Old School - Gordon Korman

Old School

Gordon Korman

In Canada:

Scholastic Canada

ISBN 9781039711969

eISBN 9781039711976

ASIN B0DQVSZH8H

In the US:

Harper Collins

ISBN 9780063238145

eISBN 9780063238169

ASIN 9780063238169

This is the latest release from the pen of Gordon Korman. It was published in January of 2025 in the US and the Canadian Release was in February 2025. It is the 105th book published by Korman. My introduction to Korman’s works was the 39 Clues back in 2009. Since then I have read 55 of his books. Just over half way thorough his canon, but with each one I read I am entertained and often challenged. And I do plan on trying to read them all. My son, who is 17 often reads these books to me or with me, and he still loves them. 

A description of this volume states:

“Dexter Foreman is twelve… going on eighty. He has lived at The Pines Retirement Village with his grandmother since he was six years old, and as a result, he gets along better with senior citizens than kids his own age. He’s been home-schooled by the residents up until the day the county’s truancy officer shows up and announces that Dex has to go to the local middle school.

At school, Dex sticks out like a sore thumb. He dresses like a grandpa (and can be just as cranky). His taste in movies and music is decades out of date. Only a few students—like Gianna Greco, a reporter at the school’s newspaper—find him intriguing. For most, he is a weirdo ... or a target.

Raised among a generation of Mr. Fix-its, Dex can repair seemingly anything with his trusty Swiss army knife— which comes in handy since their old school building seems to be crumbling around them. It also ends up putting Dexter in a situation that could either make or break his school career.

Dexter would do anything to return to his old life at The Pines. But when his wish finally seems to be coming true, his old and new worlds collide in a way that surprises everyone—and Dexter most of all.”

This story is terribly humorous as are many of Korman’s other works, but it also has a very serious side. Dexter does not care about fitting in. But he also can’t just leave something broken if he can fix it. He has spent most of his life living in a retirement community. But when he is forced to go to the local school in town, Dexter just might have an effect on the school and the town. The Dexter effect starts his first morning at school and just keeps growing like a tsunami. 

The Dexter effect not only transforms the school but also the The Pines Retirement Village. It is a story about coming of age, friendship, and figuring out what really matters most in life. 

This is a great School Story from one of the greatest masters in the genre. In this case it means Dexter has to figure out if he wants to go back to school even though while there the first time he wanted nothing more than to stop

It is an excellent offering from Korman’s masterful pen. I just wish Scholastic would release at the same time as the books releasing in the US from Harper Collins. An excellent read that I can easily recommend. One of Korman’s best, they just keep getting better and better, even after over 100 books!

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)

Snoop (2025)

…

Gordon Korman - Sheelagh Matthews - Remarkable Writers 

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