Room 117 – Greenwich Middle School

Strong, silent Elaine (rhymes with pain). This is what everyone at Greenwich Middle School whispers after ever speaking her name. Everyone knows you don’t mess with her. She will throw you down the stairs, toss you into the salad bar in the cafeteria or anything else that comes to mind if you get too close.

Mateo is in his own world of Fantasy or Sci Fi, identifying with the characters and their quirks more than any of his classmates.

Rahim is usually asleep on his desk all day.

Barnstorm (nickname) is a sports star and his academic performance has been let slide as long as he is scoring touchdowns, but now he’s busted his knee his grades have put him in Room 117.

Parker has an undiagnosed reading disability.

Aldo is anger personified – taking it out on lockers, tables or anyone else that is in reach when he explodes.

Kiana who shouldn’t be in the class at all, is only planning to be at the school for a few weeks at most.

These are The Unteachables – put in Room 117 on the other side of school and left to their own devices, just killing time before they are the high school’s problem next year.

Then there’s Mr Kermit who was once a brilliant teacher – Teacher Of The Year in fact. He was always excited to be at school every day until he was tarnished in a cheating scandal 27 years before. This black mark not only upset the entire school district & derailed his career, it put a target on his back for the local school’s superintendent.

But the truth about all of these students and their new disillusioned couldn’t-care-less teacher is that underneath, none of them are what they seem. Throw them all in one classroom together all day, every day and they are going to get to know each other. Despite nicknaming their teacher – Ribbit, these seven students begin to respect their teacher as he stands up for his misfits, one by one.

When another teacher and an ex-student from his past also inadvertently arrive in 117, Mr Kermit is more shocked than being given the Unteachables in the first place. His students begin to work, study and dream, reaching for results they always believed impossible, while paying back the teacher that finally spoke out for them.

With a clever plot that builds strand by strand, by individual viewpoints, both student and teaching staff, The Unteachables is an engaging story that builds from very little engagement within a classroom, to teachers, students and a local businessman achieving great heights together.

Not long into the book I figured the kids would come good and their teacher too, but what an incredibly enjoyable journey it is. A teacher who can’t be bothered and students who don’t care could be a volatile mix! Keep reading!

Their journey isn’t typical and far from smooth, but the gradually building respect and appreciation between students and teacher is wonderfully portrayed through a series of events both hilarious and moving.

An inspiring read with touches of Frindle, Fish in a Tree, and Roll with It, which are also uplifting, clever classroom middle grade novels.

I’ve got to have a copy of this for my personal bookshelves!

Simply brilliant.

Author – Gordon Korman

Age – 9+

Read an excerpt of The Unteachables here

Read more Gordon Korman novel reviews (Click on a cover)

(2020, Harper Collins, School, Misfits, Middle-Grade, Intermediate, Year 8, Drivers License, Grandparent, Grandma, Dementia, Humour, Funny, Classroom, Revenge, Misunderstanding, Disillusioned, Respect, Study, Science test, Science Fair, Car, Automobile, Mechanics, Car Salesman, Regret, Apology, Proving a point, Teacher of the year, Inspiring, Reading disability, Scandal, Cheating, Trouble, Unlikely Friendships)