[Raymond Jardine]

Welcome to the Kormaniacs Book Club—HYPERGIFTED edition.

All Gordon Korman fans are welcome. Lurkers, superfans, first-timers—you’re in. Jump in anytime.

How it works:

• One chapter per day: March 1–April 1. We move together, one chapter at a time. (When the calendar flips, go for it. No official whistle required.)
• Share the good stuff: Talk about what grabbed you—favorite scenes, quotes, characters, wild theories. But: No need to recap the entire chapter.
• Ask questions: Wondering about something? Ask it. (You never know… Gordon Korman might even chime in.)
• No spoilers: None. Zero. You can always discuss any past chapters. Do not hint at anything from future chapters. (Offenders revealing spoilers will be sentenced to an eternity of award-winning novels about dead dogs.)
• Be kind: To each other. To new readers. To wildly misinterpreted plot developments.

 

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 1: Hypergraduate (Donovan Curtis)

The story jumps right into the universe of the “Gifted” series—we see Heavy Metal and several of the Academy for Scholastic Distinction students as they’re graduating middle school. We get to see Noah’s mini-meltdown from the perspective of less-than-genius Donovan. And we’re immediately drawn into a new situation for Noah and Donovan as they find out they’re going to college. To college?!?

I recently reread UNGIFTED and SUPERGIFTED to get back into the “Gifted” mindset. So it’s no surprise to see HYPERGIFTED is written in multiple-POV. Like the other books, we'll see this story from a lot of vantage points. The cover nicely matches the first two books in the series. Makes me wonder: How will a robot feature in this story?

This one is starting out fun!

[Fiona(Fii)🤪]

Chapter 1:
Well I like how Heavy Metal hands out the diplomas to everyone, I think it's a nice touch!

Anyways, wow, it makes sense that they want to send Noah to college but if I were him, I would also really not want to go! It would be super hard being a middle school age kid in college, I bet the students there will take advantage of him because he's kinda immature, and not the best at social skills. That's just a guess! And he picked a good friend to come to college with him or at least live with him for the summer. Donovan is a good choice because he is normal and knows how to handle himself in the real world better than some of the gifted students.

I sort of feel bad for Donovan because he has to give up his summer, but I bet he will end up having a lot of fun!

I like the cover too, and is there something to do with pigs and honey badgers and other animals?? And maybe going to court? Because the robot has stickers on it... Well, I'll have to find out I guess🤷‍♀️

[Josh]

There is something very odd about a kid being graduated against his will and without prior consultation. But this does stick with a theme that appears in some of his other books, of school simply being a necessary stop without educational value. What\'s funny is that this feeling is presented from the perspective of the school. I think particularly of The Unteachables, where Mr. Kermit talks about how the principle sees middle school as just a holding place for the kids until they can be sent to high school and become someone else\'s problem. Here too, we find that Noah is treated as a problem and the school system is all too glad to foist him on someone else. This is particularly strange in a school system that values gifted students as much as this one does, giving them sushi and whatnot. 

The same sentiment does show up in other books from the perspective of kids, which seems more natural. I\'m thinking of characters like Darryl in Schooled or Nelson in Jake Reinvented, who look at school as something to be endured with no real value. This doesn\'t appear in the earliest books, where even a character like Bruno seems to value education. You\'d think that those books, written when GK was still in school, would be where you\'d find the strongest anti-school sentiment. 

[Owen]

Fiona that is my favorite part too when Heavy Metal hands the diplomas. I don’t know why Donovon does’nt want to go to college with Noah it is alot more fun to go to a new place instead of sitting on a couch all summer playing videogames. Fiona I did’nt know there are stickers on the robot but now I looked and that is funny I wonder why. I did not read the entire book yet so maybe it says later in the book.

I like in Noah’s chapter he is not excited about collage but he is excited to have Donovan with him he really seems to think Donovan is a great cool guy except a waffle maker is a funny thing to bring like Noah says he does’nt even have waffle mix.

[Raymond Jardine]

Quick comment before I look at today’s chapter: Did everyone notice the book’s dedication? If not, go and check it out!

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Chapter 2: Hypermisfit (Noah Youkilis)

I remember every year when I was young, for the first month or so of a new school year, there were bountiful elderberry shrubs growing along the path I walked to get to my elementary school. My friends and I would grab a handful of the berries and eat them as we walked—which I later found out was ill advised, since they are toxic until cooked. I hope Noah’s genetically modified strain eliminates the toxins.

Noah seems surprisingly chill about college life—and about how unchill Donovan is. @Fii, I think you’re spot-on that choosing Donovan as his “plus-one” will be key to Noah’s college experience. In Chapter 2, Noah starts to see himself as less of an oddity on the Wilderton campus and recognizes that Donovan is uncharacteristically out of his element. Beyond that role reversal, it’s a huge step for socially oblivious Noah to recognize this at all. (I’ll credit his increased awareness to his YouTube exposure.)

But Donovan isn’t completely off his game. I noticed he played the Adam Webb to Noah’s Bugs Potter—helping his earnest but oblivious friend escape the college student he’d just informed was lucky to have a lower IQ. I’ll be fascinated to see if Donovan continues as the smoother-over.

@Owen, I’m with you—a summer at college sounds way more fun than being stuck at home with nothing but a game controller. And like you, I missed the stickers on Heavy Metal (good eye, @Fii!). They’ve got to mean something. And I predict that waffle iron will become a vital tool later in the story.

@Josh, I can already tell you are going to spark some intense thinking about earlier GRK stories and how HYPERGIFTED compares and contrasts. Interesting take on schools/administrators/teachers seeing students as problems to squelch rather than as minds to mold. Asher and Shira of “Zucchini Warriors Podcast” fame have noted that in early GRK books protagonists—no matter how “too cool for school” or rebellious—lived by an ethos of unimpeachable honesty. Alongside that honesty was usually a desire to please adults and to live up to expectations. You’re right—that doesn’t seem to motivate Darryl or Nelson or some of GRK’s more recent baddies.

[Kormaniac Daniel]

Hi everyone!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

@Raymond Jardine: Of Course I did

@Owen: I agree- a summer at college might mean reading books like GK's or a author that has the same style (Likely none GK's is to good but may be close)

This is a short summary that I made of Chapter 2-

Noah begins his transition to, unable to bear with the social pressure of being a "hypermisfit" and desiring a normal life. To aid his adjustment, the school let's him bring Donovan. And Noah attempts to gain social integration by joining the exclusive Society of the Gavel.

 

[Jade]

How\'d I already miss it? Agh!

Chapter 1:

I would be SO mad if I was Donovan! I would not want to go to college over the summer. The whole ceremony was hilarious though. Noah is seriously a clutz. The premise of this story is super interesting though. 13 year olds in college? I feel like middle graders are going to EAT THIS UP. I\'m sad I wont see the rest of the cool characters throughout the book though.

Chapter 2:

The school seems pretty boring. I love how Noah hyperfixated on this Society of the Gavel thing in 0.2 seconds. That\'s such a Noah move. I wonder how he\'s going to figure this out. Donovan and his reactions are so real. Everybody needs to stop ignoring him! Also, I would hate having to get a JOB

[Josh]

What's the deal with Chekhov's waffle iron? 

[Raymond Jardine]

I'll post later about Chapter 3 but I had to pause to acknowledge @Josh's eloquence. 

Cookware like that sure leaves an impression. You just know someone's going to feel the heat, then get pressed for answers! 

(And for anyone wondering about the reference check out this Wikipedia article (ß that's a link).)

[Owen]

Kormanic Daniel do you think Donovon reads Gordon Kormon books you also said author that has the same style who do you mean does he write books with another author?

Some of you talked about the society of the gavel in yesterdays chapter but its in chapter 3. Dean is’nt being really nice to Donovon he only talks to Noah on the tour he does'nt talk to Donovon. Is Wilderton University a real University and what state is it in?

[Korman Junkie]

Too bad this didn't start easrlier; i already read the whole book!

[Kormaniac Daniel]

@Korman Junkie I did too

@Owen Donovan might you would have to ask GK and what I meant was Donovan might have stumbled across someone who isn't as good as GK but has his style. And I agree Dean Kendrick was not kind to Donovan likely because Donovan wasn't really wanted by President Aberfoyle and Noah was the one with the 206 IQ. Wilderton was a university made by GK so not real but one day it might be!

--Kormaniac Daniel--

[Kormaniac Daniel]

In chapter 3 Dean Kendrick gave Noah and Donovan a tour turns out  he doesn\'t even know how Noah looks like even though he gave him (well partly did) a full scholarship.Noah gets really interested in the Gavelers.

[Raymond Jardine]

Oops! Looks like hyperlinks may be disabled on The Forum. What I tried to post earlier (replying to @Josh) was a link to Wikipedia’s “Chekhov’s Gun.” I would update the Wikipedia page to indicate the literary device is “also known as Chekhov’s Waffle Iron” but I’d like to keep my editing privileges.

Before I jump into Chapter 3, a few notes on yesterday’s Chapter 2 posts:

• Like @Owen, I got a little turned around by the secret society mentions. But after reading Chapter 3, it makes a lot more sense.


• @Kormanic Daniel: Your concise chapter recaps are tight. Interesting take on Donovan’s reading choices. If I had to guess his favorite GRK book, I’d put money on the Nose Pickers series. Or maybe WHATSHISFACE.


• @Jade: I do not believe your “I would not want to go to college over the summer” claim. Not even for a second.  😉  You’re the type who’d show up early to lit class, ask a million questions about story and technique, and then write into the night. I agree, though—it’s a bummer we probably won’t see the other gifted classmates from the first two books.

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Chapter 3: Hyperpiggy (Donovan Curtis)

If I ever get the chance to have Elon Musk sign something, it will be page 21 of HYPERGIFTED, where he is grouped with Shakespeare and Einstein as an epitome of genius. (Unrelated note: If you ever get invited to a rousing game of GRK Bingo, pick a card with “Shakespeare” on it. It’s basically the free square.)

Donovan hasn’t yet said the word “clones” yet, but he seems to view Wilderton’s bewhiskered male student population the way Rudy saw the Camp Algonkian counselors.

Dean Kendrick feels like a classic Kormanian adult—over the moon about representing his school but not adept at dealing with kids—and extremely impressed with himself.

I’m starting to wonder if Noah will end up giving us Ferguson Peach in LOSING JOE’S PLACE vibes as he gets a taste of independence.

