Reviews

Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom by Louis Sachar

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rochelleah1's review

5.0

This is the first and only Wayside book I first read as an adult (so no nostalgia) and it still tickled. Great stories for kids. So funny.

I'm a little torn in my reaction to this novel. On the one hand: it's good quirky fun, with author Louis Sachar seamlessly slipping into his old rhythms a full twenty-five years after the last Wayside School book. I have fond childhood memories of the original series, and I was surprised by how much came flooding back throughout this unexpected sequel. (The therapist who hypnotizes students with a pickle on a chain! The nineteenth floor that doesn't exist! Sachar writing himself into the story as a janitor!) I'm sure there are subtler callbacks that went over my head too, especially since I didn't take the time to reread the first three volumes when I heard this one was coming out.

On the other hand: I don't think this project ever really justifies why it exists, like there was any burning need for a Wayside revival so long after the fact. I also don't feel as though the latest bunch of vignettes is quite as entertaining as those before -- although that could easily be because I'm an older fuddy-duddy now and/or viewing what I remember of last century's trilogy with rose-colored glasses. I'm rounding my rating up a tad, under the assumption that anyone in the right age range to love the previous titles will probably enjoy this latest as well.

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peppermary's review

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lighthearted fast-paced

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

shakgraph's review against another edition

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4.0

What a book!

kfont42's review

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

5.0

For being written so long after the original books, you would never guess. The characters and tone are the same. My son and I laughed a few times throughout.