Control Freaks

by J E Thomas (Author)

Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

One week. One prize. Seven really weird challenges.

The kids at Benjamin Banneker College Prep are a little... competitive. Okay. They're a LOT competitive.

The minute Principal Yee announces an epic competition for the golden B-B trophy, seventh-grader Frederick Douglass Zezzmer knows he has to win. But it won't be easy. The competition doesn't just include science, technology, engineering and math. It also has arts and sports. Not Doug's best subjects. Even worse, it's a TEAM competition.

Instead of being in a superstar group, Doug gets paired with four middle school misfits no one else wants. Worst of all, Doug's dad has a horrible backup plan. If Doug doesn't win, he has to forget about becoming The World's Greatest Inventor and spend the summer in sports camp, with his scary stepbrother. With only a week to go, Doug launches a quest to turn his team of outcasts into winners... and maybe even friends.

P R A I S E

"Thomas strews the increasingly suspenseful competition with teachable moments and traces learning curves not only for the students but for teachers and parents, too. Reminiscent of E. L. Konigsburg's The View from Saturday." --Booklist (starred)

"Creative and hilarious...the novel's narration shifts among many perspectives, giving a rich, panoramic view of how stressful yet ultimately rewarding these learning experiences are for the overachievers, the socially awkward, the kids with complicated home lives, and all those who just need to see each other a little differently." --Kirkus

"...Witty competition drama... a telling that prioritizes characters' interiority as well as their impact on each other's lives. While Doug's determined voice is the primary focus, the rotating narratives showcase each of the racially diverse characters' individual stressors, delivering a well-rounded accounting that is better for its multiplicity." --Publishers Weekly

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ALA/Booklist

Starred Review
Thomas strews the increasingly suspenseful competition with teachable moments and traces learning curves not only for the students but for teachers and parents, too. Reminiscent of E. L. Konigsburg's The View from Saturday.

Kirkus

Creative and hilarious.

Publishers Weekly

A driven Black middle schooler attending Denver's prestigious Benjamin Banneker College Prep must become a team player in Thomas's debut, a witty competition drama. Frederick Douglass Zezzmer has a 57-step plan to become the World's Greatest Inventor, but Doug's birth father--a former Denver Broncos player who recently reentered his life--has a different vision for him: attending the Elite Juniors sports camp. Doug believes that participating in, and winning, a weeklong STEAM and sports tournament will persuade his father into letting Doug pursue his own dreams. But to succeed, Doug must collaborate with classmates from varying disciplines, including art and athletics, something that forces him out of his comfort zone and challenges him in new ways. As Doug navigates budding friendships, dynamic rivalries, and tense familial relationships, he realizes that he doesn't have to do everything on his own, and that not everyone is as they seem. By utilizing multiple POVs, including that of Doug's stepbrother, Thomas lays the groundwork for a telling that prioritizes characters' interiority as well as their impact on each other's lives. While Doug's determined voice is the primary focus, the rotating narratives showcase each of the racially diverse characters' individual stressors, delivering a well-rounded accounting that is better for its multiplicity. Ages 8-12. (June)

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes



J E Thomas
J.E. Thomas grew up near Colorado's Front Range mountains. She spent her early summers stuffing grocery bags with books at the local library, reading feverishly, then repeating the process week after week. J.E. has bachelors' degrees in Mass Communications and Political Science, as well as a master's degree in Public Communications. She wrote Control Freaks while working as an administrator at the same independent school she attended as child.
Classification
-
ISBN-13
9781646143054
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Levine Querido
Publication date
June 13, 2023
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV019000 - Juvenile Fiction | Humorous Stories
JUV036000 - Juvenile Fiction | Science & Technology
JUV074000 - Juvenile Fiction | Diversity & Multicultural
Library of Congress categories
Schools
Inventors
JUVENILE FICTION / General
Stepfamilies

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