• @Owen: The Dean definitely isn’t trying to recruit Donovan to Wilderton, is he?


• @Korman Junkie AKA Sasquatshhh: If you’ve already read the book, you’re in the enviable position of rereading it and really contemplating it chapter-by-chapter along with the Book Club. (It’s a feature, not a flaw.)

 

 

[Owen]

Thank you Kormanic Daniel I thought Wilderton was a real collage so we could know what state this story is in. Raymond Jardine why would Elon Musk sign your book it would be better to have Gordon Korman sign your book. Raina seems too young to be in charge of a team at the explorersprogram I think some of the camp kids are almost as old as her. Baloney is such a funny name for the team name but liver and onions would have been even more funny. Is Mr. Artherpod joking or does he hate everybody I really can’t tell?

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 4: Hyperbaloney (Raina Overbrook)

13-year-old Raina is a conscientious young woman. Case in point: lamenting Arthropod’s lack of punctuality when he was “fifty minutes late for being half an hour early." So far, I really like this new addition to the “Gifted” character set.

I initially wondered if Arthur Podborski would resemble his I WANT TO GO HOME camp director namesake Arthur Warden—but his instruction (“My advice: Don’t need me.”) sounds an awful lot like executive tour director Charlie Butcher, who also had "only one rule" for his counselors in NO COINS, PLEASE. (@Owen, I'm not sure about "hate"--my take is he doesn't have a warm spot in his heart for the next generation.) And Team Baloney is pretty much as wonderfully ridiculous as Team Ambulance.

Having Victor the Underestimator on the team sets up a whole bookful of potential potty humor. “All right, guys. Let’s take a bathroom break.”

[Josh]

There is definitely a NO COINS PLEASE vibe in this chapter. You could argue back and forth between Baloney v.s. Ambulance, they are both inspired names, and both were inspired by offhand snark from counselors. 

While the obvious parallel is between Charlie Butcher and Arthur Podborski, I want to point out that in UNGIFTED we get a similar stance from Dr. Schultz and his "no screwups" policy. I guess that type of character is a natural foil for Donovan. However, more than Schultz or Butcher, I think the real parallel for Podborski would be Mr. Morentz, advisor for Kidsview in RADIO FIFTH GRADE. Sadly, we do not find out if Podborski has read Vampire Slave Monsters of the Planet Garafraxa.

In terms of Victor, one recalls a certain conversation between Dennis and Rob:

"Come on, Dennis!" Rob exclaimed. "You talk like we're driving cabbages here. These are kids. They get stomach aches, they get lonely, they throw up, they cry, they wet their beds!" (No Coins Please, 3) 

The comparisons with No COINS PLEASE just - ahem - flow forth. 

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 5: Hypersmitten (Noah Youkilis)

When Noah Youkilis falls in love, he falls fast. I can’t wait to meet that Harley-riding competition for Arlene Pulaski’s affection. I would bet on Noah twice: against Gator and against the Society of the Gavel.

I love that AI has entered the picture—feels super on-brand for 2026.

@Josh: Yes to the NCP references. And that may be the first time I’ve encountered a callback comparison to Mr. Morentz—nice.

[Owen]

I have to do 5 and 6 I was not in the media center. The girl that Noah likes s alot older she will not leave her boy friend for him. How will Noah get the gavel society if he has to use AI it is going to be hard to get people from gavel society to see it. No one wrote about the kid Jalen where was he all the time everyone was looking for him?Donovon thinks he is such a great kid but he ran away and now he does’nt want to tell where he went when they were looking. You keep talking about No Coins please that is not a book I have ever even seen. I will read 2 more chapters over the weekend I will not be in the media center until next week.

[Kormaniac Daniel]

Chapter 5

Noah starts working on a complicated artificial intelligence program called AIDAN. While the college students struggle in class, Noah easily understands everything.

---

Chapter 6

Donovan struggles with his camp responsibilities but slowly bonds with the kids. His practical thinking helps him handle situations better than some of the older college students.

 

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 6: Hyperpanic (Donovan Curtis)

Donovan’s perception of the luxurious freedoms of college life—no bedtime, potato chips in bed—comports perfectly with around a third of the population of my dorm when I was in college (back in the caveman era).

A year ago in the SLUGFEST edition of the Kormaniacs Book Club (here: https://gordonkorman.com/forum?t=23967), I listed all the GRK books I know of that riff on toilets. The warning from JoJo the RA not to flush a grapefruit down the toilet adds to the throne count.

For those keeping track:

• Shakespeare: CHECK!


• Toilet(s): CHECK!

@Owen: I’m guessing you’re right about Arlene, and I bet Noah’s Gavel Society gambit will be central to HYPERGIFTED. And great question about Jalen and where he disappeared to. If you get a chance to read NO COINS, PLEASE, I guarantee you’ll find some similarities between Jalen and Artie, at least insofar as escaping his counselors and then acting aloof and unconcerned when questioned about his whereabouts. We’ll miss you this weekend and look forward to your observations early next week.

@Kormaniac Daniel: Your AI summary might be off by a couple of chapters—I don’t think we’ve been introduced to AIDAN yet. What stands out to YOU about what’s going on? I know you’ve read a lot of GRK—how does HYPERGIFTED compare so far? What's the funniest thing that's happened? 

 

 

[Josh]

Do you think GRK puts these references in as a tip of the hat to us old fans? That\'s how I like to imagine it. The grapefruit thing is amazing. I loved the callback when it came up in OPERATION DO-OVER, which itself was a reference to Academy Blues in MACDONALD HALL GOES HOLLYWOOD. Which, in turn, was a reframing of the plot of I WANT TO GO HOME, in terms of messing up the plumbing and everyone having to go home. I do question whether the radius of your average grapefruit would make it into a standard toilet, though. 

It brings to mind the classic photograph by Trudy Helfield, Perseverance of Citrus, \"an extreme close-up shot of a crushed grapefruit.\" In Trudy\'s words, \"I was taking a picture of this pushcart downtown, and some Toyota rammed right into it. What a mess. Have you ever seen a banana make contact with a brick wall at thirty miles an hour? Anyhow, this grapefruit\'s rolling down the street, dodging all the cars like it\'s going out of style, and I\'m thinking, What courage! Bus comes out of nowhere -- wow! This is all that\'s left.\" (DON\'T CARE HIGH, page 71-72). Who can even imaging how Trudy would document (and title!) the grapefruit once they pulled it out of a toilet. 

I think Jalen is even better at obfuscating than Artie was. Although, it\'s a sign of the times that the counselors immediately discount the possibility of using physical violence to force Jalen to reveal his destination. Rob and Dennis, on the other hand, had the following conversation in 1984: 

\"Now, while we\'re still good and mad let\'s do a number of Artie!\"

\"We can\'t do a number on Artie,\" said Dennis. \"If we\'re going to understand him we have to analyse his personality traits.\" 

\"I have a better idea,\" said Rob grimly. \"You hold him and I\'ll hit him. Then we\'ll switch. How\'s that for analysis?\" 

\"Rob!\" Dennis was horrified. \"He\'s only a little kid!\"

\"Oh? Of course you remember that these kids are men. So Artie is a man. Yes, a very sick man.\" (NO COINS, PLEASE, page 67) 

But I wonder, if team Baloney is the Ambulance, who in HYPERGIFTED are the Road Hogs? 

Author's Note: Back in the 1980's, a grapefruit was stuffed down a toilet in Weinstein Hall at NYU. It created a blockage of colossal proportions, and resulted in a sign which read:  "THE   (name of dorm boss) MEMORIAL FACILITY. NO CITRUS, PLEASE." A seriously memorable event.                 --GK--

 

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 7: Hypercrushing (Noah Youkilis)

I looked up Noah’s figure on marine life—“approximately three-point-five trillion fish on Earth”—because it sounded made-up. I really should stop doubting Noah (and, by extension, GRK). I wonder if Noah has a poster of a Pacific salmon. I hear they’re popular in dorm rooms.

Noah’s summer is shaping up nicely: crushing problems (literally) and early victories (AIDAN wasted no time identifying a couple of Gavelers). Both are almost guaranteed to produce heart trouble—heartache and heartburn—before we’re through summer at Wilderton.

@GRK: I hope the Stink Tank Think Tank’s supplementary report gave ample consideration to scatological citrus experiments.

@Josh: My guess is a few of the Easter Eggs are intentional, most are simply authorial voice and long-running reference points, and a fair number exist only in the minds of readers determined to find symbolism and callbacks in every sentence. (I include myself proudly in that last category.) Trudy Helfield now holds the record for the most obscure character reference in a Kormaniacs Book Club. Well played. I suspect MG authors today have a tighter leash—in the form of publisher and parental oversight—than they did in the 1970s-‘80s. Beyond the casually implied slapstick violence in NCP, Rob and Dennis’s actual mission in that book is essentially the cross-country caravan version of pink blazing. I wouldn’t expect that from a contemporary release.

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 8: Hyperboring (Darius Marshall)

Noah is bold when he’s on a mission. And apparently Darius Marshall is both devious and manipulative. Looks like Darius’s summer just got less boring, while Noah just got demoted to housemaid.

@Josh: There can be no argument that Darius’s frat—Gamma Kappa—is an Easter Egg. I’d probably have named it ΓΡΚ (Gamma Rho Kappa), but I appreciate it either way (and I suspect Bill McIntosh—that teenaged author celebrated for creating the evil Lord Nodrog and the great star Ecinreb—would appreciate it as well).

[Josh]

@Raymond - that's a good catch, one that hadn't occurred to me. These are things that one misses with the audio books, perhaps. 

Is what Darius and Ed do to Noah immoral? My feeling is yes, since they are lying to him and then taking advantage of him, costing him time and money. However, despite repeated assurance, I don't think we can be completely certain that they are not actually Gavelers. If Gavelers aren't allowed to reveal themselves, then perhaps both Darius and Ed are Gavelers, and they can't even tell one another. If so, maybe this is a legitimate initiation? The question becomes, how much do we trust that AIDAN works? 

If I had to pick another Korman book that goes with this chapter, it would be SON OF THE MOB: THE HOLLYWOOD HUSTLE. They also have a weird dorm scenario going on there. There is also a side narrative of pledging for a fraternity. 

One final question: Do you think The Committee can be classified as a secret society? 

