Gordon Korman’s Slugfest introduces readers to star athlete Yash, who learns that despite playing on the high school’s JV team, he’ll need to satisfy a middle school PE credit requirement to start high school. This means he’ll have to go to summer school PE, also known as Slugfest. Slugfest is notorious for being a class for hapless non-athletes. Yash can’t believe he’s going to have to endure this, especially after meeting the rest of his classmates and the home ec teacher running the class. Despite their differences, as the summer progresses, the Slugs find reasons—and a way—to come together for a shared purpose. The book alternates between multiple points of view, giving us insight into more than just Yash. This one is a fun story about underdogs who come together to display teamwork and build authentic friendships in the process. Sports fans and non-sports fans alike will enjoy it and root for the Slugs to come out on top.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of the book to read and review.

Gordon Korman does it again. A diverse cast of students who start off as misfits and learn how to become not just a team, but friends. Excellent pacing and clear POVs.

I just really didn't like this one. The whole plot was absolutely absurd. There were too many characters with too many side plots and I couldn't find myself interested in any of them, and I really disliked pretty much all of the characters.

I have never heard of a summer school that you go to for an entire day and can just randomly pick extra classes to fill you time? And the whole thing where the one character randomly got obsessed with outting their PE teacher as a fake was just...why?

For me this one was a mess. I'm disappointed.

In typical Korman fashion, Slugfest is a super fun book to read, with a lot of important messages for the reader. All of the characters are lovable, even the "villians" are likeable and not really that bad. This book does a great job of encouraging readers to not give up when you have a huge setback in life. You never know who will have your back when you need a friend, Sometimes there can be a lot of gray area when it comes to doing the right thing. This is an important book, that even the most reluctatn reader will love.

I am most definitely a @gordonkorman fan . . . and I can imagine quite a few middle grade students who will fall into that category after reading his latest novel, Slugfest!
I can't wait to share this story with our #SpringGroveTigers . . . they will love this group of misfits who must band together during Summer School PE. Full of sports that even the least sporty students will relate to, Slugfest is full of fun, hijinks, courage and more!

Slugfest is another great read by Gordon Korman. Because of an oversight, 8th grader Yash has to make up a PE credit during summer school. He won't be able to join the JV summer football practice, and prove he's the best on the team. Yash joins a class full of misfits, with a teacher who doesn't seem qualified to teach PE. Can Yash survive the summer, especially since there's another star-athlete slated for his position on the team? A story of finding friendship in unlikely places. Great read.

In this story the focus is on a summer school PE class for students who need it to graduate from 8th grade. It is told from multiple points of view, including the star athlete, a burgeoning investigative reporter, and the former athlete. You have a whole case of characters including the twins whose mission in life it to outprank one another. It is classic Korman, with a nicely wrapped up ending.

Pretty hilarious book about an athletic prodigy who's so good at football he's allowed to skip PE and play on the high school JV team, only to learn that he can't graduate the 8th grade without a PE credit. His only option is to enroll in summer school which means he will miss summer football practice. It also means he will be taking PE with the least athletic kids in the school, aka the slugs.

Worse still is the PE teacher who has them playing duck, duck goose and making pizzas during class time. Arabella is convinced Mrs. Finnerty isn't certified to teach PE, which could potentially make their PE credit null and void. Yash is worried, but he's more worried about the new kid who's almost as good at football as he is. If he has any hope of being picked for quarterback, he's got to train on his own. So he recruits the slugs into his exercise routine. Before anyone knows what's happened, the slugs are playing in the flag football tournament against the high school team.

I love Korman's humor. His characters always have a sarcastic edge which makes the story that much more fun. Korman likes to tell his stories from multiple perspectives. That always makes things a bit more interesting. I just wish he were better at differentiating the characters. They all seem to have about the same voice and personality. Otherwise, another solid win for Korman.

Slugfest is the nickname for the summer school PE class, aka the students who have failed 8th grade PE. Who fails PE, you ask? Plenty of students with legitimate reasons for refusing to participate in PE class–bullying in the locker room, detention for playing pranks, injuries keeping them from class, and permission from the principal to participate in sports at the high school rather than take PE in middle school. Only when the state mandates that these students fulfill their 8th grade PE requirement, does the principal come down and demand they take summer school in order to graduate 8th grade and move on to high school in the fall. Tough break for all of them, but especially for Yash, who is an athletic superstar in the town. Not only does he have the embarrassment of taking PE during summer school, but he is not allowed to practice with the high school anymore. Told in multiple voices (something author Korman excels at), the reader is transported to middle school as these students overcome stereotypes to form a bond and defy the odds through PE summer school.

Slugfest is a lively and good-natured tale that balances humor and heart. The story follows a group of characters who are both plausible and a bit outlandish, making for a realistic yet slightly goofy adventure. Korman's snappy dialogue and idiosyncratic depictions of the characters keep the plot moving at a brisk pace, making it an engaging read for young readers. While most characters appear to be white, the story's universal themes and relatable characters make it accessible to a broad audience. Overall, Slugfest is a fun and lighthearted tale that will keep readers entertained from start to finish.

