Hi, Claire,
Thanks for posting.
The basic theme of UNGIFTED is that there is a little scrap of genius in every kid. Donovan isn’t brilliant like most of the students at the Academy, but his gift is the ability to be normal, to live a normal existence that is so difficult for the geniuses. It would never occur to them to name the robot, right? That was Donovan — and it gave the whole project a new interest and excitement to have Tin Man, not just “the robot.” And to operate the robot creatively was also something they simply couldn’t manage. Again, that came easily to Donovan, who was skilled with a video gaming controller. So he was gifted too, but in a different way from them.
OK? I hope that explains what you wanted to know. If you enjoyed the book, I hope you’ll read the sequel, SUPERGIFTED, now available. Laughs guaranteed!
Best regards,
—-Gordon Korman—-