Control Freaks

by J.E. Thomas

Overview

What if Louis Sachar's Wayside School were a little less wacky – but just as funny – and centered on a young Black boy who IS going to be the great inventor of all time, and set in the top STEM middle school in the country, oh and it was written by someone who worked for years in independent schools, and it also tackles what it's like to live in a blended family and to stand up to a parent who's not being so great and to truly work together with your peers?

It might look a little like J.E. Thomas's Control Freaks :)

Benjamin Banneker STEM Academy is the top middle school in Denver. Let's just say the kids are . . . competitive. When Principal Yee announces the start of an epic Team Competition for the school, Frederick Douglass Zezzmer knows that trophy's got his name on it. That'll show his sports-obsessed Dad that he's worthy, right? Only problem is, it's a TEAM competition … and Doug isn't so great working in a team environment (except with his best friend Huey, of course).

Control Freaks is a clever send-up of school – and a genuine portrait of a kid and family – that kids across the country will see themselves and find joy and connection in.hild.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781646143184
Publisher:	Levine Querido
Publication date:	06/13/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	702,883
File size:	5 MB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

J.E. Thomas grew up near Colorado's Front Range mountains. She spent her early summers stuffing grocery bags with books at the local library, reading feverishly, then repeating the process week after week. J.E. has bachelors' degrees in Mass Communications and Political Science, as well as a master's degree in Public Communications. She wrote Control Freaks while working as an administrator at the same independent school she attended as c

Editorial Reviews

04/17/2023

A driven Black middle schooler attending Denver’s prestigious Benjamin Banneker College Prep must become a team player in Thomas’s debut, a witty competition drama. Frederick Douglass Zezzmer has a 57-step plan to become the World’s Greatest Inventor, but Doug’s birth father—a former Denver Broncos player who recently reentered his life—has a different vision for him: attending the Elite Juniors sports camp. Doug believes that participating in, and winning, a weeklong STEAM and sports tournament will persuade his father into letting Doug pursue his own dreams. But to succeed, Doug must collaborate with classmates from varying disciplines, including art and athletics, something that forces him out of his comfort zone and challenges him in new ways. As Doug navigates budding friendships, dynamic rivalries, and tense familial relationships, he realizes that he doesn’t have to do everything on his own, and that not everyone is as they seem. By utilizing multiple POVs, including that of Doug’s stepbrother, Thomas lays the groundwork for a telling that prioritizes characters’ interiority as well as their impact on each other’s lives. While Doug’s determined voice is the primary focus, the rotating narratives showcase each of the racially diverse characters’ individual stressors, delivering a well-rounded accounting that is better for its multiplicity. Ages 8–12. (June)

Publishers Weekly

[STAR] “[A] warm and funny debut… reminiscent of E.L. Konigsburg’s The View From Saturday” — Booklist (starred)

"Creative and hilarious.” — Kirkus

“Witty” – Publishers Weekly

“Thomas’s debut novel is a refreshing take on middle-school life—smart kids who know they are going places but learn to take care of one another along the way.” — Horn Book

“Being a middle school kid is… Complicated. And author J.E. Thomas knows how to show readers just how much is going on in a tween’s world, in a fun and engaging way. Rich characters, realistic portrayal of middle school life, and action surrounding a STEAMS Competition makes CONTROL FREAKS a perfect book for kids, parents, and educators alike.” – Fleur Bradley, author of Midnight at the Barclay Hotel 

A People Magazine Must-Read of Summer 2023

“Thomas uses wacky humor to deliver a light but laudable message about teamwork and friendship being more important than placing first.” — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

10/20/2023

Gr 3–7—Black seventh grader Frederick Douglass Zezzmer (Doug) is an aspiring inventor and one of the most competitive students at Benjamin Banneker, a top STEM magnet school in Colorado. When Principal Yee announces a competition that forces students to not only compete in STEM subjects, but also in arts and sports, Doug is determined to win. However, he finds himself on a misfit team made up of his best friend Huey, a would-be magician afraid of taking center stage; Liam, a good-natured klutz from a family of athletes; the intense and universally feared Padgett; and Travis, aka "The Shark," a diminutive future astronaut. On top of this, his biological father keeps ignoring Doug's scientific ambitions, determined to turn him into an athlete like he was. Thomas uses wacky humor to deliver a light but laudable message about teamwork and friendship being more important than placing first. This collaborative ethos is reinforced by the structure of the book, which features distinct chapters from multiple characters' perspectives (Padgett's chapters are written as emails to her grandmother, while Travis's are presented in verse). The characters are racially diverse and students who sign, use wheelchairs, and have service animals are mentioned. Characters also come from a broad range of family structures: Doug is from a blended family and has a stepbrother he initially detests; Huey has six parents thanks to multiple remarriages; Travis's mother is dead; and Padgett lives with her grandmother in a motel. VERDICT Notable for its overt focus on STEM and its promotion of female and Black scientists, this will be of most interest to libraries seeking humorous novels about school and family life that feature diverse protagonists.—Leonie Jordan

School Library Journal

2023-03-14
Family, friends, and middle school are tough in ways this book intuitively gets and even celebrates.

At elite Benjamin Banneker College Prep in Denver, a new weeklong STEAMS competition—that is, science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics, and sports—requires collaboration among teams of sixth through eighth graders. For Black seventh grader Frederick Douglass Zezzmer, losing is not even an option. His former professional football player dad has recently come back into his life with big sports-centric expectations for Doug. However, Doug intends to become the “World’s Greatest Inventor,” avoid summer sports camp, and legitimize his talents in his dad’s eyes. His nervous but optimistic best friend, Huey, is also part of comically named team TravLiUeyPadgeyZezz, a portmanteau of the students’ names. While Doug’s point of view is foremost, the novel’s narration shifts among many perspectives, giving a rich, panoramic view of how stressful yet ultimately rewarding these learning experiences are for the overachievers, the socially awkward, the kids with complicated home lives, and all those—young and old—who just need to see each other a little differently. The competition itself impressively brings readers into the week’s suspense while highlighting insights that many who have had to balance the demands of academics with the complexities of home life already know—and that Doug and his crew are finding out the hard way.

Creative and hilarious. (Fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews