School's Out
Written by Johanna Hurwitz
Reviewed by Gino L. (age 8), Dylan F. (age 9) & Phillip H. (age 9)
Is summer break going to be worse than the school year? A boy named Lucas Cott thinks he is going to have a terrible summer. It all started on the last day of school when Lucas got two surprises because he improved in school and got better grades. One of the surprises was a bicycle helmet that Lucas always wanted because it makes him look like he is riding a motorcycle. The second surprise was a person named Genevieve Lamont. When Lucas finds out that the second surprise is human he says, "I like boxed presents much better."
Genevieve Lamont is coming from France to babysit Lucas' crazy twin brother, Marcas and Marius. If one of the boys does something bad by accident, then the other does the same thing. Like when Marius spilled his chocolate milk by mistake and Marcas spilled it on purpose. A couple of days before Genevieve arrives, Lucas finds out that he has to teach Genevieve English. Before Lucas gets to meet Genevieve he misjudges her because she is from France. When Genevieve finally arrives Lucas starts to do tricks to get her into trouble. Like when Genevieve goes into the house to get the twins towels and Lucas lets the twins stick their feet in the paint cans. Will Lucas pull a good enough trick to get Genevieve fired? You will have to read this book to find out.
I (Dylan) liked this book because it has hilarious characters like Marcas and Marius. They are funny because they always fool around. Like when Lucas got his new bicycle helmet and Marcas and Marius jumped into the box and tore up the wrapping paper. I (Philip) also liked this book because of the characters and the author's imagination. Marcas and Marius are very funny characters and they pulled me into the book because they always fool around. I (Gino) like this book because it made me giggle sometimes. Like when Lucas said, "It's a piece of cake" and Genevieve says, "Where's the cake?" That was my favorite part!
This book taught all of us two very important lessons, don't misjudge people because they are from a different country, and don't take advantage of other people. This book made all of us feel bad for Genevieve because she tried so hard to be friends with Lucas but Lucas was never nice to her. School's Out reminds us of when we were misjudged and when we misjudged other people. We found out that it hurts!
We recommend this book to grades Two, Three, and Four because it would be way too easy for a Fifth grader and way too hard for a Kindergartner. If a First Grader read it with a grown-up, they would enjoy it. Also if you like books with happy endings with very funny characters you should definitely read School's Out!