[Owen]

Are we doing chapter 9 today that is as far as I got to read this weeke nd.. Noah was on a ladder cleaning leaves and Jalen escaped again Raina is going to be stress all summer when he escapes. In chapater 7 is AIDAN something from an old book? It seems like every time therres a name like that it’s a joke. In chapter 8 Darious is not being nice when he pretends to be in the Gaveler but I can’t believe Noah is falling for it  Josh I don’t think its immortal they are just playing a joke on him it might not be nice but they are’nt hurting him at all. What is the easter egg in Gamma Kappa what book is that from? I am writing all the books you guys talk about I want to read all of Gordon Korman books so far I have 11 Hyper Gifted is 12 I know the media center has more than 35 and I can borrow 5 this summer if I want 

[Jade]

Hey, it’s me again, and I’m really excited. This isn’t strictly related to the book club, but I’m going to be going to TomeCon tomorrow and see Gord! I hope to see you guys there, and possibly in any of the other sessions! I met a cool guy at Gord’s popup in Decatur, GA last year and hope to see him again.

 

Anyways, HYPERGIFTED.

 

Chapter 3: I think I skipped ahead a little bit and talked about this when I meant to go on about chapter 2. Basically, Donovan doesn’t get any attention (WEIRD!!) but it was nice to see Noah have some attention, I suppose. It was super annoying having the Dean wax poetic on how smart Noah was. I mean, I get it, but we’ve been with Noah for around three books now. But Noah being overly excited to meet the beautiful Porquette (great name, by the way) was a bit hilarious. 

 

Chapter 4: I don’t like this Raina chick. I mean, she’s cool, and she seems very individual, and she seems smart. But I don’t like how uptight she is about keeping the rules and she makes it everyone else’s problem, being condescending and all. I know she’s going to be interesting though.

 

Chapter 5: Noah watering the elderberries is the perfect way to start the chapter. It’s also pretty hilarious seeing Noah get to know this girl and have a crush on her. Her name is… Arlene! Pretty name. But it would make me super sad if the girl I had a crush on had a boyfriend, too. But I agree with Owen. What makes Noah think Arlene is going to leave her cool motorcycle-riding boyfriend for a what, 13 year old? While she’s 17/18 at the minimum? That’s kind of illegal. I don’t want Arlene to catch a case. Anyways, something cool about this class that Noah’s in is that it’s focused on AI. I love that. Not AI, it can be pretty harmful, but it’s a cool topic and I can’t wait to see more of it in the rest of the book.

 

Chapter 6: I would be so angry if my parents were sending me updates from their vacation without me while I’m rotting away as a babysitter to evil little kids cramped in a dorm room with my eccentric friend. It’s funny that they went to the Louvre though and saw the Mona Lisa, especially after the things that happened there in 2025. @Gord, love the notice and the fun facts you provided. I can’t believe a single orange did that to the entire system, but then again, oranges can be pretty huge. Especially navel oranges. Those look yucky. Anyways, I relate to JoJo so much! I think of JoJo Siwa, but something interesting is that I agree with the college students. I would be so done with hearing about Noah as well if my Dean was losing his mind yapping about how smart he was. 206 IQ. Cool. It’s really funny that the kids love Donovan more than Raina, and I get that. He’s cooler. But oh my goodness. The whole debacle with Jalen? The next time I saw him, things would get ugly. I know the leader was like, leave me alone, but I would have the kid kicked out if I could. I don’t care who his grandpa is, his old man could be the President! Kid’s adorable though. Mr. Arthropod is an excellent name, by the way. Reminds me of the Purple people in MASTERMINDS. Anyways, really enjoyed the sequence looking for Jalen; I hope it doesn’t happen again.

 

Chapter 7: This one is great. I really enjoyed how Donovan joked about not packing manure, that made me laugh. I do love how the AI is really coming into play and we are actively seeing how AIDAN (which is an excellent name!) gave Noah the first tip on how to join the Gavelers? Who are these people? What is this society going to be like?

 

Chapter 8: So far, this is definitely my favorite chapter. I love Darius. I love Eddie. I love how AIDAN decided that those two frat bros are actually the most illustrious people on campus. “A giant yawn” is a great way to describe a college campus over the summer. No parties. No cool people. Just him and Eddie. I love how Noah came in, Darius was super confused, and then he had a Yourika (or should I say Youkilis) moment where he realized they could totally exploit this kid if they just kept up with whatever hoo-ha he was going on about. I can’t believe Noah fell for it, but I can totally believe it, since it’s Noah.

 

Chapter 9: Today! Yay! I’m not really sure what’s been happening in this chapter. Maybe a bit of filler? It’s Raina again, and that’s chill, and I like how she’s getting more used to Donovan now. I sure hope this isn’t a Chloe situation where she becomes a love interest. (Though I wouldn’t be too mad… haha!) I find it hilarious that Donovan somewhat passed by Noah cleaning the gutters/roof/something and almost getting himself killed, probably. All the little kids following along like baby ducklings is cute as well. And, of course, lo and behold, Jalen disappears again. Where do you all think he went?

[Josh]

Chapter Nine, or as I like to think of it, the most memorable pig scene since the Flying Fish flew away (in BEWARE THE FISH). I find the discussion held next to the pig pen, about whether baloney contains pig, to be a nice touch. For someone who grew up not being able to eat most marshmallows because of their gelatin content (making them not kosher), I find the conversation ironic, because they are having it while feeding the pig something made from pig bones. Where I live we make our marshmallows AND our baloney without pig.

Noah is doing the most ridiculous thing since he set off carrying a folding chair to reenact a wrestling video in SUPERGIFTED, and Jalen disappears again while the kids are on their way to play another group (in Ogallala?) 

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 9: Hyperhelper (Raina Overbrook)

Donovan doesn’t even have to do anything new to irritate Raina. Just the kid campers’ love for “Baloney”—and their baby-duckling devotion to the CIT—is enough to peeve the head counselor. But he is the best conduit to that legendary Noah Youkilis, so he’s not entirely useless in Raina's calculations. 

And c’mon, Jalen—what could possibly be so much better somewhere else than hanging with your Baloney posse?
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@Owen and @Josh: Immoral? Good question. Like you said, Owen, Darius's initiation acts aren’t really so bad (pledging/hazing can be way worse!). But pretending to be a Gaveler is definitely deceptive. Josh, it crossed my mind that one or the other of the elder dormmates might be in the secret society and just playing dumb—but it doesn’t seem like they both are in it without knowing about the other. Having a double-blind brotherhood would get messy fast.

@Owen: Good instinct on “AIDAN.” I’m not recalling any AIDANs from earlier GRK books other than Aidan Rankin, one of the brothers aboard the ship in TITANIC. But it wouldn’t surprise me if the name of Noah’s AI program figures into the story later. Gamma Kappa shares initials with the man this website is named after.   😉   And reading all of Gordon Korman is a brilliant goal. Unless you have a genius friend inviting you to Camp Wilderton, summer break should have lots of time for reading. You should practice your negotiation skills to see if you can borrow five Gordon Korman series instead of five individual books. 

@Jade: Yourika/Youkilis Moment got a good chuckle. Yay for TomeCon—you’ll have to report back on what you learn in GRK’s keynote.

@Josh: GRK runs a committee-driven universe. So, your association with “The Committee” (I’m guessing decidedly anti-Wizzle in nature) and my association (a certain resume-building role focused on student social services) might differ from the committees other Kormaniacs have in mind. Sorry to everyone for the length of the following exhaustive list of what I know about Kormanian committees (but I’m not trimming a word):

• The first I can recall came in the form of Cathy and Diane and their fellow Miss Scimmage’s Finishing School inmates, who arrived unbidden in THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING AT MACDONALD HALL as the Good Samaritan Committee garden clean-up rescue crew.


• There was a meeting of an unofficial committee of Macdonald Hall students in GO JUMP IN THE POOL!, wherein Bruno (who had “obviously appointed himself chairman”) waxed eloquent on “the darkest hour in the history of Macdonald Hall!” (Boots explained their sorry state was because “York Academy has a pool and we don’t.”)


• Then, a similar lunch-table committee convened in BEWARE THE FISH!, when Bruno, believing the school might soon be put on the auction block, announced that “Macdonald Hall is in trouble.”


• Boots is reluctant about the Anti-Dress-Code Committee—later renamed the Anti-Wizzle Committee, and later still simply The Committee, and finally The Coalition—but Bruno opines that “as long as there’s a Macdonald Hall, there’s always a committee!”


• The principal’s PA announcements in DON’T CARE HIGH once lamented “a shortage of volunteers for the committee to go out and buy the championship trophy” for the Chess Club (which was also suffering a shortage, of course).


• Raymond, the titular pressure-tested trash sack in A SEMESTER IN THE LIFE OF A GARBAGE BAG, believed the Student Social Activities Planning Committee (also known in at least one instance as the Student Social Activities Organizing Committee) will look great on his and Delancey’s student records.


• Speaking of exaggerated (or entirely made-up) high school organizing committee participation used to impress others: Simon—the SON OF INTERFLUX himself—told Wendy, “I was vice-president of my last school and I worked on the organizing committee for the school clubs, and I was chairman for prom night, and I organized rallies for the football team, and –”


• Beverly Busby uses the Chess Club and the Event Committee as examples that “usually the name of a club tells what it is” in THE TWINKIE SQUAD.


• MAXX COMEDY was replete with committees—Sydni Cox declines an invitation from Max because she received a refreshment committee assignment; a lunchroom committee was an agenda item on the PTA/student council meeting’s “topics of discussion [that] could not have been more unfunny”; and the chief judge at “The Funniest Kid in America” contest said “the whole committee made copies” of Max’s performance (because “it’s the funniest bit I’ve ever seen”).


• In SON OF THE MOB, Vince’s buddy Alex “knows a guy on the [Homecoming] committee” and uses that contact to access the King and Queen vote tallies.


• Then, in that side narrative you mentioned in SON OF THE MOB: HOLLYWOOD HUSTLE, when Vince is less than enthused about pledging Lambda Chi fraternity, he decides his roommate Trey should perform the pledge committee’s challenge.


• A committee in SCHOOLED was tasked with Halloween Dance decorations.


• The Homecoming committee in POP tried to take control of Charlie Popovich.


• Gecko in THE JUVIE THREE is unconcerned about an imminent beatdown from a couple of “lunkheads,” knowing it won’t be “anything approaching what the welcoming committee in juvie is capable of.”


• Ms. Dunleavy in MASTERMINDS: PAYBACK refers to the Osiris committee when explaining Eli’s origin story.

