The Perfect Score by Rob BuyeaMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Question before my actual review. For some unknown reason, my local library has this book and the third one, but not the second. How important is it to read the second book before the third one? Sometimes you are okay doing that, and sometimes not. Inquiring minds want to know. Also, why does a library skip books when purchasing a series?
Anyways…enough of the small town problems.
I have read the Mr. Terupt series by Rob Buyea, but I have to admit, when I picked this book up, I didn’t even know it was the same author. It was the cover that drew me in. You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, that’s true, but this cover messed with my mind. It really looks like someone decided to draw on it, which forced me to pick it up and investigate further. The fact that you can actually feel the indents where the test bubbles are filled in is a nice touch, especially for those of us that like the small details.
The Perfect Score is a great book to show kids that there is more to a person than what they may first see. While first impressions are important, when you really take the time to get to know someone, you may find commonalities that you missed at first glance. The characters grow and develop not necessarily because their own situation is changing, but because they are becoming more aware of the world around them.
There are important messages for adults in this book as well. The world is so focused on test scores and achieving great and marvelous things, that very few people stop to notice that test scores are not actually a measure of greatness. You can’t base the quality of anyone on some arbitrary you make them take. The principal in the book is so worried about the kids making the grade, that he doesn’t see the kids for who they are or the great people they are turning into.
Is school important? Yes, but the person you become is more important than any grade you could ever receive, and this book shows that. By the end of the book, no one is excusing the actions of the students, but they also realize that the kids had a point. A score on a test should not take precedence over everything else. Sometimes it takes a bunch of kids to point the adults in the right direction.
Author: Rob Buyea
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: October 3rd 2017
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