This book is just spud-tacular (sorry I couldn’t help it). This book follows Ben who has to fill in as the school mascot, Steve the spud (uhh it’s a potato) for the basketball team for 3 weeks. Ben is super relatable and his shenanigans on trying to find his way and fit in at school provide laughter and humor in a way that was so welcome. This book series will a-peel (Ha!) to middle grade readers who are fans of The Diary of a wimpy kid, Nate the Great, and the Terrible Two series. The book is a fast read and will have you rooting for Ben! Highly recommend, I can’t wait to tell my students about this one after purchasing it for our library collection.

The publisher Random House Books for Young Readers generously provided me with a copy of the book upon request on NetGalley. The rating, ideas and opinions shared are my own.

This is the ray of sunshine that we all need right now. I smiled and laughed all the way through this book. Readers of all ages will love it!!

"I'm not the salami king. I'm the dork behind the potato mask."

Ben has recently moved to Idaho because of his father's new job and he wants to get rid of his previous school image of the quiet, dorky kid. So he does something that makes him popular to his schoolmates, but that also grants him a punishment from school. He has to be the school mascot for the next few basketball games and that's a problem for Ben because he will lose his cool image and also the school mascot is a spud and our hero is cursed by potatoes and hates them. Therefore he lies to everyone and tries his best for his secret to not be revealed.

I really enjoyed this book!! I don't remember when was the last time that I had read a middle grade , but this one was so cute, funny and just refreshing. I loved the dialogues, the scenes, the inner monologue our hero had. I found it to be realistic, but also with an exaggerating note, that probably is a common fact to all humans of this age.

The book was fast paced, the hero is likeable, even when he lies, he has a kind heart and he learns from his mistakes. We get to meet many interesting secondary characters and we get to see the character development Ben had to go through, after all the shenanigans he got into to keep a balance between the cool image he wanted to maintain and his real dorky character and his real friendships. I also loved all of the Harry Potter references!

Definitely recommend this one to all of our little bookworms, but also to the older ones who enjoy cute and funny stories :)

Thanks to Random House Readers and NetGalley for this advance copy in return for an honest review. There is a lot to like about this book, which centers on a middle school student who has recently moved from Los Angeles to Idaho. He tries to fit in but has few friends until a series of incidents make him become "Spud" the mascot of the school basketball team. It is about friendship and also daring to do things you never thought you could do. Unfortunately, for my, the book was a very slow read.

This whole book was just a potato-filled delight. I had so much fun reading this! It was adorkable and heartwarming, and had tons of awkward 12-year-old style embarrassing moments. You get to cringe and cheer with Ben as he accidentally gets roped into being the school mascot for 3 weeks. Which also looks like a giant potato. (Also SMELLS bad.) Ben is trying to remake himself at his new school, be less awkward and quiet, so he doesn't want to be known as this mascot potato who everyone laughs at. But the tangle of lies he weaves to stop anyone knowing its him behind the mask catches up to him aaaand...he makes a mess.

You just immediately LOVE Ben. He means really well, but he also gets so flustered talking to people, and he's both trying to figure out himself + be a good person + make friends. His voice tho. SO much fun to read. I didn't even want to put the book down, because it goes so fast and I loved every second with Ben and his friends Ellie and Hunter. Also the humorous moments were excellent and wholesome.

Total recommend from me! Although Ben would happily never see a potato again, whereas sorry but *I* love potatoes and am not inflicted by a potato curse and kind of am dreaming of chips right now brb.

“My double life as a potato has ruined a lot of things for me. It’s ruined my love of juggling. It’s ruined my love of skateboarding. It’s ruined my love of chicken wings. But I never expected it to ruin my friendships. All I wanted was for these games to go by quickly and quietly—not for them to destroy my life.”

Ben Hardy thinks he’s cursed ... by potatoes. So what could be worse than moving from Los Angelos to the heart of potato land: South Fork, Idaho. The best part of moving to Idaho? His new friends Ellie and Hunter. Back in LA, Ben had a lot of “sort of” friends, but not any “hang out” friends.

