Jordan J and the Truth About Jordan J

This is sure to be a hit with my students who already love the “Kids Under the Stairs” series. Quick read, interesting characters, and a wonderful librarian make this verse novel a delight.

This review is based on an ARC.

Jordan J and the Truth about Jordan J is an excellent book for middle school readers. Jordan is a relatable protagonist, who's beautiful, neurodiverse mind is shown, not as a plot device, but as just plain him, Jordan makes mistakes and needs to correct them. They are not excused away. Jordan has triumphs and successes, too. He is not saved by some neurotypical kid reaching out, but has skills that a classmate needs, The result is an excellent book to read and discuss with students, particularly in inclusive settings,

I do suggest that this book be a readaloud or used with immersion reading for any student who struggles with reading, The layout and varying types of communication (including marked up school paper articles, handouts, and drawings, dialogues from the chat part of a Minecraft-ish program, letters written by the protagonist to the therapist he can't afford financially to see, and checklists all may combine to make this a little harder to follow than the grade level indicates.

I notice that this is book 3 in a series. I definitely plan to look up the other two, and plan to add this book and likely the rest of the series to my classroom lending library and put it in the shared reading rotation.

This is another great addition to our classroom library K.A.Holt section. K.A.Holt's books engage both struggling and advanced readers while her writing authentically speaks to middle-schoolers. Funny, honest and a great discussion starter, as well as, great material for writing workshops.