To Raymond Jardine:

I stand here -- metaphorically -- hat in hand! If only there was a "Most Dedicated Reader Committee!"                      --GK--

[Owen]

The pig food is made from pig bones Is that true Josh? Yuck. Jade where is the Tomecon is that a virtual book club Do you need to be invited? If its in school hours I cant go though. Raymond that is so many committes do you just remember the books? I liked how Jalen can get away and come back and Donovon and Raina wonder where he was and it was nice for him to say nice about them to Mr. Arthropod that problaly kept them from getting int otrouble. They spent the whole chapter searching for Jalen and all the other kids think it’s a contest and they are winning points but I want to know what will they think when they find out?

[Josh]

Chapter 10: 

Jalen disappears, and returns. While the natural parallel is to Artie in NO COINS PLEASE,  I want to give some love to Rudy Miller, who spent many a day at camp obfuscating his whereabouts in I WANT TO GO HOME. At least Jalen didn't show up with a salette.

The moment Jalen pulled toothpicks out of his pocket, I knew what he had been up doing. I did question my logic - it made no sense! Why would an eight-year-old be doing that? But I was remained confident. This is what toothpicks mean in this universe, whether one prefers to "fling the horizontals" (A SEMESTER IN THE LIFE OF A GARBAGE BAG) or get hopped up on an experimental cold medicine mixed with citric acid (BEWARE THE FISH). Personally, I'd rather use leftover fillet mignon and Ritz crackers. 

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 10: Hyperjailbreak (Donovan Curtis)

Donovan’s attempt to spin the disappearing-Jalen situation to a worried Raina—“He isn’t missing. He just doesn’t happen to be here right now.” makes me think this underachiever needs to run for office. That's politician-level doublespeak. And following up with “You have to look at it from the good-news-bad-news standpoint. We’ve already had the bad news—he’s gone.”  is a masterclass in downplay: creating a false equivalence between the observed “bad news” and the purely theoretical “good news.” He may be 13, but he’s ready for a press conference.

(Easter Egg watch—anyone else see it?: “So it just came to me—a way to swap all those little lies for a single big huge one…. So, believe it or not, Delancey, we’re pretty cool here.”)

But let’s not forget Jalen. Even Donovan has to bow to a younger, brighter obfuscator. “I could learn from this kid!” And agreed, @Owen: It’s hard to stay mad at Jalen when he's singing his counselors’ praises while schmoozing with Arthropod.

Wordplay is my love language, and I'm a shameless fan of nicknames, so both “Jailbreak Jalen” and the forfeit/for fit misdirection absolutely deliver. And good for you, Manny, for scolding Raina “for not speaking clearly enough.” (Note: I’ll be watching the rest of the story closely to determine whether “Manny” is thus named because he’s super-competitive and patronizing. Maybe “Manny” is short for Mansplainer.)

Calling Raina “Rihanna”—ha! The name slip-up doesn’t make Jalen a “Rude Boy,” but it does indicate Raina isn’t the “Only Girl (In the World).” Still no solid clue what Jalen’s getting up to when he disappears. But toothpicks?!? It remains to be seen whether there’s an Easter Egg to be hunted (@Josh, no spoilers if you know!), but toothpicks are for sure a dog whistle to anyone who’s read the Korman Classics. I’m stoked that Donovan’s ending thoughts for Chapter 10 are nudging HYPERGIFTED into full-on mystery territory.

[Owen]

What are the tooth picks is that from another book? Noah is so smart and he thinks his AIDAN thing picked two Gaverlers guys but it seems like they are not really from Gaveler why would they make him do all that stuff and no way that  he can build a deck isn’t he really small and weak?He cant even hold the hammer and he dents the golfcar. Too bad for his elder berries plants but it stops without saying who cut the elder berries plantds down.

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 11: Hyperextended (Noah Youkilis)

“… the complete works of Shakespeare…”  ☑ ☑

I hope Noah didn’t lose an ally in C.T. with the golf cart’s dented hood.

We agree on this, @Noah: “… a terrifying pair of dark eyes squinted up at me” is kind of an unfair cliffhanger for someone who’s committed not to read ahead! Are you doing one chapter per day, too?

[Raymond Jardine]

Oops! That last comment was supposed to be @Owen.

[Josh]

I didn't have much to comment about chapter 11, but woah boy, I have what to say about chapter 12. There are some things in this chapter that make no sense, and I have a theory why. Somehow, Porkette is under their window, like Cathy lurking outside room 306. And somehow, she has decimated Noah's elderberry bushes (like Cathy, booby trapping Scrimmage's garden?). How did Porkette get loose? Why did she come specifically to their dorm room? Why is Noah so guilt-ridden? (Why doesn't he realize that even non-modified elderberries are bad for pigs?) Why is he 100% convinced that the way he altered the elderberries was going to kill the pig, despite zero evidence? It just makes very little sense. 

Here is my theory: in a previous chapter Noah and Donovan had discussed how the elderberries needed fertilizer. In an earlier draft of the story, I bet Noah had acted on this diagnosis and set out to bring Porkette to his elderberry bushes in order to fertilize them. This would explain how Porkette escaped, why she came to their window, and why Noah felt so responsible. For whatever reason, this got edited out, and a bunch of other stuff modified to make the plot work. But maybe I'm overthinking it all. 

Donovan remarks in one scene that "Even out in the open, Porkette didn't smell like a bouquet of roses." One would presume that after pigging out on Noah's crops, she smelt of elderberries. No word, however, if her father was a hamster. 

This chapter, and this plot, cannot help but bring to mind the hijinks of another pair of Korman characters who concealed a contraband creature. That's right, we're talking about GRK #001, when Bruno and Boots kidnapping Myrtle. And for now I will say no more. I should note that also in THIS CAN'T Be HAPPENING AT MACDONALD HALL we get a dorm room bathtub filled with creatures that limit the ability of the protagonist to use the facilities.

[Kormaniac Daniel]

Hi guys!

In the chapter Noah and Donovan poison the Porkette.

 

Mr. Korman by any chance could you contact Scholastic to ask if they could sell This Can't Be Happening At MacDonald Hall #1?

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 12: Hyperpoisonous (Donovan Curtis)

The perspective transition from Noah in Chapter 11 to Donovan here had some overlap, with Donovan’s phone call with Raina bridging the shift. Maybe that happens regularly and I’m not watching for it, but I feel like most chapters start with a big pull back from the action and then the reader gets reintroduced to the story from a more obviously different viewpoint.

@Josh: If I’m following your train of thought, you think elements of an earlier version of the HYPERGIFTED story—rewritten or removed before the final draft—had Noah doing something that made him responsible for Porquette’s appearance at the elderberries, but her eating them was an unintended consequence. That is definitely a hot take and I love the out-of-the-box deductions. Good memory on the Macdonald Hall bathtub and the limitations it placed on the dorm mates; I hadn't made that connection.

@Kormaniac Daniel: Glad to see you again. Hope you can share some fun observations on HYPERGIFTED.

Aside to Komaniac Daniel,

THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING AT MACDONALD HALL is just about to celebrate its 50th birthday. I'm sure it will be reissued, and I know they're even turning it into a graphic novel. Thanks for asking.                                       --GK--

[Josh]

@Raymond - that's my theory, in any case. 

Exciting news about THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING AT MACDONALD HALL. One of my kids drew a graphic novel version of SCHOOLED for a book report a few years ago. 

Chapter 13 - The Gamma Kappa folk decide to kidnap another school's mascot using hockey equipment. See my previous post about Myrtle. Does using hockey equipment as generic safety gear raise the Canadian content rating of this novel into an acceptable range? 

When the boys are breaking into Pershing Union (General Pershing being a WWI U.S. General), they head straight for the football team field house and instigate "beef," though perhaps it would be more accurate in this case to call it "pork." (Instigating beef being the funniest and most inspired line in OPERATION DO-OVER). The Gamma Kappa brothers casually mention that they prank P.U. by dressing the Pershing statue in a prom dress, joining other classic statue-dressing pranks: putting overalls on the Saskatoon statue of Sir David Kilgour (DON'T CARE HIGH) and scuba gear on the  statue of Sir John A. MacDonald (SOMETHING FISHY AT MACDONALD HALL). Extra points for the mention of rain on Founder's Day, which recalls the original epilogue of THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING and the rain on visitor's day at Camp Algonkian Island (I WANT TO GO HOME). 

Finally, I would like to highlight the descriptions of P.U. as "A two-bit reform school full of backstabbers and jerks" and "A worthless, third-rate school for losers." As a Michigan grad, I had to double-check that this hadn't been written about Ohio State University. Which is to say, it does a good job at capturing the vitriolic feeling between university football rivals. 

[Owen]

I have to do 2 todaay. Noone mentioned all the Balony kids are so upset about the pig and Raina is upset about the pig but Donovon says he does’nt know where she is but then he almost tells. Darious is mad about the pig even if he thinks the collage is not so great and he is so mad about pee-yeu I cant believe he made Noah steal their honey badger that is the most dangerous animal . Theres a video that shows how dangerous. Gordon KormanI want to see the graphic novel when will that be out?

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 13: Hyperfierce (Darius Marshall)

Darius has a lot to say—I think this has been the longest chapter so far. And what a scene—firecrackers and a car chase and Noah suited up as a hockey player.

Speaking of sports, I wonder how many teams from the Cropland Conference will get into the NCAA Tourney this year. Beyond the automatic bid, obviously. I’m pulling for Wilderton. Fine swine!

I’m interested in others' thoughts on the “are you there, God” aside (it’s on page 116 of the hardcover, in the second paragraph of the chapter). Beyond recognizing it as a Judy Blume reference, what is it signifying? Is that Darius basically saying “from my own lips to God’s ears” about his chances of graduating?

The build-up to the big reveal of Pershing Union’s mascot was masterful. And I should have guessed it wouldn’t be something tame: While “Wild”erton has a Porquette so stinky you need to pinch your nose, Pee-Yew has a truly WILD team mascot. Hyperfierce, for sure.

@Owen: You’re right, it is kinda funny that Darius doesn’t seem to care much for Wilderton’s sports but is passionate about the team mascot.

@Josh: You are, as always, a fount of knowledge and insights on the Kormanian universe. I’d caught the dressing-the-statue callback but had never considered the big-day rain coincidence in TCBHAMH and IWTGH. Nice. And you called out two of the best laugh lines of the chapter with the P.U. / Pee-Yew putdowns.