It is in the cafeteria with Hunter and Ellie that Ben begins his story. Hunter convinces Ben to play the hottest new game: Chuck the Hot Dog in which students throw the school lunch hot dogs to see how many bounces they can get. In a moment of brilliance, Ben gets six bounces ... quite impressive. In a moment of disaster, Steve the Spud, the school mascot slips on the hotdog that Ben threw and sprains his ankle.

Enter Principal Jensen and Coach Tudy. Principal Jensen threatens suspension. Ben knows he can’t get suspended. He once got grounded for reading books! What will his parents do to him for this violation of school rules? He’ll do anything. That’s how Ben ends up being Steve the Spud for 3 weeks, until Wyatt is fully recovered. Again with the potatoes? “Inside, it feels muggy, like the last guy’s sweat never fully evaporated. It’s dark, as if I wormed my way into a real overgrown potato.”

Ben is determined that Ellie, Hunter and his parents never find out about this deal. And his first couple of games as the mascot are a disaster. But “I, Ben Hardy, am a member of the greater global mascot community. And we never quit.”

A funny story with great voice. Good for students 4th grade and up.

This book was a great read for middle grades. My third grader and kindergartner also loved this book--lots of great humor for all. The title of the book threw me a little bit, not sure what exactly this book would be about. This was definitely an enjoyable book that kids and adults alike will love. I will be recommending this to parents, for their kids.

My Life As a Potato is an overly fun and adorable books for children and families! We loved it and definitely recommend it!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Middle-schooler Ben is just starting to adjust to being popular at his new school in Idaho when he accidentally injures the school's mascot and, as his punishment, has personally to fill the role of mascot--a giant potato. With his reputation on the line, Ben will do anything to keep his classmates from finding out, including lying to his best friends, pretending to be grounded, and avoiding any mention of potatoes anywhere--which is much easier said than done in his spud-obsessed town. Middle-graders will relate to this story of friendship and navigating first crushes and the social ladder. While the book's themes aren't particularly original, the slightly larger-than-life fiascos that Ben manages to get himself into as mascot make this one stand out. While there are a few stereotypical popular jocks and cheerleaders, the main characters are well-developed and likable, and readers will relate to Ben's dilemma of protecting his new social status without abandoning his true, slightly nerdier friends. The one real plot fallacy is that Ben's family is distant and gets little page time through the majority of the book, so their importance in the last few chapters doesn't flow. Otherwise a light, clean escapade through middle school. Illustrations a la Diary of Wimpy Kid, while spare, help enhance Ben's perspective. Will appeal to fans of Wimpy Kid, Big Nate, and Dork Diaries but is slightly more wholesome. Ages 10 to 12. 4.5 stars.

What’s worse than being the new kid in school, but the new kid who is forced to wear the school mascot—a potato!!!

What an absolute fun MG to read. It had all the ups and downs of middle school with great friendships and an adorable main character. I loved the illustrations in the book, and such a ride to see how Ben was going to pull of hiding from the entire school that he was the mascot. Such a great read, MG lovers will love and I can’t wait to buy it in paper form for my 7th graders!

As punishment for inadvertently injuring the student who acts as the school mascot, Ben has to take his place for the last few basketball games of the season. As if that wasn't bad enough, Ben has to dress up in a potato costume, which could threaten his newfound popularity in the Idaho middle school he has just moved to.
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Ben is a character many middle schoolers can relate to. He's self-conscious, concerned about his standing in the school social landscape, but always quick to feel regret when he hurts someone's feelings. While his attempts to keep his punishment from his family and classmates provide entertaining foibles, it's his gradual embrace of his mascot role that helps the story follow through on its fun premise.

What do you do when you are forced to become a mascot for your new school?

In Ben's case, he hides that he is the Spud, the mascot for the school he is attending in Idaho.

Like all stories where kids hid things from their friends and parents, you know the truth will come out. You know it is unsustainable. And you know that the longer they keep said secret the worse it could be in the end.

The author, in this case, nails it.

Writing middle-grade fiction is an art. To get the voice right is to capture that time of life when you are between being a little kid, and being in High School.

