Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Extra Credit by Tommy Greenwald

In this second adventure of Charlie Joe, the 6th grader finds himself in trouble with his parents. If he doesn't get his grades up they will send him to a reading summer camp. Charlie Joe decides that the only way to get his grades high enough is to do extra credit.  Of course, when you are asking for extra credit, you have to do whatever the teacher assigns, and his teachers put him in some pretty hilarious situations.  In the end his amazing people skills pull him through. This book is mostly about preteen relationships.  Charlie Joe has to work on his relationships with his teachers, but there is also a lot of relationship drama with his friend group, with pre-adolescent crushes and jealousy.  I really liked the first book in the series Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading. I liked this one as well, except for one thing that kind of ruined it for me. Twice in the book, Charlie Joe hits another kid in the groin with first a ball and then an apple.  Of course, the victim doubles over in pain and everyone else laughs.  But in real life, no kid should hit another kid in the groin, and it is not funny.  If someone is trying to hurt you, or kidnap you, sure, go for the groin, but it is no way to deal with someone just because they are being a jerk. In the book, Charlie Joe does suffer consequences because of his action, but not like what would really happen if someone did that in my son's school.  It wouldn't be a reprimand and grade issue, oh no.  The police would be called in and there would be suspension and maybe a trip to juvi court.  So, if you give this book to anyone you care about, make sure they understand how things really work in that respect. (265 p)