First, a warning: this book has quite a bit of swearing in it. That's why it's on the Banned Books list. It also has a witch, which I'm sure doesn't help.

But this is a great book. It's funny and it's got some suspense and I really enjoyed it. In a way it's sort of disturbing how mean kids can be to each other, but they get through it and then they usually get to be adults who feel like they paid their dues. Sachar always comes through the good stuff. I mean, didn't you love [book: Holes]? ( )

For children who have outgrown Sachar's Wayside School stories and are ready for something a little more authentically crude than [a:Andrew Clements|63095|Andrew Clements|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1209495851p2/63095.jpg] school stories. Some parents would have a fit if they read this book, but I loved it. I raised three boys and I know that they tend to be more interested in stuff like flipping the bird and learning that bullocks are bulls with their balls cut off and rolling-in-the-dirt fights than many children's books acknowledge.

The story itself is adorable though. I absolutely love the different female characters - they each have their own non-stereotypical personality. Well, the boys and men do, too. And though the themes are not subtle, they're not didactic either - the book is both funny and provocative.

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On a whim, I reread this, gosh, almost exactly 2 years later. My opinion still holds - it's a seriously underrated book. The people who don't like it seem to have an even more idealistic sense of the innocence of children than I do. If you know that [b:Lord of the Flies|7624|Lord of the Flies|William Golding|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327869409s/7624.jpg|2766512] is universally plausible, you'll have no trouble empathizing with the very real tweens here.

I suppose I ought to point out is that the little brother" is a fifth-grader, so the intended audience for this books is probably a little older than that - despite the fact that the book looks like it's aimed at ages 9-11 and is RL4.5." ( )

Trying to fit in with some classmates, middle schooler David Ballinger steals an old woman's cane and she shouts a curse at him. As an aspiring scientist, David doesn't believe in witchcraft, but after bad things keep happening to him, he begins to suspect he may really be cursed.

Though it lacks the zany humor of Wayside School and heart and driving plot of Holes, Sachar's ability to make the reader care about his characters and their fates comes through. The problems David faces-- such as drifting apart from old friends challenges talking with the girl he likes, and struggling to find his place at school-- are ones any kid can relate to...with the added challenge of a potential curse spicing up the storyline.

This book will be best appreciated by late elementary and early middle grade students. ( )

Very cute book about an outcast trying to do the 'cool' thing and dealing with kids he thinks are his friends and an imaginary curse. He realizes who his real friends are and that there was never a curse at all. Love Louis Sachar! ( )

Hilarious! One of my favorite books! ( )