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    About Average
    About Average
    About Average
    Ebook109 pages1 hour

    About Average

    By Andrew Clements and Mark Elliott

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Can average be amazing? The bestselling author of Frindle shows that with a little kindness, it can.

    Jordan Johnston is average. Not short, not tall. Not plump, not slim. Not gifted, not flunking out. Even her shoe size is average. She’s ordinary for her school, for her town, for even the whole wide world, it seems.

    Then Marlea Harkins, one of the most popular girls in school—and most definitely the meanest—does something unthinkable, and suddenly nice, average Jordan isn’t thinking average thoughts anymore. She wants to get Marlea back! But what’s the best way to beat a bully? Could it be with kindness?

    Called “a genius of gentle, high concept tales set in suburban middle school” by The New York Times, bestselling author Andrew Clements presents a compelling story of the greatest achievement possible—self-acceptance.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAtheneum Books for Young Readers
    Release dateJul 24, 2012
    ISBN9781416997269
    Author

    Andrew Clements

    Andrew Clements (1949–2019) was the author of the enormously popular Frindle. More than 10 million copies of his books have been sold, and he was nominated for a multitude of state awards, including a Christopher Award and an Edgar Award. His popular works include About Average, Troublemaker, Extra Credit, Lost and Found, No Talking, Room One, Lunch Money, and more. He was also the author of the Benjamin Pratt & the Keepers of the School series. Find out more at AndrewClements.com.

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    Reviews for About Average

    3.5/5

    51 ratings11 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Audiobook Review: I've just started getting into audiobooks, and this was the first middle grade audiobook I've listened too. It was short and sweet and only two discs long but I was able to listen to it in one commute to and from work which was nice to get the full story in one day. I feel like most girls have felt like they were just average at one point or another in life whether it be in looks or abilities or talents. That being said it made the main character Jordan that much more relatible.She made a goal for herself that by the end of the year she would find something that would make her more then ordinary. In fact, she was aiming for extraordinary. Her big moment happens for her at a time completely unexpected and in way that she would never assume would be her shining moment.I loved this story, it was so cute, and had a great message to it as well.I didn't expect the twist that the book turned in at all and for that I really enjoyed it that much more. I liked Celia Keenan-Bolger who was the narrator of the audiobook, her voice was easy to listen too, and it fit the story. I would recommend this audiobook to anyone with younger kids, as well as adults that enjoy a good middle-grade story every once in a while.
    • 3/5
      Engaging early level novel for 3rd, 4th and 5th graders about a girl who thinks she is average at everything until one of her teachers helps her discover a hidden talent.
    • 1/5
      I think this is my least favorite Andrew Clements' book. I don't think the characters ring true. They just weren't believable.This is not one that I would recommend.
    • 3/5
      Narrated by Celia Keenan-Bolger. Over the course of a hot school day, Jordan's averageness comes to the fore as all around her she notes classsmates who are better athletes, more popular, prettier, louder, and smarter than she. Popular girl Marlia isn't helping matters by teasing Jordan about her privately created list of personal attributes. But when an unexpected tornado hits the school grounds, it ends up being Jordan's moment to shine: with her organizational skill she mobilizes the other kids to save themselves. Keenan-Bolger fully expresses Jordan's frustration with being "average." Reassuring for kids who think they don't have much to offer; their time will come to shine.
    • 4/5
      A super quick read with a great message about staying true to yourself and not letting bullies change you. Highly recommended.
    • 3/5
      Average - not something that usually comes to mind with Andrew Clements.
      Good enough to spend time reading but not good enough to spend money on (I got this out of the library).
    • 3/5
      An appealing, relatable story about a 6th grade girl who discovers ordinary people can do extraordinary things.
    • 4/5
      Jordan feels like she's got a lot of things that she's okay at, but not many that she's really good at. And it doesn't help that Marlea, the leader of the Cute Girls, teases her every chance she gets. Jordan thinks hard about how she wants to deal with Marlea, and realizes that being nice fits her personality, so she decides to be true to herself and see how that works out. Then a natural disaster strikes, and Jordan gets to add another great skill to things she's really good at.
    • 5/5
      Hey!!!!
      Who knew Jordan, Plain and Average could save people’s lives??? I daresay, THIS is an ending!
    • 5/5
      I loved the book because of her bravery and that she was plain
    • 1/5
      Boring.

