The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger
(First off, yes, you frequent viewers, I did miss yesterday's deadline. Although I was REALLY hoping that SOMEONE on my five-man board of boys and girls would conjure up a post at the eleventh hour, it sorta is my job to put up some great content. Sorry, I got swamped yesterday, by a lot of things. Anyway, here's my review of a series I really should've blogged about years ago (literally)
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Group: MG
Publishing Date: March 1, 2010 by Amulet Books
Summary: So after Dwight and his Origami Yoda save Tommy from humiliating himself in front of the whole school (Basically, he stopped Tommy from asking this girl to dance practically two seconds before another guy runs over and kisses her), everyone in the school listens to Origami Yoda's advice, except for Harvey, and honestly he has good reason to. Dwight is part of "that group (you know, the type of kids who make Origami Yoda puppets) so I guess it makes sense not to listen to one of "them" for advice. And yet, kids do, with success. Let's say you break an English Teacher's most prized Shakespeare head? No problem, Origami Yoda says to make a new one with play-doh and sure enough, you're not in trouble! But towards the next dance, after some shady things happen with Sara, Tommy's crush, a new Origami Yoda has popped up, and it is made by non other than our good pal Harvey. Suddenly, the next dance comes up, and Tommy needs to make a move on Sara, or else she'll be hopelessly lost to Tater Tot. In a hilarious and clever star-wars-themed middle school book. Tom Angleberger keeps you interested and intrigued by the curious world of Origami Yoda.
What I Liked: First off, I loved how Angleberger chooses to make a character like Dwight, who trust me is really "out there", a main character, because in most books, those types of kids are usually forgotten. Angleberger has really captured not just a certain part, but the entirety of the atmosphere that envelopes your down-the-road middle school. Also, the book is written so that all the challenges and struggles are turned into hilarious scenes. There wasn't really a time where the book got "serious" or "intense" and it's one of those books where you just ignore it because the plot line is so interesting and hilarious.
What I Didn't Like: I mentioned it above: the book never got "serious" or "intense" I mean, I would've preferred some sort of rising and falling action, which while there was a little, it wasn't enough to make my stomach turn into knots the way a really driven book is. Another thing I'd like to mention is that the ending is based on a point that is mentioned throughout the book, almost thrown in the middle as a forgotten idea until ALAS, you needed to know the speck of info to understand the ending. Finally, the book is just...weird. Like it talks about Dwight's weirdness and it jumps a lot back and forth between subjects. It's not bad...just not a lot of people's cup of tea you know?
Rating on 'the scale': 8.3 out of ten.
Why?: Again, it's not bad, just...interesting. Although the hilarity and the most realistic middle-school book I've written just won me over, so I give this book a big thumbs up.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Group: MG
Publishing Date: March 1, 2010 by Amulet Books
Summary: So after Dwight and his Origami Yoda save Tommy from humiliating himself in front of the whole school (Basically, he stopped Tommy from asking this girl to dance practically two seconds before another guy runs over and kisses her), everyone in the school listens to Origami Yoda's advice, except for Harvey, and honestly he has good reason to. Dwight is part of "that group (you know, the type of kids who make Origami Yoda puppets) so I guess it makes sense not to listen to one of "them" for advice. And yet, kids do, with success. Let's say you break an English Teacher's most prized Shakespeare head? No problem, Origami Yoda says to make a new one with play-doh and sure enough, you're not in trouble! But towards the next dance, after some shady things happen with Sara, Tommy's crush, a new Origami Yoda has popped up, and it is made by non other than our good pal Harvey. Suddenly, the next dance comes up, and Tommy needs to make a move on Sara, or else she'll be hopelessly lost to Tater Tot. In a hilarious and clever star-wars-themed middle school book. Tom Angleberger keeps you interested and intrigued by the curious world of Origami Yoda.
What I Liked: First off, I loved how Angleberger chooses to make a character like Dwight, who trust me is really "out there", a main character, because in most books, those types of kids are usually forgotten. Angleberger has really captured not just a certain part, but the entirety of the atmosphere that envelopes your down-the-road middle school. Also, the book is written so that all the challenges and struggles are turned into hilarious scenes. There wasn't really a time where the book got "serious" or "intense" and it's one of those books where you just ignore it because the plot line is so interesting and hilarious.
What I Didn't Like: I mentioned it above: the book never got "serious" or "intense" I mean, I would've preferred some sort of rising and falling action, which while there was a little, it wasn't enough to make my stomach turn into knots the way a really driven book is. Another thing I'd like to mention is that the ending is based on a point that is mentioned throughout the book, almost thrown in the middle as a forgotten idea until ALAS, you needed to know the speck of info to understand the ending. Finally, the book is just...weird. Like it talks about Dwight's weirdness and it jumps a lot back and forth between subjects. It's not bad...just not a lot of people's cup of tea you know?
Rating on 'the scale': 8.3 out of ten.
Why?: Again, it's not bad, just...interesting. Although the hilarity and the most realistic middle-school book I've written just won me over, so I give this book a big thumbs up.
Nice review. I have read many positive accolades for this book. It is on my to-read list.
ReplyDeleteI think I might have written a review for it sooner or later if you haven't, love the book.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review. This isn't the kind of book I usually read, but I might give it a look.
ReplyDelete