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 14: Hyperpajamas (Noah Youkilis)

We reach the halfway point of HYPERGIFTED—by page count, though not by chapters—and it’s a bit of a housekeeping update from Noah. We see Porquette still confined and causing some worry but at least she’s maintained her appetite. Who doesn’t like a nice flaky French baguette? We find out Donovan is suspicious of Darius and Edward, and that Noah has 100 percent faith in AIDAN’s 99.7 percent probability in determining the two Gamma Kappa brothers as Gavelers. Maybe most importantly, we finally get an explanation for Noah’s obsession with the Society of the Gavel.

[Josh]

Chapter 15: The highlight of this chapter for me was the ham sandwich conversation, which is a topic we raised earlier in the book club. 

I enjoy how the author likes to reference well-known scientists in his work. Here we have Fibonacci, but in OPERATION DO-OVER we had Tycho Brache, and who can forget the hit single, Euclid is Putrid, in BEWARE THE FISH. It's fun that there are little drops of knowledge sprinkled through the books. 

@Raymond: regarding the Judy Blume reference, I can remember at least one other instance where this comes up, in SCHOOLED. Sophie desperately wants to dates some guy and worries that Cap will make her less desirable. She states: "If Josh and I started dating--are you there, God? It's me, Sophie--there'd be no way to keep that space alien off the radar screen." (p.57) I believe GRK is on record saying he saw Judy Blume as an influence, so this could be a) an homage b) a cute way for a character to express longing. I wonder whether younger readers get the reference, I have no idea how much Judy Blume is still being read by kids. 

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 15: Hyperwhosis (Donovan Curtis)

NO COINS, PLEASE and I WANT TO GO HOME have already come up as comparisons for HYPERGIFTED’s Kormaniacs Book Club, so let’s add to the tally:

> Rudy Miller would be so frustrated if both teams chased an out-of-bounds ball into the woods.
> Raina is channeling Dennis Leaver in a surprising degree of unconcern about a missing camper, reasoning that “He’ll be back.”

This isn’t a story observation, but as someone who loves the physical, tactile presence of books and nerds out over the printing process: Anyone else reading the hardcover, help me check something. Look at the eighth line down page 137. Is the ending letter “e” in the word “time” incomplete? I’m trying to figure out whether that’s broken type or just type dropout in my copy. (I like to watch subsequent printings to see if the publisher quietly fixes these things. Nothing says “thrilling weekend” like monitoring typographical defects.)

@Josh: Nice addition of SCHOOLED as a tie-in with the Judy Blume quote. And now I’m envisioning a “We Didn’t Start the Fire”-style song that introduces kids to famous scientists as curated by GRK.

Raymond, I have a copy right in front of me, and that "e" is perfect. Sorry. You seem to have gotten a defective "e".  

                                                                                                                                                                    -Gord

[Owen]

Is today chapter 16 that is how far I read this weekend with Dean Kendrick. Raymond you said Noah explain why he thinks the Society of Gavel is so big why is that I did’nt see that. All the Balony team kids are so sad about the pig but Donovon won’t tell them she is in his room and they won’t eat the ham sandwiches Josh that was funny for me too.. I do’nt want Dean to make the school find a new pig they can still find Porky. Is it a swirl on the rock from Noah under the tree?

[Josh]

Chapter 16

Two notes on this chapter. First, it seems like administrators often are only interested in promotions. I think this might have come up in UNGIFTED. It certainly came up in SCHOOLED, and I think in THE UNTEACHABLES. I guess that's what motivates a lot of school (and university) principles. I miss the days when school principles were anonymous and only aspired to perform vaudeville routines over the P.A. system.  

Second, there are definitely some Mr. Hartley vibes coming from the guy from P.U. And like Mr. Hartley, he is invited to come use the pool at 3 am on alternate Tuesdays.

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 16: Hypersecond-banana (Dean Kendrick)

The good dean opens up his chapter with all the right words—he’s in his job because education is in his blood, because he believes in the ideals of the school’s founder—albeit mildly tainted by his other reason of wanting to climb the ladder (tower?) of academia to become Wilderton’s president. But his later admission—he avoids interacting with students—kind of kills the goodwill.

C.T. Beldner is a dogged reporter—and C.T. joins his mirror-image T.C. (Serrette) as another of the few students who merit one-on-one time with school leadership.

@Gord: Thanks for the disconfirmation on that typographical “e”nigma.

@Owen: Noah’s brain runs on an operating system that my brain isn’t big enough to load—but I think his interest in the Society of the Gavel is pretty simple: Secrecy makes their importance impossible to disprove. So you just need to assume they are special. Noah’s mind functions on a philosophical level where that makes perfect sense. (Whereas I’m still back here looking for the philosophy instruction manual.)

@Josh: Headmaster Hartley! I couldn’t think of his name!

[Josh]

Chapter 17: the chapter that keeps on giving when it comes to in-universe confluences. 

A character is going on his first date, in a Mazda, and confides in a trusted friend beforehand. Is it Noah, spilling his guts to Porquette, or Vince Luca talking to Alex? And which supporting character has higher emotional intelligence? We could, of course, also be talking about Phil Baldwin, but then it wouldn't be a Mazda. 

If you're going to fall into a "decorative fountain," you should at least get a free haircut, chocolate milk, and a group portrait  (frame included) out of the ordeal.  

Maybe if you're a genius with limited dating skills, you should run your gift ideas past your friends. That way you can avoid giving a desicated bat as a present to the woman you love. Then again, Elmer did check with his friends, and that didn't stop him from sending an ondatra cephalos skull and the droppings of the Tasmanian Mountain Sparrow to Marylou Beakman. 

The destruction of Noah's gift is the most tragic rehydration since water leaked into the supply of dehydrated mashed potatoes in the Don Carey High cafeteria. It took hours to shovel our the dining area! 

[Owen]

Ok thanks Raymond I guess Noah is too smart for me too I don’t think the Gavelers are so special they just pretend. DidNoah really go on a date I think Arlene did’nt think it was a date. Now I really want to know what happened to AIDAN.

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 17: Hyperbatty (Noah Youkilis)

Add frozen yogurt to the checklist ☑ to determine if you’re reading a real Gordon Korman novel or a knockoff. Though it has evolved over time: It was “frozen yogurt” in Chase’s epic RESTART meet cute (remeet-not-so-cute?) with Shoshanna, and the same “frozen yogurt” was Leo’s “Sally Average” mom’s only addiction in BORN TO ROCK, and Randy got a “frozen yogurt cake” as a leaving-Serenity sendoff in MASTERMINDS. By the release of FAKER, the editors dished the sweet treat at Trey’s hangout spot as “fro-yo,” and it was again “fro-yo” in the worryingly surveillance camera-less Topping Mad in SNOOP,  while it’s formatted as “Froyo” in HYPERGIFTED.

“Relationships Are Complicated.” Amen, Noah. You happen to have a link to that YouTube video? Asking for a friend.

I have realized two wordplays/puns while writing these comments today that I did not notice when originally reading two different books. First: Today's chapter title plays on the fact Arlene and roomie Claudia think Noah is batty, and not just for his desiccated chiropteran gift. And second: SNOOP's "Topping Mad" is a play on "hopping mad."

@Owen: That is a great question. Is it possible Noah was on a date, but Arlene wasn’t? And I think you got pulled into the cliffhanger—and so did I because I don’t want to wait until tomorrow to learn why AIDAN is giving that error message.

@Josh: Does the fountain need to be decorative? If not: Falling into a fountain might yield prizes, but as we know from Donovan (in UNGIFTED), purposefully entering the fountain—for, say, swimming—results in a six-month mall  ban. And I’m unsure whether the following other Kormanian fountain-related activities qualify as prizes. There was that gang initiation that required tossing an old bag lady in a fountain (THE JUVIE THREE), and a strawberry milkshake-spewing fountain that resulted from an alien’s sneeze (NOSE PICKERS FROM OUTER SPACE). Charlie (POP) maybe never fell into the fountain at his own university, but he did whiz in it, and look where that got him. In “The Trophy” (within “Guys Read the Sports Pages" and also found at gordonkorman.com/the-trophy), a fountain again yields a prize, of sorts—but one with contested ownership.

 

[Owen]

Why did AIDAN delete itslef? I like the Arelene chapter she talks about Gator like hes a kid she has to take care of just like Noah she did NOT Like the dead bat. Now AIDAN is gone can Noah stay in the computer class?

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 18: Hypermotherly (Arlene Pulaski)

The first multiple-narrator novel I recall reading was a weird little 1970s counterculture YA book from the “bell-bottom bildungsroman” genre. GRK was just getting started when this particular book was published in 1977—and multi-POV wasn’t yet part of his author’s toolkit. Plus, his kid-vs.-the-grown-up-world stories ran on humor, never full youth-in-revolt gloom.

Still, a line from the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books review of that book is exactly how I would describe GRK’s 2020s-era work: “The writing style is smooth, as are the transitions from chapter to chapter, and the characterization is perceptive.”

That is my thought after Arlene’s chapter, in which her character development is as important as the plot development she narrates. She’s perceptive and empathetic (although calling herself “motherly” towards Noah is not exactly a perceptive grasp of the role he’d most enjoy assigning her!). The multiple-narrator structure in HYPERGIFTED really pays off by giving us a fuller view of characters beyond Noah and Donovan.

Anyhow, that’s my long-winded way of saying Chapter 18 made the case for multiple narrators. This Gordon Korman guy might have a future.

@Owen: Excellent read on Arlene and her relationship with Gator. She is clearly the mature half of that coupledom. And yes—that is exactly the question I need answered: What happens now that AIDAN self-destructed?!?

 

 

[Josh]

Chapter 18 - At least Arlene is mature enough not to consider the bat a voodoo curse. Is Arlene altruistic? Or seeking to take advantage of Noah by befriending him? Nothing about how she is written makes her seem malicious, but she does call her chance to associate with him a "once in a lifetime opportunity," like some sort of internship at Google. But then, we can ask the same thing about Donovan, I suppose. In the end of the chapter she concludes that he is her friend, so I guess that's a plus. 

Chapter 19 - Raina would prefer to hybernate than to live her life. Donovan has become an internet star against his will. The Fibonacci spiral starts appearing around campus. Also, do people really stand on their head a spit nickles? 

