Scan barcode
lelandco's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Medical content, and Death of parent
mama7301's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
The idea of this book was not bad, but the character development was just not there. I feel like the book should have been longer in order for me to care more. It wasn’t very believable at the very end, and the ending was abrupt.
libbytx's review
4.0
Short and sweet. I was really happy with the book. Definitely reminded me of "Eleanor and Park" by Rainbow Rowell, just a bit darker and more... real.
shinesalot's review
2.0
So, Mr. 60% gets about a 60% from me or as I like to say, it was "meh." The plot had potential: Matt, who is getting by in school with 60's in every class, basically stays in school just to sell drugs so he can support the medical needs of his dying uncle. There is very little character development and there are no interesting plot twists. He makes a friend, Amanda, an unpopular overweight girl , who helps him nurse Uncle Jack until his death, which, sadly adds very little to the story.
The book is very short and is written in a way that is goes quickly. So, it isn't a bad book for reluctant readers - Matt is a jerk who deals drugs and is at odds with teachers - a character that probably more than a few of our students may find interesting to read about. The end ties up nicely, with Matt having a close call with the law and veering towards making some better choices for his future.
The book is very short and is written in a way that is goes quickly. So, it isn't a bad book for reluctant readers - Matt is a jerk who deals drugs and is at odds with teachers - a character that probably more than a few of our students may find interesting to read about. The end ties up nicely, with Matt having a close call with the law and veering towards making some better choices for his future.
keico's review
3.0
The ending was so abrupt and unsatisfying. I thought I'd skipped a page or two, but no that was indeed the ending.
library_ann's review
4.0
I don't even know how to describe this book. I don't know how this even caught my eye, but here I am.
Matt's life is in tatters, and he is barely keeping it together. He does just enough get by in his high school classes ("D is for diploma", amirite?), and he has to deal drugs on the side to get money for his uncle's cancer medicine. So he's a hood with a heart of gold. And then Amanda, another student, comes into his life. There is no romance, but she wants to be a nurse, and for a while she helps to make Matt's life a little less chaotic. Matt's desperation, and later his grief, make him a complete jerk.
A telling scene is after his uncle's death, he goes to the school guidance counselor, and admits that he wants to finish high school, even after learning that it will require summer school. The counselor remarks that Matt has never said he wanted anything before -- because anything that he could have wanted earlier would have been impossible. Want uncle to get better. Want to have loving parents. He had to get through all this crisis and trauma before he could think of his own future.
Anyway, there's a reconciliation at the end, and a light at the end of the tunnel, and Matt's life might be making a turn for the better, and I was all choked up as I read it.
Matt's life is in tatters, and he is barely keeping it together. He does just enough get by in his high school classes ("D is for diploma", amirite?), and he has to deal drugs on the side to get money for his uncle's cancer medicine. So he's a hood with a heart of gold. And then Amanda, another student, comes into his life. There is no romance, but she wants to be a nurse, and for a while she helps to make Matt's life a little less chaotic. Matt's desperation, and later his grief, make him a complete jerk.
A telling scene is after his uncle's death, he goes to the school guidance counselor, and admits that he wants to finish high school, even after learning that it will require summer school. The counselor remarks that Matt has never said he wanted anything before -- because anything that he could have wanted earlier would have been impossible. Want uncle to get better. Want to have loving parents. He had to get through all this crisis and trauma before he could think of his own future.
Anyway, there's a reconciliation at the end, and a light at the end of the tunnel, and Matt's life might be making a turn for the better, and I was all choked up as I read it.
sandrareilly513's review
4.0
Meet Matt, aka "Mr. 60%", a nickname earned thanks to just-passing grades and Matt’s habit of doing the bare minimum both academically and socially to graduate high school. The only time he engages in conversation is when he's completing a "transaction" with a classmate. Instead, he spends his time looking for more creative places to stash his "merchandise" at school so when his nemesis, the vice principal, and the on-campus cop conduct random drug searches, they turn up nada. Everyone thinks Matt is destined to be a high school dropout, yet what they don't know is that Matt feels like he has no other choice -- he's only selling drugs to pay for medicine to help ease his uncle's pain in the wake of a fatal cancer diagnosis. With his mother in jail, his dad never having been in the picture, and living in trailer #6 at the local trailer park with his dying uncle, Matt has limited options and no one to turn to. When the school board develops a new policy requiring seniors to participate in at least one student activity club in order to graduate, Matt is forced to see he's not as alone as he thought. There just might be a friend he can lean on when times get unbearable.
THOUGHTS: Mr. 60% reminds adult readers, educators especially, that our children are more than what we see on the surface, and reminds teen readers that they’re not alone, that a classmate passing them in the hallway might have it worse than they do. Despite its somber tone and overwhelming sense of helplessness readers may feel for Matt, there is still a note of hope throughout the story: the fellow classmate whose offer of friendship helps her just as much as it helps Matt and his uncle, the guidance counselor willing to try over and over again to offer Matt options to help him graduate even though he doesn’t seem to appreciate it, the police officer who keeps trying to warn Matt of his impending future should he not change his drug-dealing ways, among others. My only complaint is the abrupt ending -- the conclusion needed at least one more chapter to feel complete. Teens and adults alike will appreciate the realistic characters and the how real Matt’s life is portrayed, and the short length is perfect for reluctant readers. Recommended for grades 9 and up.
THOUGHTS: Mr. 60% reminds adult readers, educators especially, that our children are more than what we see on the surface, and reminds teen readers that they’re not alone, that a classmate passing them in the hallway might have it worse than they do. Despite its somber tone and overwhelming sense of helplessness readers may feel for Matt, there is still a note of hope throughout the story: the fellow classmate whose offer of friendship helps her just as much as it helps Matt and his uncle, the guidance counselor willing to try over and over again to offer Matt options to help him graduate even though he doesn’t seem to appreciate it, the police officer who keeps trying to warn Matt of his impending future should he not change his drug-dealing ways, among others. My only complaint is the abrupt ending -- the conclusion needed at least one more chapter to feel complete. Teens and adults alike will appreciate the realistic characters and the how real Matt’s life is portrayed, and the short length is perfect for reluctant readers. Recommended for grades 9 and up.