Customer Reviews

a semester in the life of a garbage bag

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is one of the greatest. Gordon Korman is, in my opinion, the best fiction author of the 20th and 21st centuries. I LOVE his books, and wish all the great old ones were back in print. I highly recommend his books to all the readers I meet. Thankfully, among my siblings and I, we have several of the old books, but I wish they were all more readily available, as we don't have some of our favorites. I don't think words can adequately express how beloved these books are; they are a delightful read. The person who decided they should go out of print must be insane or have no taste. If I were a school administrator, I would have all the children read these books, especially this one. They are a shining star among the trash that is out there today for young people.

Gordan Korman is a brilliant writer from way back...His characters are always getting into trouble (and out of it!), and through romance, parents, and stupid teachers, all of his books will make you laugh out loud (over and over and over...). _Semester in the Life.._ is his longest book, and it is also the best! If you are looking for a laugh, try to find this book... Korman presents real life with believeable characters, even though some are a few nuts short of a fruitcake...trust me...If you are drinking something while reading these, read at your own risk, for it may shoot out your nose, you will laugh that hard!

i loved this book at age 12, and i just reread it now - it's extremely good. raymond jardine is a top-rate literary character. i might not be able to go so far as the reviewer who called Gordon Korman "the best fiction author of the 20th and 21st centuries," but he definitely has something really special.

A Semester in the Life of A Garbage bag is hilarious! The poems in it were so funny. The weird characters, the great plot, and the hysterical jokes make this book a must-read. It is definitely the best book I've ever read!

like the previous reviewers this is possibly the funniest book I've ever read. I'm a screenwriter who briefly taught junior high English and recommended it to any student who would listen. It's a crime that it's out of print. At one point I contacted Korman about optioning it to adapt as a feature and his attorney said he was already doing that. That was five years ago. I hope he gets it made some day. It's a bona fide classic.

My friend introduced me to this book many years ago. We read it out loud to each other and I have read it out loud to several people since (family, roommates....) Korman is great for zany characters but Jardine is his best. I actually found a Raymond Jardine in the phone book here in St. John's, Newfoundland, and had the strongest urge to give him a call, but I restrained myself! Korman at his very best. Love the poems. I have my own paperback copy but would love to get a hardback. Bring this one back!

This was a incredibly funny book. I've read 5 times and it just gets funnier. Jardine is my favorite chacter because he reminds me of my self. Gordon Korman Rules. He is the funniest author in the world.

Peace and all that!

Words cannot describe how I feel about this book; I read it in high school, and it's phemonenal, it's fantasic, it's amazing. It's a story that takes place in 1987 Long Island, which is the best possible time for this story. The town the characters live in is a fictional town called DeWitt, but it is right next to Seaford, which is actually a real town. The entire story has a good, homey feel to it and it was just a pleasure reading. It needs to go back in print. I'm two seconds from starting a petition.

OK, to everyone reading this review of the book. Listen - this is one of the best books that you will ever read. It is a book for young adults that you will read many, many times and enjoy more each time. It is a very funny but down to Earth book in a homely setting in Long Island. Just the fact that it is out of print is a crime. This book needs to be put back into print. I would like to see more of Raymond Jardine, although I do not know if I would like to see a movie of it because I'm pretty comfortable with what I envision in my head about this book. A sequel, however, would be welcomed. In conclusion, read this book. You'll thank me.

While this is not Korman's best work, it was the first indication that he could do something more complex, and more serious, than the Bruno and Boots series that made him famous.

Korman was one of the few authors that I looked forward to reading when I was getting too old for kids books and was still too young for adult novels. His appeal is his humor, which is sophiticated enough to appeal to jaded teens.

This book is full of that same quirky humor, which is embodied in the nonsensical poetry that is just obscure enough to sound "deep" and therefore avoid criticism:

Registration Day

On registration day at taxidermy school

I distinctly saw the eyes of the stuffed moose

Move.

The plot revolves around Sean Delancey and his trouble-courting friend Raymond Jardine, who find themselves getting sucked in deeper and deeper in an attempt to bring an obscure dead author back to life. Seemingly innocent white lies compound, until they're forced to take drastic measures to avoid severe consequences.

This book is good because the quirky characters and "prank" style action keep the pages turning, and the humorous writing doesn't get in the way of the interesting story. I wouldn't recommend that you make this your first Gordon Korman book (No Coins Please is probably a better place to start, depending on how old you are), but if you're a fan of his writing, this is another solid entry in his work.