The Incredible Worlds Of Wally Mcdoogle: #18 My Life As A Busted-up Basketball Backboard

Rating:
Summary: New McDoogle book is NOT a busted up bore!
Review: This new Bill Myers book is TOPS on my list but is still not better than REINDEER ROADKILL. I reccomend getting this book!

Rating:
Summary: The Weirdo
Review: Wally McDoogle, "the world's biggest klutz," is back and this time faces the challenges of, believe it or not, popularity. That's probably the last problem one would expect this extremely accident prone 8th grader to have. However, deep in his heart, Wally McDoogle longs to be respected and admired. So when Ricko Slicko's Advertising Agency claims that "they can take the biggest loser in the country and turn him into the most popular guy on the planet," Wally feels that he is the perfect candidate. Before he knows what has hit him, he is starring in the "A Day in the Life of Willard McDorkel" TV series and girls are flocking to get his autograph. He feels a little troubled by the fact that a stunt-double is performing all the feats of bravery that are garnering him such attention, but allows Ricko Slicko to brush his guilty conscience aside.

Wally's best friends, Wall Street and Opera, attempt to keep him grounded, but as Ricko Slicko's entrepreneurial vision grows larger and larger, gradually including a theme park ride, action figures, and a rock concert starring you know who as its main attraction, Wally lets his new found fame and attention to go to his head. It's not until his attempt to be a star athlete for the high school basketball team leads to an unexpected insight into himself that Wally understands what he really wants and learns that being popular isn't all it's made out to be.

Everything about The Incredible Worlds of Wally McDoogle series is wildly exaggerated. Some readers will find Bill Myers sense of humor to be funny and entertaining; others may find it repetitive and shallow. While the message about popularity's pitfalls comes across loud and clear, the lack of respect shown to adults in the book and the way Wally's family treats one another, even if it is meant to be funny, is troubling.

Rating:
Summary: Wally needs some depth!
Review: Wally McDoogle, "the world's biggest klutz," is back and this time faces the challenges of, believe it or not, popularity. That's probably the last problem one would expect this extremely accident prone 8th grader to have. However, deep in his heart, Wally McDoogle longs to be respected and admired. So when Ricko Slicko's Advertising Agency claims that "they can take the biggest loser in the country and turn him into the most popular guy on the planet," Wally feels that he is the perfect candidate. Before he knows what has hit him, he is starring in the "A Day in the Life of Willard McDorkel" TV series and girls are flocking to get his autograph. He feels a little troubled by the fact that a stunt-double is performing all the feats of bravery that are garnering him such attention, but allows Ricko Slicko to brush his guilty conscience aside.

Wally's best friends, Wall Street and Opera, attempt to keep him grounded, but as Ricko Slicko's entrepreneurial vision grows larger and larger, gradually including a theme park ride, action figures, and a rock concert starring you know who as its main attraction, Wally lets his new found fame and attention to go to his head. It's not until his attempt to be a star athlete for the high school basketball team leads to an unexpected insight into himself that Wally understands what he really wants and learns that being popular isn't all it's made out to be.

Everything about The Incredible Worlds of Wally McDoogle series is wildly exaggerated. Some readers will find Bill Myers sense of humor to be funny and entertaining; others may find it repetitive and shallow. While the message about popularity's pitfalls comes across loud and clear, the lack of respect shown to adults in the book and the way Wally's family treats one another, even if it is meant to be funny, is troubling.