ESPete is a great sixth-grade novel. The plot moves along nicely. Characters are believable, and their concerns are those of sixth-graders. It is highly readable, both for its intended audience and to an adult. ( )

Okay, I totally failed the ESP test in this book, and I am glad about that. I always suspected I wouldn't want to read people's minds anyway. And I am rather of the opinion that Pete would back me on this.

This is a fast-moving, light-hearted romp that somehow manages to be sweet without any treacliness even while we're living through threats, bully-whompings, and, yes, a bank robbery (I really couldn't guess how ESP was going to help with THAT bit when it came to the crunch -- and I won't spoil the surprise). Pete himself is pretty much an everykid except for the one little detail of his mind-reading ability, which makes him easy to relate to. He doesn't have ISSUES with authority figures (even when they are, ahem, a little unhelpful, though you can't really blame them under the circumstances), but he still solves his own problems -- you've gotta love that! And he has the really charming (though he doesn't seem to see it) ability to take people for what they are. Rodney beats him up and, well, doesn't really turn into anything other than a bit of a thug, ever. But just because he's part-bad doesn't make him all-bad, and Pete's pragmatic good nature lets him "work with the good" despite...heh, the other stuff. An important thing for kids to grasp, I think -- and grown-ups too! ( )

E. S. Pete: Sixth Grade Sense by Arnold Rudnick is a book I received by mail to review. This does not affect my review; I'm honest about what I think. I was excited to get the opportunity to review this book as I had homeschooled two of my children when they were in this age group.

Pete knows he is different from others but does not realize quite how different until he overhears a teacher plotting a crime in his head. Pete tries not to focus too much on his special ability as he seeks to warn others in authority of the potential danger. Rudnick explores the minefield that relationships can be in the middle school years as Pete and two classmates try to solve the mystery of what exactly the teacher is going to do and what they can do to stop it. While it is evident that ESP is part of this book, the book is not heavy in technical or philosophical explanations of paranormal activity. It does, however, describe well what a 6th grade boy may think and feel about having specials senses, even as he struggles with the challenges of just being a regular boy.

This was a really cute book and I related to it easily. Of course I was never an 11-year-old boy, but I remember what it was like to be in the sixth-grade and feel totally unsure of oneself. I remember thinking I was clairvoyant every now and again. And I remember not liking or not trusting certain teachers/substitutes.

I think, for someone who IS 11, this book would be very relatable and I think that they could enjoy it without being uncomfortable. Rudnick expresses Pete's crush on Casey in such a fashion that a boy in a state of pre-pubescent transition would very likely sympathize and not go clamoring for a cootie-shot. Do they still have those? LOL!

It also manages to sneak in a short lesson about the Federal Reserve System. I can't balance my checkbook and I daydreamed through my high school economics class, so this was a cute little snuck in reminder of how banks work that, surprisingly, I'm probably going to remember!

Perhaps my favorite part of the book was when the children, bereft of their lunchboxes, are sitting on the floor of the bank vault fighting over their food instead of worrying about Mr. Stein robbing the bank. Now that's honest writing.

What a neat little book! ( )