A Guy, a Girl, and a Teen Book Blog

A Guy, a Girl, and a Teen Book Blog

Saturday, October 19, 2013

The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett by Tom Angleberger

Title: The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett
Author: Tom Angleberger
Pages: 224
Publisher: Amulet Books
ISBN: 9781419708589
Publication Date: August 6, 2013
AR Levels: Book Level - 4.9, Interest Level - 4th-8th grades, Points: 4.0
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17802191-the-surprise-attack-of-jabba-the-puppett

In a nutshell: Things at McQuarrie Middle School have never been worse. After failing to pass their standardized tests the previous school year, the 6th, 7th, and 8th graders must all be subjected to the torturous educational videos known as FunTime, and p.s. all their electives have been cancelled. In order to foil the school board's plot to bore them to tears and ruin their favorite classes, students from all grades come together to form a Rebel Alliance, and it's all hands (and finger puppets) on deck.

I'd recommend it for grades: 4 to 8

I'd recommend it to: Star Wars fans, Diary of a Wimpy Kid fans, and teachers/educators (who will love the central conflict in this one)

What I liked most about this book: This one is definitely my favorite in the series so far because of the sheer volume of new Star Wars origami puppets. Most of the key players in the Alliance have brand-new puppets that will not disappoint you. The surprise plot twist at the end is pretty amazing too. The book does a good job of showing both the students' and teachers'/administrators' perspectives on the standardized testing debate, and in true Origami Yoda style adds a healthy dose of humor into the situation. You'll finish this one wishing you could read the next one immediately.

Single favorite moment (without getting spoiler-y): any of the parts with Padme Origamidala because she has the best Star Wars origami puppet name (and because she's one of my favorite Star Wars characters!)

Star rating (where 5 stars is awesome and 0 stars is atrocious): 5 fully-operational Death Stars ;)