How Lunchbox Jones saved me from robots, traitors, and Missy the Cruel

Luke Abbott loves video games. It's basically all he does with his free time. That is until he's forced to sign up for the Forest Shade Middle School Robotics Team. Forest Shade Middle School has never won anything - their sports teams are terrible but is their hope for the Rallying Robo-Raccoons?

The team is comprised of a cast of characters from a kid who has pockets full of sunflower seeds, a girl who does everything with her feet, and boys that are twins but aren't (I don't know a better way to explain it). Oh yeah, and Lunchbox Jones. The meanest bully at school.

What I loved about this book is that you think it's going to be a story about a kid learning to love robotics, but it's so much more than that. There is another storyline where Luke's brother is leaving for boot camp in a few short months and Luke is having a terrible time with it. So much so that he actually refuses to even acknowledge his brother. Throughout the story, he kid of warms up to him again and once he finally shares his feelings with hi parents, his relationship with his brother gets better.

I also loved the dialogue in the book. Luke seems like a kid that couldn't care less about other people but it turns out that he really cares a lot. He rallies his team together and gets them to the tournament even after everyone quits. He joins forces with the kid he is most afraid of and they make it happen. He even comes to the realization that he's friends with these kids - kids he didn't want anything to do with in the beginning.

Reading this book made me wish that I had been into robotics when I was in school. It wasn't that I thought it was weird or nerdy (I'm so nerdy it's not funny) but it was because I didn't think I would understand how to do it. This book made me realize that I can't do a lot of things until I try and practice. And besides, the chances of me maiming the school principal like Luke did are pretty slim, right?

I gave this book 4/5 stars.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I have never read a book by Jennifer Brown so I wasn't sure what it would be like. I expected it to be fun and light hearted, but wasn't prepared for how heart warming it was. The main character, Luke, is such a lovable character. One of my pet peeves in middle grade novels is when the “bad guy” gets what is coming to him, but this book doesn't fall into that trap. Luke learns that even those who aren't kind usually have their reasons and hard things they are going through. What a surprisingly lovely book!