Locker Hero (The Misadventures of Max Crumbly Series #1)

by Rachel Renïe Russell

Overview

Meet Max Crumbly in this series from #1 New York Times bestselling Dork Diaries author Rachel René​e Russell!

Max Crumbly is about to face the scariest place he’s ever been: South Ridge Middle School.

There’s a lot that’s great about his new school, but there’s also one big problem—Doug, the school bully whose hobby is stuffing Max in his locker. If only Max could be like the hero in his favorite comics. Unfortunately, Max’s uncanny, almost superhuman ability to smell pizza from a block away won’t exactly save any lives or foil bad guys.

But that doesn’t mean Max won’t do his best to be the hero his school needs!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781481460019
Publisher:	Aladdin
Publication date:	06/07/2016
Series:	Misadventures of Max Crumbly Series , #1
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	58,950
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.10(d)
Lexile:	660L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Rachel Renée Russell is an attorney who prefers writing tween books to legal briefs. (Mainly because books are a lot more fun and pajamas and bunny slippers aren’t allowed in court.) Rachel lives in Chantilly, Virginia.

Read an Excerpt

The Misadventures of Max Crumbly 1
If I had SUPERPOWERS, life in middle school wouldn’t be quite so CRUDDY.

Hey, I’d NEVER miss the stupid bus again, because I’d just FLY to school! . . .



AWESOME, right? That would pretty much make ME the COOLEST kid at my school!

But I’ll let you in on a secret. Getting bombed by an angry bird is NOT cool. It’s just . . . NASTY!!



TV, comic books, and movies make all this superhero stuff look SO easy. But it ISN’T! So don’t believe the HYPE.

You CAN’T get superpowers by hanging out in a laboratory, mixing up colorful, glowing liquids that you simply DRINK. . . .


ME, MIXING UP A YUMMY SUPERPOWER SMOOTHIE

HOW do I know it doesn’t work? . . .


“OOPS!”

Let me put it this way. . . .



Even if I DID have superpowers, the very first person I’d need to rescue is . . .

MYSELF!

WHY?

Because a guy at school pulled a lousy PRANK on me.

And, unfortunately, I might be DEAD by the time you read this!

Yes, I said “DEAD.”

Okay, I’ll admit that he didn’t MEAN to kill me.

But still . . . !!

So if you’re the type who gets FREAKED OUT over this kind of stuff (or comic book cliffhangers), you probably shouldn’t read my journal. . . .



Um . . . excuse me, but are you STILL reading?!

Okay, fine! Go right ahead.

Just don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Editorial Reviews

05/30/2016
Russell returns to the journal-style format of her bestselling Dork Diaries series as she introduces a hapless, comics-loving boy named Max who recounts many of his woes while stuck inside his school locker. Featuring the same doll-like black-and-white cartooning style and lined-paper backgrounds of the Dork Diaries books, the story strikes an awkward balance between slice-of-life underdog problems and over-the-top plot developments, shifting into the latter after Max escapes his locker and attempts to live out his superhero fantasies by foiling thieves who have infiltrated the school. Unfortunately, the book's comedy is forced and often misses the mark, weighed down by tired catchphrases ("Don't get it twisted!"; "That was just wrong on so many levels!") and gross-out gags, such as when Max imagines peeing on school bully Doug "Thug" Thurston in a fight-or-flight response. Early on, Max cautions that those who don't like "comic book cliffhangers" may not want to continue, but that caveat may not prepare readers for just how unsatisfyingly and abruptly Russell concludes her story. Ages 9–13. Agent: Daniel Lazar, Writers House. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Poor Max Crumbly! Stuffed in his locker for the second time in one day! Thinking he might never get out,
Max decides to chronicle his first two weeks of eighth grade at South Ridge Middle School in his
journal—at least then there will be a record of what happened when his body is found. Coming from seven
years of homeschooling, Max dreamed of being a superhero here; instead, he’s school-bully Doug “Thug”
Thurston’s new favorite target. Luckily, Erin Madison rescued Max from his first involuntary locker
vacation, but the next time Thug strikes is after everyone has left for a three-day weekend. Enduring a few
hours of cramped conditions, Max escapes through the back of his locker, where he crawls through
ductwork, foils a robbery, and saves the school’s new computers! This wacky middle-school misadventure
will delight Wimpy Kid and Tom Gates fans, particularly with its humorous tone and illustrations.
Russell’s new series boasts a memorable character in Max Crumbly, who is capable of rivaling Dork
Diaries’ Nikki Maxwell.
HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Russell’s enormously popular Dork Diaries pushed her to the top of
the best-seller list. Expect no less from her new series.
— J. B. Petty

June 1, 2016 - Booklist

"This wacky middle-school misadventure will delight Wimpy Kid and Tom Gates fans, particularly with its humorous tone and illustrations. Russell’s new series boasts a memorable character in Max Crumbly, who is capable of rivaling Dork
Diaries’ Nikki Maxwell."

June 1, 2016 - Booklist

07/01/2016
Gr 4–6—From the creator of the "Dork Diaries" comes a new series starring a lovable new hero. Max's transition from homeschooling to public school is rocky, especially since he has asthma and an irritable bladder triggered by social anxiety. His plight deepens when a stereotypical bully, Thug, harasses Max and locks him in his locker—twice. The first time, Max is freed by his crush, Erin, and the two forge a connection. The second time, Max is stuck after school for hours. When he finally manages to escape, he discovers hidden sections of the ill-maintained school building. He also finds inept criminals stealing the school computers. With Erin's help, he manages to save the day. The character development is light, and the style is conversational. Fans of Janet Tashjian's My Life as a Book will be drawn to the journal-style format and crisp, manga-inspired line drawings. Those who enjoyed the melodramatic middle school mayhem in Chris Rylander's The Fourth Stall or Varian Johnson's The Great Greene Heist will appreciate Max's chuckle-worthy adventures. VERDICT A solid purchase for middle school libraries where "The Dork Diaries" series is popular. Max's goofy, embarrassing exploits will make this a popular and high-circulating item in most collections.—Karen Yingling, Blendon Middle School, Westerville, OH

School Library Journal

2016-05-04
This is Max Crumbly's first experience in public school, and so far he's vomited on bully Doug "Thug" Thurston, forfeited a race due to his insistent bladder, and been locked in his locker—but it's still better than home-schooling with Grandma.Humiliation's a bummer, but cute Erin Madison seems friendly, so the asthmatic, white eighth-grader perseveres. Max laboriously introduces his quirks (chiefly a preoccupation with bathroom functions, but he also likes comic books and rap), his supporting cast, and plot elements in an illustrated "journal" that's marked by many exclamation points and cross-outs. The latter can be baffling; readers will understand why Max seeks to conceal his crush on Erin from his putative audience (and himself), but why redact "I could eat a bowl of alphabet soup and POOP better lyrics!"? Pacing is uneven: the action doesn't really get underway till about the two-thirds mark, when Thug locks Max up again, this time for a long weekend, and the would-be superhero discovers three inept burglars as he tries to escape—and then the story ends on a cliffhanger. Even given its conscious nod to comic books, the plotting is implausible and the prose often painfully artless ("That's when I excitedly came up with a brilliant plan!"), making its eighth-grade authorship all too convincing.This spinoff is heavy on the poop jokes and light on almost everything else—readers expecting a boy Dork Diaries with equal nuance may be surprised. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews