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Klass, David
8 Reviews
(3)
YA
Jack Logan, son of a football legend in a sports-obsessed school, chooses his own path as captain of a C-level "slackers" soccer team. When a video of his team's flubs goes viral, the "lovable losers of Muscles High" must adjust to fame and adoration. Engaging characters and a fast-paced plot provide humorous commentary on sports culture, while the child/adult struggles add depth.
Reviewer: Carrie Harasimowicz Sullivan
(3)
YA
Freshman Daniel is a pretty average rookie on a high-school chess team made up of mostly attractive overachievers. He is (rightly) surprised to be invited to a father-son tournament, until he discovers that his father was a teenage grandmaster. Daniel's growth over the course of the weekend is well developed and his relationship with his father is complex, creating a fulfilling read.
Reviewer: Sian Gaetano
(4)
YA
Told through the blogs of soccer star/high school journalist Carla and quarterback Jerry, the cautionary novel delves into the challenges of sports injuries. Carla reveals her own injury struggles then investigates and exposes issues surrounding contact sports and head injuries. The sports physiology and concussion information is engaging and thought-provoking, but the blogging format with stream-of-consciousness writing may wear readers down.
Reviewer: Carrie Harasimowicz Sullivan
(2)
YA
Ketchvar, a snail-like organism, is on a mission to find a suitable home for his people. Earth will do, but all humans have to be eliminated. To study the planet and determine the worthiness of its inhabitants, Ketchvar inhabits the brain of fourteen-year-old Tom Filber. Klass's novel, with its twists and turns and many changes of setting, hits the spot for plot-driven readers.
Reviewer: Betty Carter
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
March, 2010
(4)
YA
Caretaker Trilogy series.
In this final installment of the trilogy, time-traveling Jack saves the future from global warming--and magical mutants--once again; maybe this time it will stick. Plentiful action and amped-up teen angst keep the pages turning, but the fantasy elements and holes in the time-travel logic undermine Klass's own (vociferously stated) message about the dangers of climate change.
Reviewer: Claire E. Gross
(4)
YA
Caretaker Trilogy series.
Jack is plunged into unwanted adventure after learning that he is a prince from the future, a prophesied "beacon of hope" who will save the planet from ecological ruin. Despite stereotypically bombshell female characters and distractingly fragmented prose, the heady mix of high-impact action, breakneck chase scenes, thoughtful environmentalism, and life-or-death trust issues builds to a startling conclusion.
Reviewer: Claire E. Gross
(2)
YA
Klass excells with a funny, likable hero caught in an agonzing situation. Joe, captain of the soccer team, is able to handle himself in a fight, but he's a bit backward in the romance department. Antonio, a soccer "Phenom" about to turn the high school's losing soccer season around, is also an arrogant s.o.b., who steals Joe's would-be girlfriend. Readers will be rooting for Joe to pull through, which he does, time and again.
Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 2003
(2)
YA
Reading John's monologues is like standing on shifting ground--why is his house not a house, inhabited by "the man who is not my father"? Compared to the way it ought to be, John's life--getting "WHOPPED" by his mom's abusive boyfriend, getting dumped by the divine Gloria--is not a life, but his self-deprecating, fatalistic commentary turns it into poignant black comedy.
Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2001
8 reviews
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