The Loser’s Club by Andrew Clements + Make It a Gift

Posted August 4, 2017 by shooting in Book Review / 17 Comments

The Loser’s Club by Andrew Clements

Review by Lauren

source: copy from Netgalley for book tour; all opinions are my own

Official Summary (add on Goodreads)Sixth grader Alec can’t put a good book down. So when Principal Vance lays down the law–pay attention in class, or else–Alec takes action. He can’t lose all his reading time, so he starts a club. A club he intends to be the only member of. After all, reading isn’t a team sport, and no one would want to join something called the Losers Club, right? But as more and more kids find their way to Alec’s club–including his ex-friend turned bully and the girl Alec is maybe starting to like–Alec notices something. Real life might be messier than his favorite books, but it’s just as interesting.

Review: Did you grow up reading books by Andrew Clements, like his iconic Frindle? I did! This is just one reason I was really excited to check out his latest novel, The Loser’s Club. I was also thrilled to see that The Loser’s Club is actually the name of a club where kids can sit and just silently read. Alec names it The Loser’s Club because he doesn’t actually want that many people to join. He just wants at least one other person to form the club, and then he’s happy to just sit around after school and read for hours. It sounds quite lovely, doesn’t it? I’d have totally joined a club like this as a kid…or even now to be honest!

The Loser's Club by Andrew Clements is Out Now! Make It a Gift in my new post! Click To Tweet

I think this would be a wonderful book for elementary/middle school readers. It’s easy to read, but it’s also something kids can relate to I think! Alec just wants to spend all his time reading, but he knows that he’ll get in even more trouble if he doesn’t pay attention in class, which is why he starts the club. I thought Alec’s parents were great. They don’t mind Alec reading, but they do push him to do well in school – even making him join the Homework Room at some point. I also really liked Alec’s younger brother – books that show family dynamics are great, especially for younger readers!

There is a crush in the book, but it felt very true to sixth-graders! I know when I was in sixth grade, people were “dating” and everything!

Definitely a fun read – I’d recommend for all ages!

I haven’t done this feature in awhile, but Make it a Gift is where you match a book with another item that suits it. This way someone can buy the book and this item and it “makes it a gift”! Feel free to use this on your blog, just link back to me!

My choice for The Loser’s Club is this kid-friendly Reading Log, which you can get on Amazon here. If you aren’t aware, a reading log is a book that you can use to keep track of everything you’ve read. Alec reads all the time, so this would be great for him, but this gift idea has a greater meaning too if you read the book. So there you go – purchase this (or another) reading log and The Loser’s Club, and you have the perfect gift for someone!

What do you think? Would you read The Loser’s Club, or do you have a kid in mind that might enjoy it?

17 responses to “The Loser’s Club by Andrew Clements + Make It a Gift

  1. This sounds like the cutest book! My kiddo is too young for this book right now but I’ll have to try to remember it when he’s older. I probably would have joined that club when I was in sixth grade, lol.

  2. danielle hammelef

    I love this author! I’m so happy he has a new book out. It’s great that you p[osted this or I might have missed out. I think your post idea is clever.

  3. I’ve actually never heard of this author before. My son is stuck on reading the Diary of a Wimpy kid and books of the like. Maybe when he’s a bit older this type of book would be suited just for him. I think he’d really enjoy it!

  4. I’m going to have to read this! I’m a 6th grade language arts teacher, and this year every teacher has a 30 minute “club” 2x a week — I chose Silent Reading. I can’t wait. I think there will be students who LOVE it!

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