The signup sheet for the Fibonacci society brings to mind The Grand Knights of Exalted Karpoozi, which also had a signup sheet that didn't explain what you were signing up for. And of course, @Raymond is the master of coming up with weird signup sheets. Cooking with Cabbage, anyone? Or maybe a nice seminar on SACGEN? 

@Raymond - I'm pretty sure you missed some frozen yogurt places. Wasn't there one in OPERATION DO-OVER? Where the team eats all the toppings? Didn't they hang out in one in MIXED UP? I wonder what the first mention of fro-yo was, and if we're forgetting even earlier ones. 

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 19: Hyperdisappointed (Raina Overbrook)

Noah’s summer activities have really altered Donovan’s summer—he is contorted into a new existence based on what he knows and what he’s hiding. And for once, his sorry situation is not of his own making.

I was less impressed with Raina in this chapter than when we first met her—a bit sympathetic to her plight, to be sure, forced to reconcile her actual summer with the perfect one she’d imagined. Unfortunately, she seems a mix of defeatist and suspicious. But I'd bet her curiosity will uncover exactly what’s going on with the spiral sign-up sheets.

@Josh: Sign-up sheets! Are sign-up sheets inherently funny? I think they may be. I’ve never connected them between books. Thirty-one classmates signed up to feed Henrietta (THE CHICKEN DOESN’T SKATE). There was a popular one for the Antiflux Worm Shop (SON OF INTERFLUX). There wasn’t one for P.A.G. (SLACKER), and no one signed up to “help knit afghans for blitz-torn England” (DON’T CARE HIGH). Trey adds his name to the one for YAAP (FAKER), sealing his fate. There’s a sign-up for “International Night” (at which Jeff “didn’t sign up for Canada!”) (THE 6^TH GRADE NICKNAME GAME). But the two you mentioned from Raymond Jardine and Douglas Fairchild are the truly iconic ones, for sure.

 

 

[Josh]

Chapter 20:

Noah continues to spread the gospel of the Fibonacci society. Donovan finds out he is the star of a viral video, climbing Mount Everest. Donovan just graduated from 8th grade, so he should be about fourteen. If he climbed Everest, that would put him as the second youngest of all time, behind Dominic Alexis and just ahead of the late Tilt Crowley. This is a good time to encourage people to read the EVEREST series, which is the best of GRK's four adventure trilogies. (I'd rank them Everest, Island, Dive, and then a distant Titanic bringing up the rear, even though Donovan was named after someone from the ship.) 

In addition, Noah and Donovan continue to be concerned about Porquette in a manner which stretches my ability to suspend disbelief. I know there are no spoilers, but in UNGIFTED Donovan worked on a science project called Chow Chows: A Special Breed and it took Noah no time flat to comment on the picture of Beatrice. He even mentions that they compared humans to other mammals. Apparently not pigs.  In fact, the only possible conclusion is that Noah knows exactly what is ailing Porquette and is for some reason choosing to make Donovan squirm. It can't be part of his plan to get into the Society of the Gavel, since he already ditched that idea. Maybe it's all part of a scheme to woo Arlene. Any ideas? I think some retcon is needed. 

[Owen]

Jalen is really smart he thinks the sprirals as a new secret society when nobody ever said it is Donovon really tries to change the subject so noone talks about the spirals but Raina thinks Donovon knows more and is’nt saying what he knows.sThen Raina is mad but Donovon cant be that Everest guy it could be a guy who looks alot like Donovon but he has the same scar so it must be a deep fake video.

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 20: Hypermountaineer (Donovan Curtis)

Thank you, Donovan, for wanting to call a vet!

For the past couple of chapters, I’ve had a working diagnosis for what’s ailing Porquette. (No need to call me Dr. Jardine; Raymond is still fine.) @Josh, reading between the lines of your comment only strengthens my suspicion—though a quick call to Katie Patterson, or to fellow Human Growth and Development class alumni, might jog Noah’s memory?

And after Chapter 20, I’ve also developed a hunch about the Everest expedition of Not-Donovan. (Checklist update: Everest ☑.) @Owen, your deepfake theory is a smart deduction, and I’m thinking Noah’s fascination with YouTube plays a role.

@Josh: I’d add at least a token argument that Masterminds and Hypnotists are GRK adventure trilogies, and (while I’m not quite so bold myself) I would enjoy hearing someone else posit that GRK’s original-series 39 Clues contributions are also an adventure trilogy. As for your rankings: I might flip the top two and give Island the title. It was such a departure from earlier GRK that it still stands out to me as the blueprint for a new branch of his writing. That said, Everest still wins for pure subject-matter appeal. Is Noah for sure over his SotG ambitions, or is Fibonacci a clever ruse to earn admission?

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 21: Hypercurly (Darius Marshall)

“My biggest problem is excellence.” This. You and me both, Noah.

The new question we’re all asking ourselves after Chapter 21: Is the Fibonacci sequence a timeless mathematical marvel, or just arithmetic chasing its own tail?

[Josh]

@Raymond - well paraphrased. 

Chapter 21 - When Gator shows up, my first thought was to try and compare him to previous characters. There were the bikers in Mastermind, which were pretty terrifying. He also gives off a Rootbeer Racinette vibe (LOSING JOE'S PLACE), as it seems like only a matter of time before Eddie and Darius start having bad luck And then there was Shlomo and the rest of the Tigers of Terror from TOILET PAPER TIGERS, but those guys were far too cuddly. There was the guy who crashed his motorcycle in JAKE, REINVENTED, and a series of characters who crashed their hogs through plate glass windows. Gator's nickname also brings to mind UNPLUGGED. And regarding jealous boyfriends, here we have the real kind, not like from @Raymond's and Sean's imagination. Good times. 

About 39 Clues: a while ago @Raymond posted about counting 100 books but not including the MacDonald Hall books. To me it would make much more sense, if we were arbitrarily discounting a group of books, to not count the 39 Clues books. I read them because I'm a completist, and read online summaries of the other books in the series so I would understand what was going on, but to me they are something different. I think the adventure trilogies were about regular kids (with special talents), and Masterminds and Hypnotists are both outside that because they are more of the fantastical side, in a different universe. It's not like you could read the books and imagine yourself with hypnotic powers or as the genetically engineered offspring of criminals. I wonder how GRK thinks of them, if he puts them in the same category. 

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 22: Hyperluna (Donovan Curtis)

Donovan in  HYPERGIFTED has matured a lot since Donovan in UNGIFTED—which is fortunate, because Donovan in Chapter 22  is having a rough go of it, and at least he’s no longer the type to actively make things worse. Growth!

If C.T. is half the reporter he seems, it’s got to dawn on him that Donovan hasn’t been scaling Mount Everest and diving off the Burj Khalifa between shifts as a CIT at Wilderton’s Explorers Program. Dig deeper, C.T.! Donovan’s subterfuge about the sign-up sheet is well played.

As for “Luna” in the chapter title—are we sticking with cornhole champ Luna, or reading a little deeper? Is this Donovan’s slow drift toward lunacy? Or is “luna” nudging us toward the moon—think cycles, patterns—and should we be looking for a hidden rhythm or system at play with the seemingly-disabled Porquette and the seemingly-impossible viral videos?

@Josh: Any excuse for a Rootbeer Racinette reference is a good one. I hadn’t connected the motorcycle dots throughout the Kormanian universe. Nice. And thanks for the callback to my Twitter/X post.

For the non-Twitterers: HYPERGIFTED is GRK’s 100^th book outside the Macdonald Hall series. Most authors would retire off such a successful seven-book series. Instead, GRK just kept going—a move that I’m sure was a big inspiration for J.K. Rowling after her seven-book series also met with some success. Follow me down this rabbit hole: Both authors followed up on their haptalogies with (amongst other releases) an even longer mystery series built around male-female investigative duos. Now, GRK currently has the edge with nine books in his On the Run/Kidnapped epic, but JKR apparently is planning to push Cormoran Strike/Robin Ellacott to 10 books. Your move, Gord.

[Josh]

Comparing Harry Potter to MacDonald Hall? Sure, why not:

1. Both Series had seven books

2. Both involved boarding schools with 4 houses (Dormitories 1-3 and Scrimmages)

3. Both had main characters who liked to sneak out at night. 

4. Both had dramatic roles for owls. 

5. Both series had the taming of a savage guard dog. (Rex / Fluffy)

6. Both had significant team sports as plot points (Hockey, Football, and Quidditch)

7 Both had an evil government regime imposed on the school. (Wizzle / Umbridge) 

8. Both schools had the legacy of a founder with questionable ethics. (MacDonald / Slytherin) 

9. Both had a headmaster who often wandered around at night in a robe. 

10. Both series had periods where the characters were forced to sleep in tents. 

-- and one series made a gazillion dollars, and Macdonald Hall did all right too.                        --GK--

[Owen]

I actually read chapter 21 and 22 and 23 on Saturday I thought Gator was scary Josh I did read Unplugged and its funny there were aligators in that book. It was so funny that Darious thinks the spiral is a pigstail because Porquette is missing. I feel bad for Donovon when CT. does’nt beliee him about the videos those have to be made by ai. I want to find the rest of the McDonald hall books my school has one but not 7. I likethe news paper but its not actually called the society of the Curly Tail is it ?

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 23: Hypernewsflash (The Wilderton Wire: C.T. Beldner article)

Way before adopting the multi-narrator format, GRK had a signature writing move that always made me gleeful: The over-the-top newspaper article. So I am thrilled to see one in Chapter 23. From C.T. Beldner’s sensationalistic headline to his fact-check-be-darned reporting, the Wilderton Wire piece is a thing of beauty. This is how conspiracy theories are born, folks—one wildly speculative news clipping at a time.

After Beldner dubs the spirals "the Society of the Curly Tail," it would be hard for anyone to accept it as any name other than that now. (@Owen, I think you’re right—Noah definitely didn’t intend that as the group’s identity!) And accepting a viral video as proof of Porquette’s survival? Rookie mistake.

Then again, Wilderton is seeing the emergence of a new secret society, and Porquette is alive. So maybe C.T.’s news-hound instincts are leading him to the right destination, even if his path takes the empirically scenic route to get there.

@Josh: Incredible MH/HP list. Wizzle/Umbridge is spot-on. I’d add: Both series feature headmasters named after slightly ridiculous animals.

@GRK: Scholastic needs to put out some new marketing when Macdonald Hall is re-released for its 50th: 

For two full decades, Gordon Korman’s Macdonald Hall series reigned supreme in the “Best-Selling Seven-Book School Mischief” category—fending off all challengers, including a certain boy wizard series. Only 20 years after “Bruno & Boots” launched (and two years after its final installment) did “Harry Potter” finally catch up in sales volume.

