The Unteachables

October 15, 2018
Mr. Kermit was once among the best teachers at Greenwich Middle School, but a cheating scandal 25 years ago dampened his passion for the job, and now he is biding time until his early retirement. After the superintendent assigns him to the “Self-Contained Special Eighth-Grade Class”—widely called “the Unteachables”—he resigns himself to getting through the year, transferring his coffee and crossword habit to the new room, and ignoring his new students. The small class is known for being troublesome: Parker can’t make sense of letters, tough Elaine terrifies the others, Rahim sleeps all the time, and Kiana ends up in the class when her stepmother fails to register her for school. After Mr. Kermit’s former fiancée’s daughter turns out to be the new teacher next door and meddles with disciplining the bunch, Mr. Kermit stands up for the kids, and both students and teacher realize the value of their abilities. Chapters rotate narration between students and administrators, giving varied perspectives to this humorous classroom underdog story that champions teamwork, kindness, and hidden sparks. Ages 8–12. Agent: Elizabeth Harding, Curtis Brown Ltd.

A stellar ensemble cast brings crowd-pleasing personality to a diverse group of misfit students and their teacher in this funny classroom story. Mr. Kermit is counting the days until his retirement, but in his final year of teaching, he is relegated to the "Self-Contained Special Eighth-Grade Class"--a.k.a. "The Unteachables." Over the course of the school year, this underdog group experiences mischievous mayhem, as well as friendship and triumph. Chapters rotate first-person narration between students and school faculty, and each narrator adds depth to the different perspectives. Most memorable are the gruff, jaded indifference of Oliver Wyman's Mr. Kermit, the well-meaning enthusiasm of Josh Hurley's Parker, and the frenetic, high-pitched energy of Chris Gebauer's Mateo. S.C. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

November 1, 2018

Gr 4-6-When Mr. Zachary Kermit, a burnt-out teacher nearing early retirement, is assigned to teach Greenwich Middle School's most challenging students, he's unfazed. However, once Mr. Kermit and his class of so-called "Unteachables" discover their mutual frustration with the education system, they start striving to do better on each other's behalf. Korman keeps this twist on the "inspiring teacher" trope moving at a breezy clip by dividing the first-person narration between five students, Mr. Kermit, and assorted other adults. Though many of the characterizations are slight, and the adult points-of-view serve mainly to advance the plot, the student perspectives ring true. And while their circumstances sometimes strain credulity (it's tough to believe that an unregistered student could escape notice for months), the students' antics-which include a daring vuvuzela heist and a disastrous science fair stunt-are both endearing and entertaining. VERDICT Despite some missteps, this crowd-pleasing school story delivers the straightforward humor and warmth that Korman's many fans expect.-Rebecca Honeycutt, NoveList, Durham, NC

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2018
An isolated class of misfits and a teacher on the edge of retirement are paired together for a year of (supposed) failure.Zachary Kermit, a 55-year-old teacher, has been haunted for the last 27 years by a student cheating scandal that has earned him the derision of his colleagues and killed his teaching spirit. So when he is assigned to teach the Self-Contained Special Eighth-Grade Class--a dumping ground for "the Unteachables," students with "behavior issues, learning problems, juvenile delinquents"--he is unfazed, as he is only a year away from early retirement. His relationship with his seven students--diverse in temperament, circumstance, and ability--will be one of "uncomfortable roommates" until June. But when Mr. Kermit unexpectedly stands up for a student, the kids of SCS-8 notice his sense of "justice and fairness." Mr. Kermit finds he may even care a little about them, and they start to care back in their own way, turning a corner and bringing along a few ghosts from Mr. Kermit's past. Writing in the alternating voices of Mr. Kermit, most of his students, and two administrators, Korman spins a narrative of redemption and belief in exceeding self-expectations. Naming conventions indicate characters of different ethnic backgrounds, but the book subscribes to a white default. The two students who do not narrate may be students of color, and their characterizations subtly--though arguably inadequately--demonstrate the danger of preconceptions.Funny and endearing, though incomplete characterizations provoke questions. (Fiction. 8-12)

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October 1, 2018
Grades 4-7 Kiana, a bright kid whose mother ships her off to spend a couple of months with Dad and Stepmonster, never exactly registers as a student at her new middle school. But she allows the hand of fate to nudge her into the special, self-contained eighth-grade class (aka the Unteachables), along with six misfits that the school has given up on. Make that seven?why exclude Mr. Kermit? Framed during a cheating scandal two decades ago and publicly humiliated, this once-gifted, now-jaded teacher is slouching toward retirement. After he unknowingly wins his students' loyalty, their efforts and far-reaching results on his behalf surprise everyone. The first-person narration shifts among a number of quickly sketched but vivid characters, from Kiana and her classmates to their teacher, principal, and nefarious superintendent. When the Unteachables go into action, outlandish situations tend to work out for the best, while offering the occasional disaster and plenty of laughs along the way. Korman's latest delivers what his fans have come to expect: a well-paced story laced with humor and just as much heart.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)