About Average

By: Andrew Clements

Narrated by: Celia Keenan-Bolger

Can average be amazing? The bestselling author of Frindle shows that with a little kindness, it can.

Jordan Johnston is average. Not short, not tall. Not plump, not slim. Not gifted, not flunking out. Even her shoe size is average. She’s ordinary for her school, for her town, for even the whole wide world, it seems.

Then Marlea Harkins, one of the most popular girls in school—and most definitely the meanest—does something unthinkable, and suddenly nice, average Jordan isn’t thinking average thoughts anymore. She wants to get Marlea back! But what’s the best way to beat a bully? Could it be with kindness?

Called “a genius of gentle, high concept tales set in suburban middle school” by The New York Times, bestselling author Andrew Clements presents a compelling story of the greatest achievement possible—self-acceptance.

Moving and Uplifting

The story of Jordan, a young girl who believes she is not special, and her discovery of the power she has within makes for a tale both inspirational and nail-biting. It would be too much of a spoiler to reveal how Jordan comes to believe in herself, but suffice it to say the plot takes striking twists and turns before this excellent book reaches its excellent conclusion. The book started out somewhat slow but quickly gained momentum. Highly recommended!

About Average is below average for author Clements

I believe Andrew Clements' Frindle, his first book released in 1985. is his best children's book ever. About Average, a 2012 release, is a sweet story with an excellent lesson, but this multiple award winning author has written many better children's stories.The protagonist is 12 year old Jordan Johnston who is about average in every way until she becomes very special in a unique way. Although I award About Average 4 stars, there are so many 5 star books for the 10 12 age range that I cannot recommend it over the many better ones.

Ouch! Not a good fit! Less than Average

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No. Maybe the printed version but not this audio book. This is certainly not the worst title in my library but it just doesn't sway me like it should. I love kids books and this just doesn't do it.

About Average is about a girl who is bullied in school and while she doesn't excel at anything in school for anyone to take notice, she does eventually save the day. The narration is too husky, too grown up, too angry, too weird to think I am listening to a kid. I had a hard time switching between characters when the voice just didn't change enough.

I wonder if the narrator had been Ariadne Meyers or Jessica Almasy if this title would have won me over. A know Ariadne would have been wonderful here. She is delightful to listen to (Bras and Broomsticks by Sarah Mlynowski).

Would you be willing to try another one of Celia Keenan-Bolger’s performances?

Not yet. Maybe never. Ok, fine. Maybe if the characters were much older, but not kids, not tweens, and not teens.

Any additional comments?

This whole story began and I sat looking at my player wondering if I had a download that had been compromised by aliens, it was wrong from the start. I did not listen to a sample of this book because I have read other Andrew Clements books before, and listened to a few titles. This one just did not cut it. I hate reviewing with a low score because I get something from nearly every book I read, this one didn't offend me like a few adult books but it certainly did not make me giggle. It requires a good belly laugh for to be a good book in my opinion.