ALA Booklist (Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

Benny Alvarez can't help being contrary. He thinks asking questions and expressing his opinions are important to his learning process, and he comes from a long line of arguers: his grandfather, his father, and even his wild little brother, Crash. His ability to debate someone to death even makes him an occasional classroom hero, like when he became the first boy to stand up to know-it-all Claudine in fifth grade. Now in seventh, Benny counts Claudine as his archenemy, though he has confusingly started blushing around her. Their rivalry reaches a new level during a boys-against-girls poetry competition, where Benny doesn't feel his usual confidence. With his friends pointing out his tendency toward emotional tone deafness, he is able to see a different side to Claudine, especially when he discovers her beloved dog is sick. Johnson relates Benny's age-appropriate struggles with humor and understanding. Benny is an appealing narrator: smart, spirited, and caring, but often bewildered by strong emotions. Gentle realism perfect for middle schoolers.

Horn Book

A classroom poetry contest pits "wordsmith" and contrarian Benny against his accidental rival, Claudine, and "polarize[s] the seventh grade." Benny's grandfather's stroke and Claudine's dog's death unite the two. Fart jokes and wordplay coexist, sometimes uncomfortably, in Benny's first-person narration, and Benny alternately seems surprisingly young and wise beyond his years. Still, Johnson creates a goodhearted, realistically complex middle-school character.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Seventh-grader Benny Alvarez is known for a few things: a negative attitude that his mother keeps trying to change; the Word Warriors, a group he started with his two best friends to use and decipher obscure and unfamiliar words; and a rivalry with his smart and bossy classmate Claudine. But lately whenever Benny looks at Claudine, he can-t help but notice how her eyes sparkle. Just as confusing as these contradictory emotions is the way Benny-s grandfather-s health has deteriorated after his stroke, not to mention the poetry unit in his English class, which turns into a battle of poems between Benny and Claudine. This slice-of-life novel portrays Benny and his entertaining family and friends with just the right balance of angst and humor; Benny-s narration is a spot-on mix of the sharp wisdom and utter befuddlement that can result when hormones come into play. Johnson (The Amazing Adventures of John Smith, Jr. AKA Houdini) gives a strong sense of the fears and joys that come with being a 13-year-old-boy working to make sense of the way his life, friends, and family are changing. Ages 8-12. (July)

School Library Journal (Thu May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

Gr 6-8 In seventh grade, Benny is a contrarian, someone who consistently sees "the glass half empty." His younger brother Crash is as quirky and hyperactive as they come, while Benny's dad, a retired teacher, is known to be a bit unusual. Grandpa Alvarez has suffered several strokes and his health continues to decline. Benny, along with best friends, Jocko and Beanie, is deeply interested in wordstheir definitions and synonyms. When their teacher announces a new poetry unit, the girls in the class claim verse and rhyming, while the boys sit on the prose side. Benny's crush, the redhead Claudine, is a lover of poetry, which Benny hopes to use to his advantage. Family relationships and dynamics are entertaining at timesparticularly Crash's ability to get his way—while Benny's negative outlook and the serious health problems suffered by Grandpa cast a gloomy seriousness to parts of the story. What remains is a solid foray into middle school with a kid whose first-person narrative reveals a potential leader and a surprisingly sensitive point of view.— Carol A. Edwards, Denver Public Library, CO