Gordon Korman delivers yet again with Slugfest. While the overarching plot is the 'football underdogs' storyline, there are a few subplots in the story that were absolutely phenomenal as well. My only complaint was that I wouldn't have minded if the more underrepresented characters were given more chapters, especially Kaden and Fiona, however, this book is still an absolute must-read.

Thank you to HarperCollins and Gordon Korman for providing me with an ARC. I was not required to write a review, and all thoughts presented in the review above are my own.

You might think that, because of the title, Slugfest is a book about people slugging it out. Well, that’s only partially true. In this hilarious, heartwarming book by a popular, prolific author, the term Slugfest is actually the nickname given to the group of kids who end up having to take the Physical Education Equivalency (yes, PEE) class in summer school in order to graduate from eighth grade. Each kid has a backstory, and in a class that no one wants to be in with a teacher who has never taught PE, you can be sure to expect the unexpected. Get out the pom poms and be ready to cheer for the Slugfest bunch as they fumble their way to a stellar finish. Another Korman winner!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have read quite a few of Gordon Korman's books, and this might be my favorite of them all. Korman knows how to speak to the middle grade audience, and this book, about a star athlete who has to take summer school PE with all the misfits of the school, hits the nail on the head. From the indignity of being made to play "kiddie" games like Duck, Duck, Goose and Musical Chairs, to the relationship that builds when Yash begins to give the "slugs" a chance, everything about this book made me smile. Without being preachy, Korman shows what can happen when you choose honesty and kindness, and how that can go a long way to making people feel good about themselves. I will definitely be getting it for my library and recommending it to all my students.

Super-athlete Yash skipped 8th grade PE to play on JV teams at the high school. At the end of the year, though, the state changed policies abruptly and required all 8th graders to have a specific PE credit before being able to advance to 9th grade. Yash is forced to attend summer school PEE (Physical Education Equivalent) with the Slugs (non-athletes). When a new kid moves in and threatens Yash's JV quarterback position, he navigates through being the bigger person and doing the right thing, even when what the right thing is gets confusing.

Classic Korman - real life kid problems, kids being leaders and doing the right thing, and humor....lots of humor! this book is a must for middle grade library collections!

My middle schoolers eat up anything by Gordon Korman. I have a crew of PE hating kids this year who would find this book so relatable. I love how his books appeal to all different kids and not one group in particular. Told with his usual fast pace and sense of humor, kids will be entertained and intrigued by how “PEE” or “Slug Fest” turns out.

A definite win for Gordon Korman fans! Slugfest’s rich and relatable characters bring this sports story to life as Yash, a superstar athlete unfairly forced into summer school to earn a missing PE credit, navigates a summer that didn’t go as planned. As he joins a unique group of fellow PE students, led by a quirky and untraditional teacher, he learns more than he ever expected about sports, teamwork, friendship, and himself.

I really enjoyed this title. It was good to hear different narrator's point of view, and the story was engaging. I liked that this book should appeal to a variety of readers; including those who like sports fiction, friendship stories, humorous stories, and more. The characters were relatable, and easy to identify with. This was a heartwarming and winning story.

Thank you to NetGalley for the electronic ARC. In Slugfest we first meet Archie/Yash, who is an amazing athlete, and is so great that he has been able to skip PE all 8th grade year in order to play on the JV teams at the high school. Unfortunately, for Yash, the state intervenes and says he needs to take summer PE in order to move on to 9th grade. This means he misses working and training with the football team all summer.
Yash is not the only one who needs to take summer P.E.E. or Slugfest, Cleo, also a gifted athlete who has just recovered from a serious foot injury and has sworn off sports, Kaden, a brilliant, but klutzy student, two fighting twins, serial PE skipper, Arabella, and Fiona a tech wiz and on the water polo team To make matters even worse, the class is taught by a retired teacher, Mrs. Finnerty, who taught 2nd grade and FACs, so definitely not a PE teacher.
Korman has a huge band of readers in my school so this will be an easy sell because like his other books, it's just the right length, plot driven, with excellent character development, and a mix of realistic and humor; Fans of any underdog sports tales will enjoy his latest.

Slugfest was a book about a group of kids who couldn’t be more different who learn to work together and accept each other for who they are and the talents they have to offer. This is a great book for kids of all ages. It will help them understand that it is ok to be yourself and that anyone can be a great friend even if they have different interests than you.

I loved this book, particularly the overall positive message that should land this book in every middle school classroom and library!

The cast and characters are well rounded and realistic, and they reminded me of what you might find if "The Breakfast Club" met middle grade summer school. And I loved the baking PE teacher! With the multiple POV's, there's a bit of something for everyone (including sports, humor, and encouragement). It's easy to root for the underdogs (such as "The Mighty Ducks"), and "Slugfest" is chock full of those characters you can't help but root for and love. I used to teach, and I wish this book had been around then, as I would've loved reading this book and discussing it with my students. I will certainly recommend this to teachers I know! I look forward to reading future books from Korman.