The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

Tommy is a kid with a problem. He needs to find out if his super-freak classmate, Dwight's, origami Yoda can really predict the future. He seems to have given excellent advice to other kids, but Tommy's friend Harvy insists that Yoda's wise powers can all be explained away. After all, it's Dwight who controls Yoda - what can this kid possibly know? But part of Tommy wonders - could origami Yoda be for real? He needs to know the answer ASAP because Yoda has given him some advice that he's terrified to follow. If Yoda is right, then everything will be perfect. But if he's wrong it will mean certain humiliation. What's a kid to do?

I have to say, this was one awesome little book. Middle-schoolers are a real challenge to capture correctly in books, and author Tom Angleberger does a great job of creating interesting, believable characters. Dwight, the dopy kid who creats Yoda, is especially well-drawn. He's a kid who's truly strange. Everyone knows it, everyone makes fun of it, and there's no denying even to the adult reader that this kid is weird. But you can't help but love him anyway, especially as the book goes on and you realize that not everyone will just write him off because of his eccentricities.

The hardest part of creating a great middle-grade novel is capturing the "in between-ness" of the middle-school mind. Some kids at this age think that they're on top of the world, while some are struggling to get by. Some are huge and/or hugely popular, and some flounder along at these other kids' mercy. It's sometimes tempting for authors to generalize and age middle-school kids either too much or too little - as either full-fledged grown-up teens or still little kids - but Angleberger has done a good job of finding the right balance between the two.

But enough critique. This book is a ton of fun to read. It's funny and it makes you think. It'll definitely put a smile on your face. Besides, who doesn't love Yoda? And who doesn't love a book about a good weird kid? After all Diary of a Wimpy Kid proved that millions of middle-grade readers love weird kids. Just like DoaWK, The Strange Case of Origami Yoda will find a readership with kids of various ages and genders who just want a good, fun story - no fuss, no muss - and it will keep readership because of it's awesome quality of writing and characterization.

Overall Grade: A+