 

[Josh]

@Raymond, I love your copy for the advertisement. 

@Owen, the MacDonald Hall books are well worth seeking out. Pure Gold. 

@Raymond: The over-the-top newspaper article is nice, but my favourite GRK move is when there is a hubbub or riot happening and there are several statements in a row by unidentified characters, representing fast action and a sense of chaos. Like the casino when Artie runs for it (Kill the Old Guy!) or when the spotted tundra leopard is about to arrive (It's coming from the west!) Unforunately this has has become less common. 

"Everything is a non-thing until someone brings life into it" - very biblical sentiment. 

[Owen]

Its s ofunny that everyone thinks the pigtail is a real thing and Noah hasn’t even done something to say its a secret society. but they all know it. Does Noah still think Daroius and his roomate are Gavelers? Now everybody thinks they are the ones with the pigtail society. They almost got caught when the Dean came to their room does’nt it smell like pig by now? Josh I will try to get the McDonald Hall books. Raymond are you saying McDonald is like Harry Potter I have read the first three Harry Potter

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 24: Hyper32 (Noah Youkilis)

Hey, HarperCollins editors:  32 in binary is “100000” not “100,000”—comma separators from Base 10 are not used in Base 2. (Page 199, opening graf.)

And since I have the attention of the publisher’s production team (you all are reading this, right?): The text design/layout artist deserves major props for drop cap expertise. (I’m going to refer to that individual as Erin based on the copyright page's notation of  “Typography by Erin Fitsimmons.”) So far in HYPERGIFTED, we’ve had an italics drop cap (Chapter 4), an ellipsis drop cap (Chapter 12), a quote drop cap (Chapter 17), a newspaper headline opener that wisely precluded a drop cap (Chapter 23), and now in Chapter 24, a numeral drop cap (where the two-digit number is a full sentence, to boot—leaving our friend Erin to decide how to treat the period at the end). GRK threw down the drop cap gauntlet, and Erin met that challenge.

While we’re on the topic of the book’s physical presentation, I’ll note that the robot dingbats atop each chapter number are a nice continuity carryover from UNGIFTED and SUPERGIFTED—but right now they’re serving as a reminder we haven’t seen a HYPERGIFTED version of Tin Man Metallica SquarePants or Heavy Metal. Does AIDAN symbolically fill that role?

---------

Okay, I probably should actually consider Chapter 24 (which I keep wanting to call “Chapter 32” because of the opening text).

@Owen: Agreed! I’m a little surprised when Noah comments about Darius and Edward being in the Society of the Gavel—he really has faith in the infallibility of the dearly-departed AIDAN. And yes—Dean Kendrick’s dorm visit was a close call. Fortunately, even with a little more maturity, Donovan’s still got a devious side that can come in handy. His “Ohhhh, this toothache!” effectively fools Kendrick, and reminds me of <<“‘Oh the pain!,’ bellowed Raymond suddenly, completely drowning Sean out. ‘The a-gon-y!’”>>

@Josh, regarding “until someone breathes life into it”—I can see the Biblical implications you suggest, but it’s the next line that caught my attention and made me consider another medium that is concerned with miracles. “Would thirty-two people sign up for a non-thing?” seems very “Miracle on 34^th Street” (specifically, when the defense attorney argues that a federal agency effectively recognized Kris Kingle as Santa Claus when they delivered letters to him that were addressed “To Santa Claus”).

---------

@Josh: Is it too late to back up to one of your previous observations? You said “When Gator shows up, my first thought was to try and compare him to previous characters.” Well, that’s been niggling at the back of my mind, and I finally went back to check on another Gator. So: Any chance that Arlene’s boyfriend Gator isn’t just comparable to a previous character, but actually is the same guy as the Gator who assembled El Capitan for Junior in FAKER?

Two thumbs up to recognizing the peanut gallery of crowd commentary as a Kormanian humor device. Since I’m bringing up Christmastime movies today, I’ll throw in this memorable “Love Actually” reference that follows the same game plan: In a scene towards the end, Aurelia’s father leads Jamie and a growing ensemble of townspeople towards Aurelia’s restaurant, with “Greek chorus” shoutouts ratcheting up until we hear:
    “Apparently he is going to kill Aurelia!”
    “Cool!”

@Owen: You asked whether Macdonald Hall and Harry Potter are actually similar. You know, years ago, a TV listing for a movie that was being broadcast described the flick as: <<"Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first person she meets and then teams up with three strangers to kill again.">> In case you haven’t guessed, the movie was “The Wizard of Oz.” Which goes to show you it’s possible to describe something misleadingly while making only true statements. @Josh’s list of similarities between Bruno/Boots and Harry/Ron/Hermione is a bit tongue-in-cheek—it cherry-picks coincidental similarities and purports a larger tie between the works. So are the Macdonald Hall and Harry Potter series actually alike? I’d say you won’t find the stories too similar, but if you’re a fan of a highly-engaging and long-running tale of friendships and boarding school escapades, you’ll love both.

 

[Owen]

Can this bookclub be on top it goes down more every day. Luna must be really good at cornhole and all of the Balonys tease the other teams but then their scared they will lose until Luna throws a really good shot. Raina is still mad a tDonovon but then Jalen runs away again. Dose Donovon know where Jalen went it ends right when Donovon is running away does he know where he is?  Raymond I looked up what a drop cap is I never noticed that before. My mom wont let me read Harry Potter except the first book but that was last year I think I can read more of the Harry Potter books this year. I like that its in a boarding school like McDonald.

[Josh]

Chapter 25: I have admittedly never played a game of cornhole, but is it weird that Team Baloney is losing by 1, scores a point, and wins? Shouldn't it then be tied? Maybe each is worth more than 1 point? (shrug) 

Luna's shot: "Slowly, agonizingly slowly." Not since the senator's green car inched toward the finish line, narrowly avoiding moose, has anything moved this slowly. Luckily Luna's shot didn't stop just before crossing the finish line. 

When I read "Baloney Power", it reminds me of a funny scene in Larry Gonick's Cartoon History of the Universe. Discussing  the Battle of Salamis, Themistocles goes to the Delphic Oracle to ask about the battle, and she reponds "Divine Salamis..." so Themistocles returns to Athens and tried to put this in the best light: "She said 'Divine Salamis' - is that so bad??" And someone in the crowd asks "Divine Salamis? As in Holy Bolognas? 

@Owen - Harry Potter and MacDonald Hall share the same basic setting - a British-style boarding school - and kids the same age getting into mischief. That's about all. 

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 25: Hypergravity (Raina Overbrook)

In her first chapter, I thought Raina might end up as my favorite character, she was so full of enthusiasm and confidence. The next time we heard from her, she was pretty sour on Donovan, and after that, she was projecting a lot of negativity about the summer in general. In Chapter 25, our esteemed full counselor has achieved some perspective—seeing the silver lining of the “Team Baloney” dark cloud. (Though I still wouldn’t want to mention Donovan in her presence.)

Name pun alert: “Luna was our spaciest camper.”

@Owen: It does seem like Donovan is onto something, doesn’t it? I wonder what he suspects. I hope we find out what it is in the next chapter. Good for you for chasing down one of the silly things I sometimes comment about. And with that knowledge, you’ll never look at the opening of a chapter or a magazine article the same way again.
        <<“Raymond was clearly impressed. ‘Hey Delancey, you’re starting to think like Jardine. Bad move.’”>>

@Josh: My cornhole expertise comes from the three times I’ve played while tailgating. I should definitely have a tee that's hand-inscribed “Cornhole Expert” in black magic marker. Single point for bags on the board; three points for bags through the hole. The victory stands. And yes, lucky for Luna that she didn’t need Artie to provide an ethically-questionable nudge.

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 26: Hyperchampions (Donovan Curtis)

Well, I got it wrong, @Owen. Donovan had no clue where to find Jailbreak Jalen.

BUT: That “mystery” that Donovan hinted at back in Chapter 10 becomes a full-on youth sleuth caper as he spots a tire indentation, reasons it was left by a scooter, deduces that scooter would make a great getaway vehicle, and then tracks the tire treads halfway across campus to catch the disappearing camper in the act! @Josh, your toothpick suspicions are confirmed! And what a welcome back Raina provides! And a cornhole championship on top of everything! That’s a lot of actions worthy of exclamation points!

Today begins the one-week countdown to wrapping up HYPERGIFTED, and a lot of questions remain. Anyone out there who’s been following along with this Kormaniacs Book Club, now’s your chance to jump in and help finish strong.

[Josh]

Finding Jalen on campus must be easier than finding Artie in NYC, which just goes to show you how insane it was for Dennis and Rob to look for Artie randomly. 

When I was a kid in Toronto, there used to be these soda bottles that had a little plastic insert inside the cap, and we used to collect those. I guess we could have used them as poker chips, if only I had known how to play poker at age 7. 

Toronto is sometimes known as Hogtown, after their 19th century industry. Wilderton students are also at home with pigs. For some reason, after weeks in which be apparently could have ordered a search but chose not to do so, the dean decides to have all the dorm rooms searched for the pig. I hope Wilbur Hackenschleimer has his handkerchief ready to signal the emergency Committee taskforce. 

Raina seems to have taken to Donovan. 

[Owen]

I was surprised Donovon did’nt know since he seemed to know but he did find Jalen so that’s good. I like that the Balonys won the cornhole and Raina likes Donovon now but hes going to be in so much trouble when his dorm room gets searced. Why would Dean get a new pig he does’nt know the pig is gone for good.. 

[Owen]

I cant write this weekend I will be back on Monday are we finishing then I wll read this weekend 

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 27: Hyperbackup (Dean Kendrick)

Only one book past the Peregrine family (SNOOP), we have Dean Kendrick wondering why Wilderton didn’t choose the peregrine falcon as a university mascot.

Right now, Donovan would likely view that as a decision worth revisiting.

 

 

[Josh]

So basically Darius and Eddie have not once but twice impersonated belonging to a secret society. They are cruisin' for a bruisin'. 

The Never Forget Porquette Rally. Following the classic Korman move of holding a rally to make it seem like you care about something you don't really care about. As in: SCHOOLED and, more to the point (since it involved an animal), SLACKER. No rally, however, can top the Mike Otis rally, the granddaddy of them all. 

