The Unteachables by Gordon Korman

After a cheating scandal in his early days, Mr. Zachary Kermit gave up and stolidly does as little as possible to get through his teaching and get to retirement. He's almost there, but the principal who originally hung him out to dry is now the superintendent and he has other ideas... starting with giving him Room 117. Also known, unofficially, as the Unteachables.

The story is told from multiple viewpoints of the students, as well as Mr. Kermit and other teachers, as he originally plans to change nothing about his life, but then finds himself forced to reconsider. He's not the only one either, as he slowly learns about his students, they come to know each other as well, and find out that they do have possibilities after all.

Kiana isn't an unteachable - she's a bright student, forced to stay (temporarily, she's sure) with her dad, Stepmonster, and annoying baby brother. She accidentally joins the Unteachables and decides to stick around, eventually finding a place she fits in and close friends. Parker has never quite managed to learn to read, but between driving his grandmother around and delivering for the farm, he's busy enough that it's never mattered. Or has it? And just to set the record straight, he's fourteen. Yeah, he knows he's short and nobody expects to see him driving a pickup truck.

Aldo has a little, ok a big, anger problem. Barnstorm doesn't belong on the Unteachables - he's a sports star! But once he's injured and no longer bringing in the trophies, his academic shortcomings loom a lot larger than ever before. These and other misfits come together in their own ways. As they learn more about each other, and Mr. Kermit himself comes out of his shell, they slowly become a team and he begins to remember the teacher he was and hoped to be.

Of course, this is pretty stereotyped and there are a lot of "helpful" coincidences, like the daughter of Kermit's ex-fiancee being his next-door teacher. It's hard to see Parker's reading disability going unnoticed until 8th grade, or the actual harmlessness of Elaine "brings the pain" who's just big and clumsy. Nevertheless, this is ultimately a deeply satisfying story. Kids, whether or not they're "troublemakers" want to believe in redemption, and this is all about kids and adults finding themselves. If it leans a little more towards an adult audience, with frequent digressions into Mr. Kermit's lonely middle-aged life and regrets at the choices he's made, well, kids can easily skip those parts.

Being Korman, there's plenty of funny to liven things up, from the theft of noisemakers to wise-cracking kids.

Verdict: Not, perhaps, the best of Korman's work, but an amusing, solid title that teachers will enjoy recommending and kids won't mind reading. I put this in my YA section, since I'm working on building up my middle school titles, but it's perfectly acceptable for younger kids to read as well.

ISBN: 9780062563880; Published 2019 by Balzer and Bray; Purchased for the library