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Review: Slugfest

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Slugfest
By Gordon Korman
New York: Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2024. Fiction. 292 pages.

Yash is widely considered the best athlete in town. In fact, he spent his last year of junior high playing for the high school's JV teams instead of taking his normal P.E. class because the teams needed him so much.  And what's the thanks he gets? Being forced to make up his missed P.E. credit during summer school (nicknamed slugfest because the attendees are all of the unathletic kids that failed P.E. during the school year) or risking failing and having to repeat the year over. Yash even has to miss football camp and risk losing his spot on the team to attend. The tale is told from the perspectives of Yash and his fellow Slugfest schoolmates twins Stuart and Sarah (whose sole form of physical activity seems to be fighting with each other), Cleo (who's athletic but has to attend summer school because she missed so many classes when she broke her foot), Jesse (a loveable practical joker), and Kaden (who is great at academics but less great at sports). 

When Yash's spot on the team is threatened by a new quarterback, he and his Slugfest classmates decide to enter in to the city-wide seven-on-seven football tournament to prove that Yash is the man for the job. Can Yash and his team of outcasts keep from embarrassing themselves against real football teams? You'll have to read to find out.

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