Reviews

The Perfect Score by Rob Buyea

mindfullibrarian's review against another edition

4.0

Middle grade students in grades 4-6 will love this book, but teachers will ADORE it.

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy - all opinions are my own.

Buyea's Mr. Terupt series is incredibly popular with my students in grades 4 - 6, and I guarantee that this title will be as well. The differing narrators provide a wide range of perspectives and enable virtually every kid to be able to relate to someone in the story due to the diversity of characters. I almost have to review this in 2 ways, though ~ once from the perspective of a middle grade reader and once as a teacher. As I already stated, middle grade readers will love the readability of the text and the nature of the story. My almost-12-year-old read this in one evening and LOVED it - she claims it's even better than the Terupt series. That seals the kid review - no more from me on that.

As for teachers, this is one we cheer for. Standardized testing can be completely overwhelming in some districts (thankfully not mine!) and THE PERFECT SCORE exposes the inanity of the obsession on scores and performance on an arbitrary measure. The teachers are who we aspire to be in the classroom, and the students' descriptions of Mrs. Woods make this school librarian almost weep with happiness. Teachers will rally behind this book, and I hope that it becomes an instant read aloud hit.

Highly recommended for purchase for classrooms and libraries grades 4-6. Students in grades 7 and 8 may definitely appreciate the storyline but may also shy away from reading characters definitively younger than they are.

mrexroat's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book gets the highest rating I could give because I enjoyed it a lot. I really like how it ended, because it closed the story but there was still more that could be written for the next book. In this book, Natalie, Gavin, Randi, Trevor, and Scott's school are preparing for the CSA's. When they come up with an idea on how to do well, things start to go wrong. I like all the different perspectives of this book.

brenna_reads_books's review against another edition

4.0

I really liked this book, though not as much as the Mr. Terupt trilogy by the same author. It was harder to relate to this book as I did to Because of Mr. Terupt. I still strongly recommend this book!

joeymcwhiteboy1's review

slow-paced

5.0

gohawks's review against another edition

4.0

If books can teach children empathy, this one is a good, albeit obvious, example. This is one of the better Golden Sower nominees for the 2019 awards. Buyea demonstrates that, unlike some of the others, this isn't his first middle grade novel.

ldblick12's review against another edition

2.0

This book was the student book club pick at the school where I work so I thought I would try it. Not my genre, enough said.

canadawithoutthec's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a fun read, good if you're looking for something quick and entertaining. I loved all the characters, and the plotline was fairly interesting as well. It also got a bit emotional towards the end, which added some nice depth to it. Overall, a great book. 

soccer29's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

sillymilly14's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book was great. I loved Gavin. I also struggle with reading and you know, he’s pretty relatable to someone like me. Scott was such a vibe, and Natalie is fantastic. So excited for book 2!

hlp72604's review against another edition

5.0

I remember loving this book. This is one of the books I really remember loving! Great characters and I hope it helps more kids love to read. A great read aloud to use a teacher or with your kids