Summary: My Life As a Potato
After a series of unfortunate incidents with potatoes, Ben Hardy is sure he’s cursed. So you can imagine his terror when his family moves to Idaho and his school’s mascot is a potato! When Ben accidently causes the mascot to sprain his ankle, the coach insists that he replace the injured mascot. As the new kid, Ben is scared to tank his social status and lose his new friends and potential friendships with the cool kids, so he decides to hide his identity as the mascot. But soon, one lie leads to another and Ben’s lies threaten to topple all the good things in his new life in Idaho.
The Good
I had so much fun listening to this one on audio. The narrator does a great job of bringing Ben’s voice to life and reflecting the humor in the story.
Ben is a fascinating character who will be very relatable to middle schoolers (even older ones like 8th graders). He’s a new kid who has a couple of friends already but can’t stop eyeing the more popular kids and just when he gets an potential in with them, he’s stuck with the role of school mascot. As with any mistaken/hidden identity story, there are many near-misses and almost gotchas as Ben tries to hide his identity as a mascot from his friends and the cool kids.
The kids in this story feel older. They’re more concerned about school dances, crushes, and getting into high school, but the story manages to still be humorous in a way that younger middle schoolers will still appreciate. Ben is in an Idaho small town so we see how he adjusts from life in the city to living in a small town in a way that feels reminiscent of The Doughnut Fix. Finally, there’s a surprisingly cute crush subplot that will thrill readers who love a sweet romance in their middle grade books.
Content Notes
Here are some specifics to know about the content.
Content Warnings
- Death: None on page
- Alcohol/substance abuse: None
- Violence: None
- Sexual content: Two tweens share a kiss
Diversity
- Ethnic: Main characters are cued white
- Sexual orientation: Main characters are cued straight
Recommended for ages: 9+
Publisher Details
Publisher details | Yearling; Reprint Edition |
Author: | Arianne Costner |
Illustrator: | N/A |
Publication date: | March 15, 2022 |
Audiobook? | Yes, Libro.fm |
Page count: | 288 |
Cover artists | Designer: |
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