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danoreading's review against another edition
3.0
Highly entertaining, very funny book - I didn't find a whole lot of substance in the book, but I am OK with that.
mvasso's review against another edition
4.0
The premise of this book is very interesting: 12-year-old Oliver plays dumb but is secretly a rich, scheming genius who not only controls almost everything in his own environment but also influences global economics and politics. Nearly every page made me laugh! I love the photos and the footnotes. Underneath the humor there's a more serious issue that adds some substance to the story. My only complaint is that the ending was sort of unsatisfying. I didn't feel like anything got resolved beyond the surface level. Other than that, a terrific read.
meginsanity's review against another edition
4.0
Caris told me that he knew I would like this book, and he was right. I knew Oliver was my kinda guy as soon as I started reading it. Who, if blessed with the same genius and financial ability as our young psychopath, wouldn't use their power to make the water fountains dispense chocolate milk and root beer, or have a secret underground lair inside their house? I mean, come on.
I have to admit, though, I though Ollie was more cute and cuddly than psychopathic and evil, but that might be because he and I are on totally the same wavelength. Not that I would ever try to cuddle him.
I thought this book was funny and cleverly done. There's a mix of text and visual elements that were used pretty creatively. My only qualm with the book was Oliver's parental issues. Whenever he was ranting about his Daddy and public television, I just got a little bored. For that reason, the ending felt flat. His mom also bugged me, in a different way, but I contribute that more to the fact that we see her through Oliver's eyes.
Good stuff.
I have to admit, though, I though Ollie was more cute and cuddly than psychopathic and evil, but that might be because he and I are on totally the same wavelength. Not that I would ever try to cuddle him.
I thought this book was funny and cleverly done. There's a mix of text and visual elements that were used pretty creatively. My only qualm with the book was Oliver's parental issues. Whenever he was ranting about his Daddy and public television, I just got a little bored. For that reason, the ending felt flat. His mom also bugged me, in a different way, but I contribute that more to the fact that we see her through Oliver's eyes.
Good stuff.
sherwoodreads's review against another edition
2.0
I suspect the target audience for this is actually the eighteen-year-old to thirty-year old readership who is young and strong, thinks they will live forever, so mercy is sentiment, grace is frivolous and it's all about the snark.
I think this would have made me laugh for about five pages if I'd read it as a teen, but I soon would have been bored out of my tree by the lack of story on kid level. The anti-hero's goals are adult goals. His commentary on the idiocy of governmental systems, etc, are just not going to make fun reading for the middle schooler, who already has to read Ben Franklin and Mark Twain (who are much funnier) in class.
I could be wrong--I'll be watching to see what kids think--but when I finished skimming this (and I skimmed faster and faster, as there were no hooks to slow me down) it was with a sense of relief.
I think this would have made me laugh for about five pages if I'd read it as a teen, but I soon would have been bored out of my tree by the lack of story on kid level. The anti-hero's goals are adult goals. His commentary on the idiocy of governmental systems, etc, are just not going to make fun reading for the middle schooler, who already has to read Ben Franklin and Mark Twain (who are much funnier) in class.
I could be wrong--I'll be watching to see what kids think--but when I finished skimming this (and I skimmed faster and faster, as there were no hooks to slow me down) it was with a sense of relief.
dayoldtea's review against another edition
5.0
This was hilarious.
The ending threw me off a bit, but the book as a whole was fantastic.
The ending threw me off a bit, but the book as a whole was fantastic.
heathercottledillon's review against another edition
4.0
The premise of this book is very interesting: 12-year-old Oliver plays dumb but is secretly a rich, scheming genius who not only controls almost everything in his own environment but also influences global economics and politics. Nearly every page made me laugh! I love the photos and the footnotes. Underneath the humor there's a more serious issue that adds some substance to the story. My only complaint is that the ending was sort of unsatisfying. I didn't feel like anything got resolved beyond the surface level. Other than that, a terrific read.
protoman21's review against another edition
3.0
This was a curious book. A boy who is a super genius, but pretends to be a simpleton decides to run for class president to impress his father. The plot was definitely amusing and I was never bored reading the book, but I had a hard time rooting for Oliver, so everything that happened didn't really mean anything in the long run. Oliver is too smart for his own good and although he does enjoy some simple pleasure, you feel like he is missing out on the true meaning of life, so the book has a sad undertone that changes the entire feel of the novel and makes it hard to take it at its face value of a funny story.
abaugher's review against another edition
3.0
For some stupid reason, when i started this book, i thought "what if he really is a total loser? what if he isn't a genius, but he makes up this fantasy world in his head to keep from feeling terrible about his life?"
so, then i had to spend the whole book trying to convince myself that he really was that smart. it was tough. i mostly felt so very very bad for this kid.
but i did like some of the jokes and pranks.
so, then i had to spend the whole book trying to convince myself that he really was that smart. it was tough. i mostly felt so very very bad for this kid.
but i did like some of the jokes and pranks.