The Boy Who Owned the School

March 1, 1990
Most of the action of this farcical novel takes place at the high school where Jacob Freisten's primary goal is to remain unnoticed. All too often this classic loser finds himself cornered by some bully. When he is not being stuffed inside a locker or a trash can, Jacob suffers other forms of humiliation that are relayed in a string of colorful anecdotes. While running laps around the gym, he accidentally tramples Maria Tresser, the most beautiful girl in the school. Cupid's arrow strikes, and Jacob's seemingly hopeless infatuation leads to one disaster after another; but he finally wins a date with the girl of his dreams. Although Paulsen's pace may leave some readers breathless, most will relish the sharp wit and incredible energy of this ironic glimpse of high school life and young romance. Ages 11-14.

Starred review from August 27, 2012
Jacob Freisten just wants to live life inconspicuously. But when his English teacher, Mrs. Hilsak, tells Jacob he's on the verge of flunking the class, she gives him an alternative: he can save his grade with extra credit by working on the fog machine for the school's production of The Wizard of Oz. Unfortunately, Maria Tresser, Jacob's dream girl, is playing the Wicked Witch. Jacob already made an idiot of himself in front of her, and now he worries about the ramification of a second failure. Nick Podehl turns in a standout performance in this audio edition. The narrator convincingly embodies Jacob's middle-aged teacher, as well as his ethereal young crush. But Podehl really shines in his rendering of Jacob. Podehl captures both the boy's quivering anxiety ("Disappear me, now, from the eyes of all people in this room") and the sardonic way he often deals with his all-too-common humiliations. At two hours, one only wishes the audiobook were a little longer. Ages 9âup.

April 1, 1990
Gr 6-8- -Jacob Freisten, thin and freckled, the "ugliest boy in history except for one," according to his own assessment, and a total clod to boot, has perfected the art of near invisibility, of being "there but not there." He leads the kind of exaggeratedly painful life that requires careful timing and planning so he can avoid attracting attention; if people notice him, there's always a comic disaster. He even goofs up in his daydreams. His parents drink too much, his mother is devoted to his sister's blossoming career as a beauty contest winner, and he's close to failing English. His English teacher ropes him into working on the school production of The Wizard of Oz for extra credit, appropriately enough as the understage controller of the fog machine. This gives him an opportunity to work with Maria Tressor, the most perfect girl in the school, on whom he has a rapidly intensifying crush. But it's a mixed blessing. When it's time to fog, Jacob, the consummate timing expert, flubs it badly, and in the confusion he blurts his feelings out to Maria. She says an astonishing yes to his feeble invitation for a date, and romance blooms because, she tells him, he's a winner. This brief, humorous look at adolescent life, complete with distorted self-concept, is a departure from the intensity of much of Paulsen's work, but is no less of a survival story in its own way. The novel is told mostly through a third-person narrative with little conversation until the end, which has the effect of distancing readers; it becomes a gently ironic fable of transformation and first love, in which many readers will find themselves. -Leda Schubert, Vermont Department of Education, Montpelier