Contemporary

Slugfest

by Korman Gordon

5.0
Reviewed May 20, 2026

Ivy absolutely loved *Slugfest* by Gordon Korman, giving it a perfect 5 out of 5 for its hilarious premise of a superstar athlete stuck in summer school PE with a ragtag group of misfits who must band together against all odds. She praised the rotating perspectives, unexpected plot twists, and heartfelt themes of teamwork and kindness, calling it one of her favorite Gordon Korman books and a definite page-turner for fans of humorous realistic fiction.

Ivy's Review

Slugfest by Gordon Korman mainly follows Arnie "Yash" Yashenko as he and his fellow Slugs survive PEE, Physical Education Equivalent. Yash is a super athlete. He can play any sport and plays on high school teams. Yash is the star of his school and has almost everyone wrapped around his little finger. Then one day, the principal tells him that he failed middle school PE because he was helping the high schoolers win. Yash, superstar athlete, has to go to summer school to make up middle school PE as the board had made it necessary to pass middle school PE to graduate. He is stuck in PEE AKA Slugfest with the smartest and second smartest kids in middle school, Kaden and Fiona; two twins trying to kill each other, Sarah and Stuart; a notorious prankster, Jesse; an investigative journalist, Arabella; and a natural athlete who's sworn off sports, Cleo. And the worst part is that tryouts for the football team are coming up and the coach will not let Yash do both Slugfest and tryouts. Even then, he'd be a shoo-in for quarterback except there's another player trying out for the team: "Nitro" Nate. To make matters worse, their Slugfest coach plays baby games with them and rewards them with her incredible treats. When Arabella tries to convince the Slugs that their coach is a fake and makes drastic decisions to prove it, Yash becomes set on stopping her. He teams up with the rest of the Slugs to stop Arabella...and prove to his football buddies that the Slugs can be a force to be reckoned with.

This book got a 5 out of 5 because it's so good! I love how the perspectives change every chapter or so and I LOVE Gordon Korman's books. It's super funny and has plot twists that I did not see coming. This book is a definite page-turner and one of my favorite books that Gordon Korman has written. I loved it!

If you like humorous realistic fiction books that promotes teamwork, kindness, and is full of unexpected twists and revelations, or books by Gordon Korman, or BOTH, then you'll LOVE this book! I certainly did!

About This Book

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Unteachables comes a hilarious new story about a group of underdogs who come together when they are forced to attend summer school—for failing PE. Yash is the best athlete at Robinette Middle School. So good, in fact, that he's already been playing on the high school's JV sports teams. Imagine his shock when he learns that his JV practices have kept him from earning a board-mandated credit for eighth-grade PE. To graduate, he has to take Physical Education Equivalency — PEE — which is also known as "Slugfest," in summer school.At Slugfest, Yash meets the other students. Kaden is an academic superstar who's physically hopeless. Twins Sarah and Stuart are too busy trying to kill each other to actually pay attention in class. Jesse is a notorious prankster. Arabella protests just about everything — including mandatory PE. And Cleo is a natural athlete who has sworn off sports. Then there's their "coach," Mrs. Tamara Finnerty, a retired teacher whose idea of physical education seems to have frozen in preschool. But Yash doesn't care — as long as he gets the credit. Too bad one of his fellow "slugs" is determined to blow the lid off a scandal that could make all their time in summer school a waste. And if that weren't bad enough, Yash is in danger of losing his star spot on the JV football team.So Yash recruits his fellow PE rejects to train with him. Spending the summer with the most hapless crew in school can really surprise a person. And their teacher might be hiding the biggest surprise yet . . .

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