A Year in the Life of a Complete and Total Genius
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3.7 • 3 Ratings
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
A Year in the Life of a Complete and Total Genius is a humorously heartbreaking tale of a boy coming to grips with the death of his mother, and a father who just can't cope.
Arthur Bean is a genius—it's just that no one else realizes this quite yet. He's going to be a world-famous author, and the first step is to win this year's story-writing contest. What he writes is pretty funny, but it gets him into trouble too.
Like with his English teacher.
And the school newspaper advisor.
And cool girl Kennedy.
And Arthur's number one nemesis, Robbie Zack.
But all great authors spark controversy, so Arthur's not too concerned. Through letters, email exchanges, "SEE ME" notes and doodles, enter the funny, touching, and often mixed-up mind of Arthur Bean, creative genius.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Arthur Bean, a highly self-confident Canadian seventh grader, chronicles his school year through entries in his reading journal, email exchanges, and writing assignments in this humorous coming-of-age novel, Matson's debut. Arthur hopes to kick off his career as a famous author by winning a citywide contest for young writers, but he is stumped for actual ideas. Meanwhile, Arthur's teacher forces him to tutor his nemesis, Robbie. As the boys come to understand each other, Arthur sees that Robbie has some excellent story ideas underneath his poor grammar skills, though both boys have a crush on Arthur's writing partner, Kennedy. Underlying these familiar middle-school dramas is Arthur's grief over the recent death of his mother. Kennedy's exuberant personality shines through her LOL-dotted, exclamation-point-laden emails, while Arthur's writing makes plain his prickly brand of egotism ("Of course, there were a few poems that stood out in the sea of banality," reads his review of an eighth-grade poetry reading). Arthur may finish the year as persnickety and opinionated as he started, but he also learns a few things about compassion, open-mindedness, and fairness. Ages 10 up.
