Control Freak

June 15, 2017
No matter the sport, Steve, middle schooler at Spiro T. Agnew Middle School, is the undisputed King of the Bench.Steve and his friends, diminutive and cryptically psychic Joey and gassy, big-boned Carlos, like sports but aren't interested in the prospect of being tackled. They prefer to watch their local NFL "doormat" team, the Goodfellow Goons, practice, sharing the bleachers with superfan Billionaire Bill, who lives in the stadium. Bill offers Steve an ancient Nintendo 64 controller in exchange for Steve's Eskimo Pie, along with the advice "Control your own life." After several experiments, Steve discovers that the controller seems to control people. When star athlete Jimmy Jimerino tricks the trio into volunteering for the sparsely populated school football team, Steve uses the controller to give the Mighty Plumbers a winning season, but each time he uses it someone gets hurt. Is the controller magic? Cursed? Will Steve ever leave the bench? Cartoonist Moore's second in the series features more of his scratchy cartoons and some goofy, sometimes-gross laughs. The story arc is predictable, but it's peppered with "Quick Time Outs" explaining school and sports subjects with hyperbolically wry humor. Inept sports fans will identify with Steve and his buddies and wish for their own N64 controllers. As in the previous book, diversity is communicated with naming conventions, including a tired joke about a Hawaiian student's long name. This won't "fry everyone's burgers," but its audience exists. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-11)

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September 1, 2017

Gr 4-6-It's a new season at Spiro T. Agnew Middle School, and Steve is back to discuss the benefits of sitting out the Mighty Plumbers football games. Steve finds an original Nintendo 64 game controller while visiting Billionaire Bill, who trades it for Steve's half-eaten, melting Eskimo Pie. Dismissing Bill's cryptic comment, "Control your life," Steve starts goofing around with the controller during a particularly boring part of the Goons football game. He pretends the match he's watching is a video game and decides to control the play from the stand. Guess what? It works. This gets him thinking. Is it cheating if he uses it to help the Mighty Plumbers? Fans of the first installment will welcome Steve's acerbic commentary on everything from inspiring coaching to athletic prowess. The art adds to the humor. VERDICT A solid addition to any collection looking for "Wimpy Kid" appeal.-Brenda Kahn, Tenakill Middle School, Closter, NJ

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2017
Grades 3-5 Steve, the confirmed benchwarmer introduced in King of the Bench: No Fear! (2017), switches sports but returns with much the same supporting cast for further comical mishaps and heroics. Punctuating his narrative with claims that he's not even exaggerating, the cocky seventh-grader charts the course of Spiro T. Agnew Middle School's Mighty Plumbers as they go from zeroes to heroes on the gridironthanks to a battered Nintendo 64 game controller that somehow, weirdly, lets him guide teammates into the end zone from the sidelines. Unfortunately, the magic has a dark side as said teammates invariably suffer broken bones or other injuries. Not only is Steve faced with qualms of conscience, but by the time of the championship game, he ends up being the last possible running back. Along with lots of football action, Moore adds Wimpy Kidstyle cartoon figures delivering punchlines and snarky side comments (finished art not seen). Middle-graders who like stories that go for the yuks will, as Steve puts it, beat cheeks for this sequel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)