Wednesday 6 November 2019

Slacker - Gordon Korman - Slacker Book 1

Slacker
Slacker Book 1
Gordon Korman
Scholastic
ISBN 
9780545823166
eISBN 9780545823173
ASIN B015QMBY3S


This was the fourth Gordon Korman novel we have read in as many weeks. After reading Restart, my son and I each picked two other books by him and picked up the eBooks. My son can read on his iPod and I can read on my phone during my commute to work. And we can share about our experiences with the story and have conversations around the books. Sometimes when we really get into one, we will also read it together in the evening. So you might be asking why 4 books by Korman, we each had preferences for which ones we wanted to read. I gave in a bit and we each got 4 and have a book to read each week for the next month together. But I could not wait and have jumped ahead. I have become addicted to Korman’s writing. And already have another half dozen I want to read. And my son feels the same way. We each currently have 5 to read, but every time we finish one, we are adding at least 1 if not more to our ‘to be read piles’.

Cam Boxes has a plan, he has a desired lifestyle, and he likes avoiding anything that even closely resembles work. His plan is to become a championship gamer. His main pastimes are avoiding homework, hanging with his friends and playing video games. Unfortunately, he has a recent online nemesis who is taunting him and stalking him through game after game. When he is so focused on a game and getting that enemy, he almost let’s his house burn down. He is seriously grounded. To try and take some of the heat off from his parents, Cameron and his friends create a fake club on the school website. And Cameron becomes the president of PAC, the Positive Action Group. They even have a motto: “Because helping others is an education in itself.” But someone notices the club and wants to join. Soon the guidance counselor in their academic advisor, and next thing you know their membership is continuously growing. The fake group is now consuming so much of Cam’s time that he is not getting any gaming practice in for the big tournament. 

The group keeps growing and doing more and more good deeds. But soon they are receiving some unwanted attention from the high school students. And Their jobs start getting sabotaged. And Cam just might be starting to care about something other than his lifestyle. But to find out what happens with Cam, the PAC, and even a beaver named Elvis you will need to read the book.

And I swear, one of the driving factors for this book was just to be able to include the line ‘Elvis has left the building’. But to find out how or why you will need to read the book. If I am not careful my Gordon Korman wish list will consume the remainder of my reading budget this year. Another excellent read from the always entertaining pen of Gordon Korman. A great read and fun for readers of all ages. 

Books by Gordon Korman:
MacDonald Hall Series:
The Wizzle War (1982)
         (formerly The War With Mr. Wizzle)
The Zucchini Warriors (1988)
Light’s Camera, Disaster (1991)
          (aka Macdonald Hall Goes Hollywood)
The Jokes on Us (1995)
          (formerly Something Fishy at Macdonald Hall)

Bugs Potter Series:

Jeremy Bloom Series:
The D−Poems of Jeremy Bloom (1992)
The Last-Place Sports Poems of Jeremy Bloom (1996)

Monday Night Football Series:
The Quarterback Exchange (1997)
Running Back Conversion (1997)
Super Bowl Switch (1997)
Heavy Artillery (1997)
Ultimate Scoring Machine (1998)
NFL Rules! Bloopers, Pranks, Upsets, and Touchdowns (1998)

Masterminds Series:
Masterminds: Payback (2017)

Slapshots Series:
The Stars From Mars (1999)
All-Mars All-Stars/The Dream Team (1999)
The Face-off Phony (2000)
Cup Crazy (2000)
Ouch I got slapped (2023)
4-in-1 Slapshots: The Complete Collection (2008)

Nose Pickers Series:
Nose Pickers from Outer Space! (1999)
Planet of the Nose Pickers (2000)
Your Mummy Is a Nose Picker (2000)
Invasion of the Nose Pickers (2001)
4-in-1 The Ultimate Nose-Picker Collection (2006)

Island Series:
Shipwreck (2001)
Survival (2001)
Escape (2001)
3-in-1 Island Trilogy Collection (2006)

Son of the Mob Series:
Son of the Mob 2: Hollywood Hustle (2004)

Everest Series:
The Contest (2002)
The Climb (2002)
The Summit (2002)
Everest Trilogy Box Set (2002)

Dive Series:
The Discovery (2003)
The Deep (2003)
The Danger (2003)

On the Run Series:
Now You See Them, Now You Don't (2005)
The Stowaway Solution (2005)
Public Enemies (2005)
Hunting the Hunter (2006)

Kidnapped Series:
The Search (2006)
The Rescue (2006)

Swindle Series:
Swindle (2008)
Zoobreak (2009)
Framed (2010)
Showoff (2012)
Hideout (2013)
Jackpot (2014)
Unleashed (2015)
Jingle (2016)

Titanic Series:
Unsinkable (2011)
Collision Course (2011)
S.O.S (2011)

The 39 Clues Series:
Vespers Rising (2011)
The Medusa Plot (2011)
Flashpoint (2014)

Hypnotists Series:
The Hypnotists (2013)
Memory Maze (2014)
The Dragonfly Effect (2015)

Ungifted Series:
Ungifted (2012)
Supergifted (2018)

Slacker Series:
Slacker (2016)
Level 13 (2019)
...

Non Series Books:
Son of Interflux (1986)
Radio 5th Grade (1989)
Losing Joe's Place (1990)
The Twinkie Squad (1992)
The Toilet Paper Tigers (1993)
Why Did the Underwear Cross the Road (1994)
The Chicken Doesn't Skate (1996)
No More Dead Dogs (2000)
Maxx Comedy: The Funniest Kid in America (2003)
Jake, Reinvented (2003)
Born To Rock (2006)
Schooled (2007)
Pop (2009)
Restart (2017)
Notorious (2019)
War Stories (2020)
Game On (contains The Chicken Doesn’t Skate and The Toilet Paper Tigers (2021)
Unplugged (2021)
Linked (2021)
The Fort (2022)







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