Ungifted by Gordon Korman | Teen Ink

Ungifted by Gordon Korman

February 27, 2024
By 2027144 SILVER, Cannon Falls, Minnesota
2027144 SILVER, Cannon Falls, Minnesota
5 articles 0 photos 0 comments

One time when my friend and I were talking about the books we read I told her I have trouble reading a book from start to finish and staying interested in a book. She had said we both have the same problem with reading books to the end but she recently read the book Ungifted by Gordon Kornam and she read the book the whole way through. She said the book Ungifted had an excellent plot and kept her very interested with a lot of relations to the real world and after reading a good book it motivated her to read more. Once I started reading ungifted, I liked how there were a lot of turns because it kept the book interesting and made me look forward to reading it every day. Another thing I liked about the book was many real-world situations that happened in the book could happen in real life. 


When Abigail realized she made one of her best friends she finally now seeing when he was gone that he meant so much to her but now he was gone and there was nothing she could do about it. This is how Abigal felt when someone who she thought didn't belong at the academy, turned into one of her best friends but now he's kicked out of the academy. One of the three real-world situations that were demonstrated in the book that stuck out to me was not appreciating someone until they're gone. In the book, there were many situations where people from the academy realized how much they liked having Donavan at the school after he had been kicked out. I think that this shows the reader to be appreciative of the people in their lives because they might not be able to stay forever. Another reason this is important is because of how caring people from the academy started to be about Donavan. From the beginning of the book people from the academy didn't think he belonged there and didn't want to take the time to know him. Once they got to know him though they didn't regret it.


The second way that the book Ungifted shows important real-life situations is because it shows deep friendships and why not judge people until you know the real them. In this book, Donavan is new to the academy and the students don't believe he belongs there and aren't very fond of his ideas. Towards the middle and end of the book, the friendships start to show up more as they get to know Donavan. After the kids and their teacher got to know Donavan they thought that he was really cool and that he was a good addition to their group at the academy. Another example of having to get to know people before judging who they are is Donavan friends from his old school didn't like the academy kids and thought they were nerdy. Through the book, people from the academy and people from Donavan's old school get to know each other somewhat better and they all know Donavan likes both friend groups so they stop judging each other because they both care about Donavan and they eventually learned to get along because they all wanted what was best for Donavan. 


My final reason for how the book Ungifted shows real-life situations and life lessons is how important it is to see things from other people's perspectives. I think this is a very important life lesson because you can use it in real life and it will help you better understand people. Throughout the book, Donavan's new teacher at the academy Oz, tries to give Donavan lots of chances and tries to understand him. When people realized Donavan wasn't very gifted and was just normal Oz kept trying different subjects and kept believing him because he knows it must have felt weird for Donavan to be in a new place where he doesn't know anyone and he feel like he doesn't belong. When Donavan was about to be kicked out Oz saw his perspective and knew that it would have been a hard thing to happen and felt sympathy for Donavan because he got put into a gifted program just for them to kick him out soon later. Another example of how this book demonstrates seeing other people's perspectives is when Donavan gets kicked out of the academy, Abigal thinks about how he feels and how much it could affect him to be put into the gifted program and soon taken out. 


Overall, After I read the book Ungifted which my friend recommended to me I found that reading a book that interested me would give me more motivation to read more books in the future. In the book Ungifted written by Gordon Kornam, there are many real-world situations and many life lessons that can help you in your real life. The three I liked and stood out to me the most are realizing how much you appreciate someone once they're gone, how friendships start and how deep and detailed they are because you don't judge someone before you know them, and lastly being able to see other people's perspectives and put yourself in their shoes. After having a conversation with my friend about a book called Ungifted I gained motivation to read more books and I learned many valuable lessons that can help me throughout my life.


The author's comments:

a book that i really liked and taught me life leassons


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on Mar. 15 at 1:07 pm
avery2027 SILVER, Cannon Falls, Minnesota
7 articles 0 photos 7 comments
Sounds like a really good book