Summary
Alec is a reader. He loves getting lost in a story. He reads his favorite books over and over – and he has LOTS of favorites! You would think that Alec’s teachers would love Alec’s affinity for books.
They don’t.
Alec tends to read all the time and everywhere. Including in the middle of class. Like when he’s supposed to be doing an art project or listening to the teacher’s lesson. So Alec is in trouble at school. For reading. If he wants out of trouble, he has to pay attention all the time in every class.
Fortunately, Alec goes to an after school program every day for 3 hours. This is a perfect block of time for reading. But he has to choose an activity from an approved list. Reading alone is not one of them. So Alec starts a reading club. Not a book club to talk about books but a club for reading. For sitting quietly, all afternoon, to read. Alec figures if he calls it the Loser’s Club, kids won’t want to join. Because lots of kids usually means lots of noise and distractions. SO, if he can find one other reader to join his Loser’s Club, he’ll have his after school reading sanctuary. But who would want to join “the Loser’s Club?”
Review
I adored this book. The last few Clements books haven’t clicked for me like my old favorites – Frindle, No Talking, The Last Holiday Concert, etc. But this one fits in perfectly with those older treasures.
Alec is a fantastic character. His description of comfort books could have been written by me (actually, all of chapter 7 is delightful). I loved him as a young man trying to navigate middle school, and I loved him as a reader.
The family Star Wars obsession was icing on the cake for me. SO many fun moments in the story centered around that. Alec’s own “Jedi mind trick” was outstanding fun.
While this is primarily about books and reading, it is also about friendship, dealing with bullies, responsibilities at school, growing up and dealing with reality outside of your favorite fiction. For me, this book was perfect. I highly recommend this for a family purchase, a library purchase and for all middle grade classrooms!