A well written, fun, story of a boy from Los Angeles, trying to make new friends in Idaho, while hiding who he is on game night. Highly recommended for kids and adults.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

A hilarious book about fitting in and peer pressure, things that middle schoolers will relate to. Ben Hardy tries to balance his newfound popularity with his secret gig of being the uncool potato mascot, after being ratted out during a hot dog throwing stunt. As he foils game after game, incurring the wrath of the cool kids, he begins to wonder if they really are as nice as they seem. The illustrations are well-done and add another layer of humor to this story. I know kids will LOVE this story, especially older readers who loved of Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

This was a funny middle grade novel. Some of the jokes and funny parts were a bit cliched and predictable. The writing was good and the pace was fast, which will keep a child's interest. I didn't love it but it's a good book to hand to a 4th-6th grader who is looking for a fun, somewhat shallow read.

This was a cute book that my son enjoyed! He said thumbs up; he would share it with his friends! I caught him giggling to himself a few times. “4 stars!”

I read this with my 4th grade daughter and she and I both loved it! Highly recommend for her age group.

I really love when a book I have low expectations for delivers big -- and this title fits that mold! Initially, I was drawn to this book because the main character is a boy, and I am always looking for titles in this "realistic fiction" genre that I know my son will read and that would appeal to a larger audience of boys. I can confidently pass this along to him, as well as a nominating committee I sit on for a regional children's book award.

It was very possible that the story might be interesting, but the writing sub-par. or vice versa, but I (again) was happily surprised. I felt kind of like I was reading a new Andrew Clements book (we were so sad to lose him!): the characters were believable and likable, the story line was well-paced and thought-out, and moments of humor were appropriately sprinkled in between (familiar) moments of early-teen anxieties. There are some "lessons", I guess, but mostly this is just a fun, light, relatable read.

My nine-year-old son really enjoyed this one! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

Ben Hardy's family has moved from California to Idaho, and he's having a bit of a hard time adjusting. Luckily, he has made two friends, Ellie and Hunter, so has secured a safe place in the cafeteria. He also has a crush on a cheerleader, Jayla, and she seems to like him as well. When he gets involved in a hot dog throwing incident in the cafeteria that ends up putting the school mascot (a giant potato!) out of commission, the coach gives him an option--act as the mascot for the next four games, and stay out of trouble. Ben reluctantly agrees, even though he doesn't completely understand what he needs to do as the mascot. The coach, a former mascot himself, gives him some pointers, and Ben does some research on the internet, but it isn't until he has an underwhelming performance during the first game and his team loses that he begins to take his job seriously. He gets invited to a dance by Jayla (with an elaborate locker surprise) and agrees to go with her, and even meets her for a date before that. He has to lie to his friends and tell them he is grounded, since he doesn't want anyone to know he is the mascot. He does talk to Mitch, the custodian's son, who finds out his secret. He even makes an attempt to get the lonely Mitch to eat lunch with his friends. He also doesn't tell his parents that he is the mascot. This is a tenuous situation, and things will eventually meet with disaster. How long can Ben manage to make things work?
Strengths: This was such a delightful relief after months of deep, sad, lyrical middle grade fiction. The cover is fantastic and shows how much fun the book is going to be. The page illustrations are helpful in getting readers of Wimpy Kid to pick this up. I loved Ben-- he meant well but occasionally did stupid things. His crush on Jayla is perfect, as is his eventual realization that there is a better girl for him. There are lots of good details about life in middle school. I just adored this one!
Weaknesses: Found it hard to believe that Ben was able to keep his mascot duties secret from his parents (Permission slips? Pay to play?), and some of the team names and mascots walked the line of overly goofy. Small quibbles, though!
What I really think: Buying at least two copies for the fans of Richards' Stu Truly. I need a LOT more books like this-- fun, but with small underlying middle school problems. Brilliant stuff.

This was a really enjoyable read about a boy who secretly becomes the school mascot, and has to live with the highs and lows of his double life. I loved that it will appeal to sports fans, as a lot of the book takes place on the basketball court, but there's much more to the story with his changing friendships, sudden popularity, and the fallout from accidents to which he is prone. It's very funny, and I definitely agree with the comparisons to Gordon Korman. I'll be purchasing this book for my collection when it's out on March 24th.