The book raises questions about the use of AI and its potential dangers. Even the builders of the system don't realize its capabilities and how it will destroy society. 

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 28: Hyperparty (Darius Marshall)

It's Darius's chapter, but Noah is central to the action. From the disappointing shock of AIDAN's apparent failure to identify Gavelers, to the heart-dropping shock of those videos (and what they possibly mean!), Noah is finding out the hard way that even a smart kid has a lot to learn at college.

@Josh: "The shoes! Black! Dress! No high heels or alligator!"

[Josh]

Noah comes clean to Donovan about uploading the contents of his phone into AIDEN. It should be noted that GK notes in the book that "unauthorized use of this published to train generative AI is prohibited." I guess the author learned from the travails of his character.  

What's worse to have in your dorm, a contraband pig, or several dozen boxes of computer paper? Other students rush to hide their contraband, including fireworks (a super duper jumbo boomer?) and a lizard terrarium (but no manchurian bush hampsters or rotisserie oven). Donovan and Noah finally decide to ditch the pig and try to take it to the vet. Just as they cart Porquette out, they come across the rally. 

For the second time in Donovan's sad life, gravity takes over and disaster seems imminent. And this time the Daniels have nothing to do with it. 

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 29: Hyperinspection (Noah Youkilis)

Based on the laundry list of items being evacuated, several dorm students got creative in their pursuit of the most unlikely contraband. I'm hoping Noah and Donovan get caught with a waffle maker instead of a purloined pig mascot. 

It's good to have it out in the open that AIDAN is responsible for the viral videos. 

@Josh, good callback on gravity's contribution to Donovan's "gifted" origin story. 

[Owen]

Its just up to chapter30 right its the same as the day. This weekend I finished the book but I wont say anything about the next chapters just up to chapter 30. IT was so funny Noah never saw the video of Porkette and Donovons videos on the mountain even though Noah loves watching youtube   and then he knows its AIDEN. The pig is so big I dont know how the were able to get her out of the bath tub and then she rides down the hill that could have been really bad. Josh is that the thing you said is your favorite with unidentified characters when they say the two kids are trying to hurt her and then someone saying  Noah hates Porquette?

[Josh]

It's amazing Donovan didn't get hurt trying to stop the cart, that the kids in the protest weren't injured, and that no pigs were hurt in the making of this chapter. 

It reminds me of the clip of Monty Burns saying that he would make a hefty donation when pigs fly, and then watching a pig sail through the sky. "Will you be donating that $1,000,000 now sir?" "No, I'd still prefer not." 

@Owen - Exactly! Here we get the type of passage I previously talked about: 

What's wrong with Porquette?

Did those two kids hurt her?

Why does Noah Youkilis hate Porquette? 

Meanwhile, Raina is so hot and cold with Donovan she might as well be Wendy Orr. Only instead of boosting the Student Activities funds, Donovan stole a pig. 

Meanwhile, Porquette gives birth. Who is surprised? As has been mentioned, this recalls Myrtle in GK #001 and the amazing Chow Chow of UNGIFTED. Am I forgetting other pregnant animals in the canon? Does the wife of the coach in SLAPSHOTS count? That's kind of the same plot twist, only here we have the delivery via pushcart instead of by zamboni. As I recall, she wasn't fine swine, but she was top of the line, if you know what I mean, wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more. 

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 30: Hyperdelivery (Donovan Curtis)

The chapter started with a high-intensity action sequence, worked its way from Donovan and Noah as heroes to the same pair as villains, hinted at a romantic matchup between two characters who've been largely at odds as long as they've known each other, and ended with Noah not knowing something.

@Owen: Excellent recognition of Josh's favorite "Greek chorus" in Chapter 30.

@Josh: If it's possible to have a crush on a fictional character, my young teen self had one on Wendy Orr (even more than Ashley Bach).

[Josh]

Chapter 31

At last we hear from the big cheese, Jalen's grandfather, who himself is an alumnus. He stumbles into the baloney poker game. Noah decides he isn't ready to be at the university alone. Raina and Donovan seem to have gotten into a long distance relationship, but we aren't told if the drive to Wilderton is shorter than the 190 km drive from Owen Sound to Toronto, or if elderberry scones are as big a draw as Chocolate Memories.

[Owen]

The president was funny he sounded like he wanted to leave his job but then he really loves the pig and the collage he was even a student there. Hes so sad that Noah will not stay at Wildertnn . I did'nt know Raina and Donovon are in a distance relationship how do we know that? Is tomorrow the end theres only 1 more chapter.

[Elliot (I'm a girl)]

Going kind of back.....

I could tell Porquette was pregnant the second they said her belly was swollen.(Makes me think, who's the father?) Also, I had a theory that those videos of Donovan were made by AI, particularly AIDAN, but I didn't know how. When they explained it, I finally got it. 

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 31: Hyperhomecoming (President Aberfoyle)

Noah exhibits a remarkable amount of maturity recognizing he’s too immature to navigate his college career all alone.

@Josh: The Raina/Donovan ship has set sail (I'm old enough that my mind initially parses that as "that ship has sailed," which means pretty much the opposite), but I wonder how much say Donovan had in the determination of their relationship status.

@Owen: Yes, tomorrow closes out the final chapter—we’ve been analyzing HYPERGIFTED for a full month! I think you’re right about President Aberfoyle, and I’ll add: More universities need a leader like him. He seems like a good man. I’m not sure of a direct comparison to The Fish—but Mrs. Aberfoyle and Mrs. Sturgeon would definitely be friends.

@Elliot: Good sleuthing! Some mystery authors love the ending to be a complete surprise to the readers. Others like to drop hints that allow sharp readers to see what the protagonist(s) can’t, letting us guess at what that means for the story development. This book has a couple of mysteries, and I think we're meant to pick up on the clues dropped along the way. 

[Josh]

So Donovan's parents are pretty rotten, eh? We are told that waffle iron served no function. I wonder if it was ever supposed to be a plotline. Donovan sums up the story pretty well. Then he pulls a fast one on Noah, convincing him that he was accepted into the Society of the Gavel. I guess that makes Donovan almost as duplicitous as the frat guys, except that Donovan is doing it altruistically. 

Whew. Finished just in time for Passover. 

[Owen]

Noah is lucky that Donovon is such a good friend he never found out who the Gavelers are but he thinks that hes a member now because of Donovon. Are Donovons parents joking with him about wanting to stay in France? That s so funny they spent the whole summer at the collage and now Noah wont stay there as a student hes going home with Donovon .Josh that’s so funny the waffle thing never came up in the story. Will there be another story with Noaha nd Donovon?

[Raymond Jardine]

Chapter 32: Hypergift (Donovan Curtis)

I want to acknowledge the nice little aside on predatory credit card practices—nothing like a MG novel slipping in a public service announcement for college-track readers.

Now, about those powers of 2 in HYPERGIFTED:
  > We had “Hyper32” back in Chapter 24, where 32 is 2⁵ (and 1000000—no comma!—in binary).
  > And the book features eight (2³) different narrators in its 32 (still 2⁵) chapters.
  > In today’s chapter, Noah is instructed to tear his Gaveler acceptance letter into 256 (2⁸) pieces (that’s 100000000 in binary).

Let’s read into that and assume some significance.
  > Are the “powers of 2” mentions an allusion to the concern that AI is subject to exponential growth (and the resulting lack of control)? @Josh, you brought up runaway AI before.
  > Is it a warning of the evils of binary thinking, which neglects “shades of grey” and destroys nuanced alternatives to yes/no, black/white, good/bad, true/false?
  > Do powers of 2 represent the doubling identity of coming-of-age, wherein Donovan’s self-image is actively splitting between his child and adult selves?

Meanwhile, the novel’s real twist: Noah has the brains for college, but not the maturity. Donovan has the reverse: He navigates campus solo, plays camp dad to the Baloneys, rescues his overclocked friend from the Gamma Kappas, and even spares Noah the sting of failing in his quest for the Gavel. Cap it off with a summer-ending girlfriend arc, and Donovan might be the most “hypergifted” character in the book—just not in the way Wilderton (or the Academy for Scholastic Distinction) measure it.

Moving on to a few HYPERGIFTED threads worth tugging. (@Gord: Perfectly happy to chalk these up as life’s little mysteries—but if you’re inclined to dish, we’re all ears.)
  >@Josh previously questioned whether Porquette’s Butternut Hall arrival had an explanation that got cut.
  > @Josh also wondered if the waffle iron was an abandoned subplot or a deliberate red herring. (Right up to the close of the book, I really figured Donovan would’ve bragged about getting off scot-free on the whole Porquette-living-in-the-dorm thing—but then the waffle iron would be found during a room inspection, resulting in drama.)
  > I haven't mentioned it yet but wondered a couple of times if this was a story GRK originally outlined as a standalone book, then came back and fit to the “Gifted” universe. Or, was it always intended as a vehicle for Noah and Donovan as they aged out of middle school?
  > And @Owen asked the big question: Is this the swan song for our multi-Gifted duo, or just an intermission before the next encore?

----------

Thanks, @Owen and @Josh--it was a small returning group this time (the Core Maniacs?) but filled with good discussion and lots of deep callbacks and comparisons to the Korman canon. I hope other Kormaniacs will continue to add their takes on HYPERGIFTED and push this book club beyond 100 comments. 

[Owen]

I dont know about the powers of two  maybe they mean something? I like what you said about Noah and Donovon they had a hard time at Wilderton but for different reasons. Dose that mean the word hypergifted from the book title ia about Donovon I thought it was for Noah because he has a 206 I Q. Next week I get no school will there be another bookclub after this one and what book?

Hi, Owen,

The next book is called SLEEPLESS. It comes out early in July. And yes, I hope there will be a book club about that one too!

                                                                                                                           -----Gordon Korman-----

[Sara]

Raymond suggested I read through the book club comments for Hypergifted to see if I wanted to be part of book clubs by Gordon Korman. He mentioned I caught one thing nobody else had (that both Donovan and Bruno exclaimed: “We’re a father!” in reference to a pregnant mascot). And even though that’s strictly true, some of you came rather close! Upon reading these book club comments, I hadn’t realized just how many references can be made to past books. I haven’t read every single book by Gordon Korman. I own a lot of them and enjoy re-reading them. I am definitely looking forward to “Sleepless”. 

[Raymond Jardine]

Glad you checked it out, @Sara! Hope to see you in the Forum (and maybe in a Kormaniacs Book Club) in the future.