Have always been a fan of Levy’s writing, and think she’s an underrated author. Many will like the Breakfast Club premise for tweens, but there’s a lot going on in terms of development and reasons for why people do what they do. Bullying, mistakes, diversity, paying attention: this book has so much room for discussion.

Levy, Dana Alison. It Wasn't Me. Delacorte Press, 2018.

Theo's photography project is vandalized, and no one saw anything. There are five students who were in the vicinity at the time, and they all claim they didn't do it. During a week of school break, the five students and Theo participate in a "justice circle" at school to discover who ruined Theo's work and why; during this time they learn more about each other than they do about the incident.

This book has been touted as a remake of The Breakfast Club, and that's a fairly accurate statement. The accused kids have all been labeled by Theo - the screw-up, the weirdo, the nerd, etc. - and through the justice circle he comes to care more for them than he does for the truth. Unfortunately, this story has the feel of an after-school special, and the focus on the characters rather than on action or plot will possibly bore tween readers. It's an interesting concept; however, this book seems to be aimed more at adults who remember watching The Breakfast Club or who are skeptical of the concept of a justice circle than at tweens who should be the intended audience. Read one of Levy's other books, such as the Family Fletcher Takes Rock Island, instead.

Recommended for: tweens
Red Flags: none
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purpose of review.

Still featuring one of the Fletcher boys—Jax—but told by Theo, whose photos have been vandalized multiple times. One of the teachers at the school decides to do justice circle over spring break to get to the bottom of it.

It starts slow, as we have to fully get into the story from six different points of view. Levy does a wonderful job of giving each of these characters a full story. That is the point, that they all learn that even if on the surface you are different, everyone can find something in common.

As an adult, I was able to see through one of the twists but the rest is very earnest, sweet and a little bit unpredictable. The slow start might make it a harder sell to kids, but they have also been in these situations. A nice conclusion, definitely with a message.

I was super excited to read this, as was my twelve-year-old, who has loved all of this author's previous books. It's a very different sort of story - school-based, rather than family-based - from her other books, but with the same humor, heart, and voice. The pitch of "Breakfast Club for MG" is DEAD-ON, so perfect, it made me want to go back and watch The Breakfast Club again. And in addition to the humor and wonderful characters, it brings up a lot of really important tough questions about the boxes we put each other into. I really hope this book does well and gets discussed in a lot of schools.

The description of this book is Breakfast Club middle school mystery and that is right on the mark. Six students are brought together during a school break to hopefully find out who has vandalized one of the student's (Theo) art work. Each of the other five affirms each day they were not involved, but all five admit to being in the area. They participate in an activity called a "justice circle." During the week, each of them realize something pivotal about themselves and each other. I really liked the mystery and their internal conflicts, but the author who readily admits The Breakfast Club is her favorite movie borrows too heavily for her story line. Each student is a stereotype, jock, nerd, art freak, etc. Even some of their antics are right out of the movie. If I had not also loved the movie, these things would not have bothered me. However, knowing the movie, it makes this author appear lazy in her creativity.

DISCLAIMER: I received a review copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

HOLY FREAKING COW

As mentioned in my RECKLESS CLUB review (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), I love THE BREAKFAST CLUB, so when I heard about this book, I instantly requested it. And once I got the acceptance email, I was super excited and immediately started reading it.

Let me tell you, my friend, that I flippin’ loved it.

Like THE BREAKFAST CLUB, you have the classic Princess (Molly Claremont), Athlete (Erik Estrale), Brain (Andre Hall), Criminal (Jax Fletcher), and Basket Case (Alice Shu) - this time labeled as the Overachiever, the Jock, the Nerd, the Screw-up, and the Weirdo - and they do excellent justice to their similar counterparts. And the book is complete with some iconic quotes and scenes from the original BREAKFAST CLUB.

So, yeah, perfect for fans of THE BREAKFAST CLUB, or even people who want a nice, feel-good middle-grade novel.

Purchasing in November? Abso-freakin’-lutely

Imagine you are the vicim of bullying not once, not twice, but three times. If that were the case, would you want to go and sit in a room with the people suspected of the bullying you, and to top it off, it is during your spring break? This is exactly what is happening to Theo. Theo is a photographer and when his pictures are on display in the high school gallery, they are vandalized with some not so nice words written on them. Next, his negatives were in the dark room and someone went in and ruined those. Lastly, he had some homemade cameras set up in a classroom and those are destroyed. You would think that Theo would definitely not want to go and sit in a room with the five suspects, the Nerd, the Princess, the Jock, the Weirdo, and the Screw-up, but his favorite teacher asked him to try an experiment to see if they could find out who did this to Theo. Theo has gone to school with these kids most of his life and has labeled and judged each of these kids, yet as the week goes on he soon learns that everything he thought he knew is completely wrong. As Theo actually starts to become friends with each of these kids, does he really want to find out the truth of who the culprit is.

It Wasn't Me is a must read book!! This book will grab you from the start and will not let you put it down until you find out "who-did-it". This book has parts that will make you laugh out loud, will warm your heart, and will shock you. There are times in this book that you want to just go and put your arms around the characters and there are times you just want to go and hang out with them. Do not let this book pass you by. Read It Wasn't Me ​as soon as it comes out!!