Sophomore Undercover

by Ben Esch

Book Overview

WHO: Dixie Nguyen (no, not "Nig Goo Yun") a.k.a the lead (and only) reporter for the school newspaperWHAT: A chance for Dixie to scoop the biggest drug scandal in the history of high school athletics--provided that he can stay out of juvenile hall, the hospital, and new age therapy long enough to piece the story together
WHEN: Homecoming weekWHERE: Stilton, CaliforniaPopulation: 5,864Vietnamese population: Dixie NguyenHOW: Using the power of investigative...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1423113055
• ISBN13: 9781423113058
• Release Date: March 2011
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 10 to 14 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 9

Customer Reviews

Pee in your pants funny and a great read all at the same time!

This is a great book, made me put my homework aside and keep reading until I was done. Written in a way that keeps you interested and intrigued on what is going to happen next while trying not to roll around on the ground laughing. Great humor throughout! As a reader of bibliographies and non-fiction business type books this was a great break and a breathe of fresh air to read for me. I recommend this to anyone with a sense of humor at all and anyone wanting to recollect on the odd parts of high school and growing up.

Finally, a hilarious YA book for guys

Ben Esch has a voice unlike anything I've read before. Every sentence he writes is packed with humor, sometimes subtle and sometimes ridiculously, laugh-out-loud hilarious. His writing most reminds me of Frank Portman's in King Dork, because both Esch and Portman write really funny YA novels aimed squarely at young guys--a welcome contrast to the boatloads of sappy YA fiction for girls out there. Seriously, where are all the young guy writers? So if you like yawn-a-minute stuff like Twilight and Gossip Girl, this book probably isn't for you. But if you like Jud Apatow movies like Superbad and Pineapple Express, you'll love Sophomore Undercover. It's the story of Dixie Nguyen, the only Vietnamese kid in his high school and the star (i.e. only) reporter for the school newspaper. Dixie stumbles upon the story of a lifetime when he witnesses a couple of meatheads shooting up in the locker room. It's up to Dixie to uncover the truth (and bring down his jock tormentors in the process). Sophomore Undercover is a great, contemporary take on the high school experience. It seems like most YA books are written with a moralizing tone by authors who have long forgotten what it was actually like to be a teenager. Not this one. Ben Esch clearly knows his audience and his written a book that any young guy with a sense of humor will identify with and love. Good stuff.

Step Aside Charlie Chan, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys...

Sophomore Undercover is a great debut novel, mostly because Esch's tone is so particular-funny, wry, brazen and honest. It's about time someone took the teenage voice seriously. Will we see more of Dixie Nguyen?! I hope so...

Great New Author

Sophomore Undercover is easy to read and far superior to anything I have read since I was Dixie Nguyen's age. It approaches the lives, interests, and concerns of teens today from a much more contemporary viewpoint than I've read in any other book. The story is absolutely hysterical. It is original and engaging, full of unexpected plot points, and a main character with heart. Esch perfectly captures the voice of a boy in early adolescence and sets the scene so well that you can't put the book down until the investigation is over.

Noir comedy fun

Bought it this morning, finished it this afternoon, Sophomore Undercover is a gripping blend of page-turning detective narrative and guilty-pleasure screwball comedy. Esch chronicles the exhilarating awkwardness of High School through an underdog protagonist that you can't help but root for throughout his mortifying misadventures. Funny and touching, Sophomore Undercover is a pleasure from cover to cover.