Review By: Anonymous
Published: 2024
Genres: Middle Grade, Sports, Realistic Fiction, Humor, Friendship
Audience: Grades 5–8
Goodreads Link: Slugfest
Content Warnings: None
Publisher’s Summary
Yash is the best athlete at Robinette Middle School. So good, in fact, that he’s already been playing on the high school’s JV sports teams. Imagine his shock when he learns that his JV practices have kept him from earning a state-mandated credit for eighth-grade PE. To graduate, he has to take **Physical Education Equivalency—PEE—**which is also known as “Slugfest,” in summer school.
At Slugfest, Yash meets a crew of misfits: Kaden, an academic superstar who is physically hopeless; twins Sarah and Stuart, who are too busy fighting each other to play; Jesse, a prankster; Arabella, who protests everything; and Cleo, a natural athlete who has sworn off sports. Their “coach” is Mrs. Tamara Finnerty, a retired home-ec teacher whose idea of physical education is… unconventional. Yash just wants his credit, but he soon discovers that his fellow “slugs” and their teacher are hiding surprises that might change everything.
Review
Imagine The Breakfast Club personalities reluctantly attending a summer school gym class, and you would have a pretty good idea of the character dynamics found in Slugfest. The attendees of “PEE” (Physical Education Equivalency) are known as “slugs,” and they represent a wide cross-section of middle school life.
Yash, the school’s “sports god,” is the most frustrated of the bunch. He missed his PE credit because he was too busy playing junior varsity sports—a cruel irony! The class is run by Mrs. Finnerty, a middle school home-economics teacher who eventually wins the students over with her incredible culinary treats.
Each chapter is told from alternating perspectives, allowing Gordon Korman to develop each character’s personality effectively. As the story progresses, the characters learn that there is much more beneath the surface than their stereotypes suggest. While I didn’t rate this quite as highly as Korman’s other hits like Restart or The Unteachables, it remains a humorous and entertaining read. It is a solid addition to any middle school library, especially for students who enjoy sports-themed stories with a focus on unlikely friendships.
