Name: The Classmate
ISBN: 9781950020584

Will McIntosh

Benjamin goes from nervous to terrified when a dangerous creature joins his class at his new middle school. Written by Hugo Award-winning author Will McIntosh, The Classmate is a suspenseful adventure that will thrill sci-fi fans both young and young at heart.

The Classmate

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher and author. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Classmate

Author: Will McIntosh

Book Series: Standalone for now

Rating: 4/5

Diversity: MC with Anxiety Disorder

Recommended For...: middle grade readers, sci-fi

Publication Date: June 21, 2022

Genre: MG Sci-Fi

Age Relevance: 12+ (gore, violence, some scary moments)

Explanation of Above: There is slight blood in the book and some violence, including scary moments.

Publisher: Future House Publishing

Pages: 170

Synopsis: Thirteen-year-old Benjamin is pulled from his old life and forced to attend a special boarding school in the middle of nowhere. That's confusing enough. Then, he's fed instructions through an earbud and thrown into etiquette classes alongside an angry, spike-covered creature. Despite wearing purple dresses and having the unassuming name of Eve, the creature is horrifying and, as Eve quickly demonstrates, dangerous.
 
With the help of his new friends Lorena and Persephone, Ben must overcome his own anxieties and uncover the truth about Eve’s origin. But he learns that the school's agenda is much bigger than he ever thought possible. Ben needs to earn Eve’s trust, and fast. The fate of the world depends on it. 

Review: For the most part the book was pretty good. It has an interesting concept and I think that if it was developed a bit more it would be amazing. The book had fairly well developed characters and the world building was fair too. The book also has a good message about acceptance.

However, there were some parts of this book that were icky to me. There are real life events where teens are taken from their parents under false pretenses for “camp” where they are starved and tortured and the book, how it was worded, started to give me those vibes. I’m glad it was just a government thing, but for younger readers parents might want to read the book first so they can judge if this would be appropriate for their children.

Verdict: It was ok!
