The story is simple, the vocabulary easy and clear, and the length suitable for a middle grade reader who is perhaps just moving out of graphic novels or easier reads. The jokes are still funny my kids were howling with laughter as Rudy tormented his bunkmate Harold Greene, and giggling as Rudy’s literal take on instructions repeatedly frustrated the camp counsellors. I actually appreciated the attempt to keep up with ever-changing technology and pop culture when I compared this new edition against the 2004 copy, “portable music player” was replacing the word “CD player” (which I bet was replacing the word “Walkman”!) and references to Bobby Fischer, Beckham, and Donovan Bailey were replaced with Magnus Carlsen, Messi, and Usain Bolt. Aside from one reference to a “portable music player,” the book feels timeless it could just as soon be taking place in 2021 as 1981. There is a reason why even Gordon Korman’s earliest books are still occupying library shelves across the country. What if it doesn’t hold up? What if, with all the progress we’ve made in the last few decades, this cherished childhood tale has become another book that requires me to verbally edit on the fly as I read it aloud to my kids? An explanation was included: the book is 40 years old and needs a 2021 review. Initially, I was completely baffled as to why the third most-read Gordon Korman book of my childhood (after Who is Bugs Potter? and Go Jump in the Pool!, for those who were wondering) was coming to me for a review. He comes up with scheme after scheme, earning himself and Mike lots of work detail while making enemies of his counsellors and bunkmates-and accidentally setting in motion a plan to flood the entire camp! Despite excelling at the various sports, crafts, and activities, the ever-sarcastic and stubborn Rudy is determined to participate in as few of the camp activities as possible. In Gordon Korman’s I Want to Go Home, unhappy camper Rudy Miller drags his new friend Mike Webster along on a series of escapades as he tries to escape from summer camp.

I want to go home book gordon korman