Review by Booklist Review
Poor Max Crumbly! Stuffed in his locker for the second time in one day! Thinking he might never get out, Max decides to chronicle his first two weeks of eighth grade at South Ridge Middle School in his journal at least then there will be a record of what happened when his body is found. Coming from seven years of homeschooling, Max dreamed of being a superhero here; instead, he's school-bully Doug Thug Thurston's new favorite target. Luckily, Erin Madison rescues Max from his first involuntary locker vacation, but Thug strikes next after everyone has left for a three-day weekend. Enduring a few hours of cramped conditions, Max escapes through the back of his locker, where he crawls through ductwork, foils a robbery, and saves the school's new computers! This wacky middle-school misadventure will delight Wimpy Kid and Tom Gates fans, particularly with its humorous tone and illustrations. Russell's new series boasts a memorable character in Max Crumbly, who is capable of rivaling Dork Diaries' Nikki Maxwell. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Russell's enormously popular Dork Diaries pushed her to the top of the best-seller list. Expect no less from her new series.--Petty, J. B. Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Russell returns to the journal-style format of her bestselling Dork Diaries series as she introduces a hapless, comics-loving boy named Max who recounts many of his woes while stuck inside his school locker. Featuring the same doll-like black-and-white cartooning style and lined-paper backgrounds of the Dork Diaries books, the story strikes an awkward balance between slice-of-life underdog problems and over-the-top plot developments, shifting into the latter after Max escapes his locker and attempts to live out his superhero fantasies by foiling thieves who have infiltrated the school. Unfortunately, the book's comedy is forced and often misses the mark, weighed down by tired catchphrases ("Don't get it twisted!"; "That was just wrong on so many levels!") and gross-out gags, such as when Max imagines peeing on school bully Doug "Thug" Thurston in a fight-or-flight response. Early on, Max cautions that those who don't like "comic book cliffhangers" may not want to continue, but that caveat may not prepare readers for just how unsatisfyingly and abruptly Russell concludes her story. Ages 9-13. Agent: Daniel Lazar, Writers House. (June) c Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-7-Russell, author of the best-selling "Dork Diaries" series, returns with an even dorkier character. Fans may remember Max Crumbly from Tales from a Not-So-Perfect Pet Sitter. Max, who was previously homeschooled by his grandmother, is having a hard time adjusting to life at his new public school. Max's biggest problem is a bully named Doug "Thug" Thurston, who traps him in his locker right before a three-day weekend, leaving him as the only witness to the sinister activities taking place while the school is closed. The story ends on a cliffhanger, a sure sign that this is not the last of Max Crumbly. Kyle Beltran's animated portrayal of Max helps bring the text to life so listeners (almost) won't miss Russell's amusing illustrations. VERDICT Recommended for "Dork Diaries" fans. ["Max's goofy, embarrassing exploits will make this a popular and high-circulating item in most collections": SLJ 7/16 review of the S. & S. Aladdin book.]-Theresa Horn, St. Joseph County Public Library, South Bend, IN © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
With Nikki Russell and Erin Russell. Eighth-grade geek Max records his attempts to navigate a new school, a first crush, and brutish bully Doug, who traps Max in his locker over the long weekend. When he escapes, Max stumbles upon a robbery in the school computer lab. Many tweens will enjoy the over-the-top, sitcom-style drama; the Dork Diaries author employs similar handwriting-like font and manga-style drawings in this new series. (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
This is Max Crumbly's first experience in public school, and so far he's vomited on bully Doug "Thug" Thurston, forfeited a race due to his insistent bladder, and been locked in his lockerbut it's still better than home-schooling with Grandma.Humiliation's a bummer, but cute Erin Madison seems friendly, so the asthmatic, white eighth-grader perseveres. Max laboriously introduces his quirks (chiefly a preoccupation with bathroom functions, but he also likes comic books and rap), his supporting cast, and plot elements in an illustrated "journal" that's marked by many exclamation points and cross-outs. The latter can be baffling; readers will understand why Max seeks to conceal his crush on Erin from his putative audience (and himself), but why redact "I could eat a bowl of alphabet soup and POOP better lyrics!"? Pacing is uneven: the action doesn't really get underway till about the two-thirds mark, when Thug locks Max up again, this time for a long weekend, and the would-be superhero discovers three inept burglars as he tries to escapeand then the story ends on a cliffhanger. Even given its conscious nod to comic books, the plotting is implausible and the prose often painfully artless ("That's when I excitedly came up with a brilliant plan!"), making its eighth-grade authorship all too convincing.This spinoff is heavy on the poop jokes and light on almost everything elsereaders expecting a boy Dork Diaries with equal nuance may be surprised. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
