Author: Gordon Korman
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Gordon Korman was my go-to author in grades seven and eight. I think I managed to read out his entire library… a few times… and still would go back to read my favourites years later.

It was a joy to see his name come up again when looking for books for the young readers in my classroom. He’s still pumping out books and remaining relevant after twenty years, which is not something that can be said for most authors. An inspiration for me, really.

Slacker still has the voice and style I fell in love with back in the day. It chronicles a young Cameron Boxer who spends his entire time in the basement playing video games and avoiding any responsibility. So far, pretty relatable to many of my students.

However, his life takes a turn for the worse when he almost burns down his house during one of his gaming sessions and he’s forced to show some involvement in his school. This is when the book becomes real to some of my students/turns into their nightmare come true. As one student said, “this felt a little too close to home.”

Through antics, characters and hilarity that Korman can deliver, Cameron finds himself in the midst of one situation after another that can only be solved by his complete slacker persona.

I loved jumping back into the well of my childhood and this book was a great entry into it. I’m looking forward to reading out Korman’s library again.