I loved this book, and I'm rooting for Jamie Grimm to win regionals in book two! Jamie isn't your normal protagonist. For one thing, he can deliver a punch line like someone many years his senior. For another, his comedic abilities are catapulting him into the limelight of comedy stardom, and he's only in middle school. This is one of those books that will make you laugh even when it's making you think. It was an eye-opener. James Patterson is an exceptional author, so much so that the moment I started reading this novel I was captivated! I found it to be a gentle, relatable, and most importantly funny story. I finally got a chance to read a novel that isn't extremely cheesy or way too serious and it was actually quite enjoyable. In my opinion, if you, the reader, don't truly enjoy what your reading, then there really isn't any reason to read at all.The plot was one of the most fantastic parts of this book. So many kids deal with bullying everyday at school, and the main character taught them how to kill the taunting with kindness and comedy.The most important lesson I learned from reading this novel was that you can achieve anything if you put your heart into it and give it your all. If it wasn't for the main characters perseverance, he never would have reached the goals he did and wouldn't have been so successful in blossoming his passion into a future career.I would recommend this book to pretty much anybody. I don't want to give away too much information because I want you to enjoy this novel as much as I did. What I am able to say though is that I throughly enjoyed this book and was an absolute pleasure to read. I give many compliments to the talented authors of the book!
Jamie Grimm is a middle school stand up comedian. The story opens with him facing an audience and choking. We learn that Jamie lives with his unsmiling aunt and uncle and three cousins, one of which is a relentless bully. Jamie finds joy in his two best friends, his love of comedy, and helping out at his Uncle Frank's restaurant. In the story, we follow Jamie as he meets two new girls who become friends and as he takes his love for stand up to a competitive arena. The book has an engaging story, and the comedic one-liners are great fun to share with anyone else within earshot. A lot of the references to the "great" comedians will probably be lost on most kids (Yakov Smirnoff, anyone?). Still the one-liners, format with large text and scattered illustrations, and story will likely appeal to many students.
—Reshma
This book was very interesting and inspiring because Jamie, the kid goes behind his parent's backs and sneaks out to the New York's Funniest Kid Comic, and wins! In the sequel, he competes in the next, then the next competition. But there's a few catches to these amazing wins:1. Jamie's brother is the bully who's always mean to him at school2. His parents aren't very nice3. He's in a wheelchair! This is a great book for any kids, boys and girls from ages 11-15 :)
—Crushah
I loved this book! I can't wait for my students to read it!
—KCC
I thought the book was funny and had lots of humor.
—17caldwm
Decent audio for that heinous drive called 35.
—vipin
