I Want to Go Home!

Rating:
Summary: Best Childrens Book EVER!!!
Review: I first came across this book in the 6th grade, when my teacher read it to our class.. It kept our attention, it moved along swiftly and was the funniest book ever. I remembered it years later and when i had the chance to come across it in used book stores I bought it, to this day (I'm almost 27 right now!) I still find it one of the best books i've ever gotten to read. I just finished reading it again for the zillionth time and i don't mind admitting i loved it even more. I realize people think it's silly for an adult to read such a book but i have to tell you that the story of Rudy Miller and Mike Webster (and who could forget Harold Greene?) at camp tickles my funny bone even now.

If you get the chance, don't let this one pass you by.

Rating:
Summary: A laugh for all ages!
Review: I've been reading, re-reading, and giving away Gordon Korman's hilarious books for fifteen years. I read them aloud to my 65-year-old mother and she laughs out loud. My young nieces and nephew, living in a small American base in South America, report that when the news gets around that a new Gordon Korman book has arrived from the States, it is immediately "borrowed" and makes the rounds, returning sometimes months later. I've had to buy second and third copies of some titles for myself because the ones I lent out mysteriously "disappeared." They're all entertaining, but "I Want to Go Home" is the hands-down, all-time favorite. Everyone can identify with Rudy, the kid who through no fault of his own is "guided" to summer camp. We've all been forced to play games which did not interest us and show group spirit for a group we didn't want to be part of. We've resented being told what to do and "wanted to go home"...only to realize, often, that if we did go home there would be nothing to do there. We've known shrewd people like Pierre who treat kids with respect and get respect in return, boneheads like Chip who try to throw their weight around and get nothing but resistance, and people who are far out of the loop entirely, like vague, pompous, pathetic Mr. Warden. In the end, everyone gets what he deserves, and the situations Rudy and his friends create for themselves are very, very funny. I hope this book is reprinted soon; in the meantime, if you're lucky enough to find a copy, read it and laugh, read it again and laugh again, and hang on to it!

Rating:
Summary: A CLASSIC!
Review: My cousin first introduced me to this book about 10 years ago, and I must say, I've been coming to her for good-reading suggestions ever since. When my brother was about nine, nobody could get him to come within ten feet of a book if it wasn't necessary for school. I finally came up with the idea of reading "I Want to Go Home!" to him. (I didn't dream of making him read it on his own.) Well, every night for the next couple of weeks, the sound of ringing laughter could be heard coming from his bedroom at night. After we were about halfway through, I was in for a surprise -- he had begun reading the book on his own! He's been almost an avid reader ever since, and he still loves to re-read this family classic. (P.S. This technique -- and this book -- worked for my youngest brother, as well.) And all three of us liked camp.

Rating:
Summary: Among Korman's Best
Review: This book starts out strong and doesn't let up until the end. I can't imagine how anyone could read this book and not laugh all the way through it!

Camp Algonkian Island is every campers dream. Or so the counselors and the camp director, Mr. Warden, believe. None of them are prepared for Rudy Miller. Rudy doesn't want to be at camp; he's determined to go home and he'll do anything he has to do in order to escape 'Alcatraz' (his preferred nickname for the island) and the clones (what he calls the counselors). His counselor in Cabin 13, Chip, isn't quite sure what to do with the Rudy when he refuses to participate in all camp activites by saying he 'doesn't do them'. Chip's problems have only begun when Mike Webster joins Rudy as another camper who would prefer to be elsewhere and finds himself swept up into Rudy's somewhat dramatic, and hilarious, attempts at escape.

Between repeated escape attempts, seemingly endless punishment duty, and an ongoing feud with cabinmate Harold Green, the counselors manage to force Rudy into participation and find that not only can he DO all the things he refused to participate in, Rudy has the abilities of a natural born overachiever! He wins at every sport, game and contest that he competes in -- but he still wants to go home.

Hilarity ensues as Rudy and Mike build dams, take boats, and escape from events off the island in their attempts to get away from camp while various counselors try to bribe Rudy into playing on camp teams (thus assuring they'd win); meanwhile, Rudy is slowly driving Chip toward a nervous breakdown.

Rudy's blase attitude and dead pan humor are dead on and this book is a masterpiece. No matter your age this book will be truly enjoyable.

Rating:
Summary: Korman writes for all ages!
Review: Though Gordon Korman's books are geared toward young readers, his words hold meaning for everyone. My fifth grade teacher read us "I Want to go Home!" and I fell in love with it and purchased it for myself as a child. I still have the book, battered and torn, however I can honestly say I've probably read it over 20 times, even in adulthood! It's funny, witty, and really brings you back to the days when kids were just kids. This is especially memorable for those who ever went to summer camp themselves.