BenBee and the teacher griefer : the kids under the stairs

Love that Dog meets Mr. Bixby's Last Day in this funny, clever, video game-uplifting novel-in-verse. Ben Bennet failed the Language Arts section of the Florida State Test.

Now he and three classmates are stuck in a summer school class.

But these kids aren't dumb-they're divergent thinkers, as Ms. J tells them: they simply approach things in a different way than traditional school demands.

Soon, they win over Ms. J with their passion for Sandbox, a Minecraft-type game.

The kids make a deal with Ms. J: every minute they spend reading aloud equals one minute they get to play Sandbox in class.

But when the administration finds out about this unorthodox method of teaching, Ben B. and his buds have to band together to save their teacher's job-and their own academic future. Each chapter is told through the perspective of one of the four students, making for a distinct and engaging cast of characters.

This heartwarming, laugh-out-loud novel-in-verse, the first in a cycle of complementary, but not continuing, storylines, is an honest, heartfelt collection of books about friendship, school, and video games that celebrates different types of intelligence and encourages even the most reluctant reader to embrace their own "divergent" self.