Are the students of the Hall going to stand for it? Not on your life . . . Mr. Wizzle doesn't stand a chance against the Committee. Wizzle must go!
Join two of Gordon Korman's most memorable characters in seven side-splitting, rip-roaring adventures! Macdonald Hall is the series that started it all, and thirty-five years later it remains a must-read for old fans and new, the young ― and the young at heart.”
The chapters in this volume are:
Dedication
1: WizzleWare
2: Dressed to Kill
3: Balloonjuice!
4: Freedom of the Press
5: The Dividing Line
6: An Earth-Shaking Idea
7: Double Fault
8: The Committee
9: The Paper Chase
10: War!
11: A Star Is Born
12: G. Gavin Gunhold Is Dead
13: The Coalition
14: A Man in Love
15: La Montagne
16: The Odd Couple
17: Crystal Clear
This is followed by a preview of the next volume. This story came out the same year after I Want to Go Home! and the same year as Our Man Weston and the year before Bugs Potter LIVE at Nickaninny. Yes the story has been updated some over the years but the whole story is masterfully written. Korman is truly a master of the Middle Grade and even Young Adult genres, his books are amazing for kids, tweens and teens. And even some of us older readers. C.S. Lewis in On Stories: And Other Essays on Literature stated:
“It is very rarely that a middle-aged man finds an author who gives him, what he knew so often in his teens and twenties, the sense of having opened a new door.”
I said in a previous review that Korman accomplishes that in this and all of his other books I have read. This was another excellent read! And is a critical piece of his canon. For many authors have a great first work and often it is not followed up well or even at all. And Korman did it while in Secondary School himself, and this one released while he was in university or maybe grade 13 in Ontario (As a grandparent from Ontario). This one is super funny. It is a great fun read.
Bruno and Boots have a knack for creating trouble, and for not getting caught. This time they are on a mission to get ride or Wizzle, his software and his dress code. For his running a school on algorithms is making everyone unhappy, even the faculty and Head Master. Across the road at Miss Scrimmage’s Finishing School for Young Ladies, their friends might even have it worse with a new teacher Miss Peabody who is a former marine and running the girls school like a boot camp. The Committee at MacDonald try and drive off Wizzle and The Coalition goes after both Wizzle and Peabody in an unexpected way.
Can they pull it off? Or will the changes to both schools become new permanent fixtures? To find out you will need to read the book! A story with great characters that are wonderfully written; it is a very fun story guaranteed to entertain the young and the young at heart! It is another fantastic read from Korman’s masterful pen! And one of his earliest, 93.46% of Korman’s cannon came after this volume but it is well worth reading! A great read, I can easily recommend this book and series!
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)
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