From #1 New York Times bestselling author Gordon Korman comes the funny and heartwarming sequel to the word-of-mouth hits UNGIFTED and SUPERGIFTED. School has never been a problem for twelve-year-old super-genius Noah Youkilis—at least not until he gets an admission letter to the prestigious Wilderton University. The last thing Noah wants is to go straight from eighth grade into college. Will his life ever just be normal?! Meanwhile, Noah's best friend, Donovan, has been looking forward all year to a summer of doing nothing. But when Wilderton allows Noah to bring a friend for the summer term, Donovan's parents jump at the chance. Suddenly, Donovan's summer of slack has turned into hanging with Noah and working as a summer camp counselor for professors' kids. Once they arrive on campus, Noah's determined to fit in—and to him, that means joining the top-secret Society of the Gavel. But becoming a Gaveler is harder than it seems, and it's made all the harder when Noah and Donovon smuggle Wilderton's mascot, a two-hundred-pound pig named Porquette, into their dorm. Now Noah and Donovan must combine all their middle-school smarts to keep their pig-sized secret, fix a haywire AI program before it pretty much ends the world, and keep track of Donovan's campers. It's going to be a summer to remember in the newest book from #1 New York Times bestselling author Gordon Korman.
"An ensemble cast narrates the hijinks in this third entry in Korman's Gifted series. It finds 13-year-old uber-genius Noah starting college during the summer term, with his slacker buddy, Donovan, along as his roommate. Donovan is put to work at the college's camp for faculty kids as a counselor-in-training alongside the conscientious Raina, while Noah builds a complex (but not infallible) AI system. Cast members nimbly perform the middle grade-friendly antics from viewpoints including a frat bro, a dean, and the kind sophomore Noah crushes on. Jonathan Todd Ross and Jesse Vilinsky particularly shine, harmonizing their characterizations of Donovan and Raina's elementary school-age campers, an endearingly feisty squad.
A funny, fast-paced outing from consummate pros, author and narrators alike. (Fiction. 9-13)"