    Book preview

    About Average - Andrew Clements

    CHAPTER ONE

    CERTAINTY

    It was a sunny spring morning, but there was murder in the air. Jordan Johnston was killing Pomp and Circumstance. Actually, the whole elementary school orchestra was involved. It was a musical massacre.

    But Jordan’s violin was especially deadly. It screeched like a frightened owl. Mr. Graisha glared at her, snapping his baton up and down, side to side, fighting to keep all twenty-three students playing in unison. It was a losing battle. He glanced up at the clock and then waved both arms as if he needed to stop a freight train.

    "All right, all right, stop playing—everyone, stop. Stop! He mopped his forehead with a handkerchief and smiled as best he could. I think that’s enough for this morning. Don’t forget that this is Thursday, and we have a special rehearsal right here after school—don’t be late. And if you have any free time at all during the day, please practice. We are not going to play well together if you can’t play well by yourself, right? Practice!"

    Jordan put away her violin carefully. She loved the instrument, and she was very good at putting it away. She was also good at polishing the rich brown wood and keeping the strings in tune, and keeping the bow in tip-top condition. It was playing the thing that gave her trouble.

    But she was not going to give up on it.

    She had given up on so many things during the past eight months. The violin was her last stand, her line in the sand. She was bound and determined to become a gifted violinist—instead of a scary one.

    She was still a member of the sixth-grade chorus, but she didn’t feel that was much of an accomplishment. Every other sixth grader was in it too.

    Jordan wasn’t shy about singing. She sang right out. She sang so loudly that Mr. Graisha had taken her aside one day. He was in charge of all things musical at Baird Elementary School—band, orchestra, chorus, everything.

    Jordan, you have great . . . enthusiasm. But it would be good if you didn’t sing louder than all the other kids around you. The audience needs to hear them too, don’t you think?

    Jordan got the message: Your voice isn’t so good.

    She almost always sang the correct notes, she was sure of that. She wasn’t a terrible singer—just not good enough to be the loudest one. Her voice was about average.

    Her friend Kylie had a gorgeous voice, high and sweet and clear—but she was so timid. Kylie barely made a squeak during chorus practice, and she hardly whispered at concerts. It drove Jordan crazy.

    She wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake her and shout, "Kylie, if I had a voice like yours, I would already live in Hollywood—no kidding, I would be a star by now! What is wrong with you?"

    Jordan was a careful observer of all the talented kids at her school—the ones who got the trophies and awards, the ones who were written up in the local newspaper, the ones who were obviously going to go on and do amazing and wonderful things all the rest of their lives. They were the gifted ones, the talented ones, the special ones.

    And she was not one of them.

    After her violin was tucked safely into its bulletproof case, Jordan began putting away the music stands. She carried them one by one and stacked them over in the dark corner of the stage next to the heavy folds of the red velvet curtain. When all twenty-three stands were arranged neatly, she folded the metal chairs and then stacked each one onto a rolling cart. She also tipped Mr. Graisha’s heavy podium up onto its rollers and wheeled it over to its place next to the grand piano.

    It was already warm in the auditorium, and she leaned against the piano a moment. Moving that wooden podium always made her feel like a weight lifter, and she didn’t want to start sweating so early in the day. It had been hotter than normal all week long.

    Jordan had volunteered at the start of the school year to be the orchestra stage manager. She arrived early for each rehearsal and set up the chairs and the music stands. Then, after rehearsal, she stayed to put them all away again.

    She didn’t do this to get on Mr. Graisha’s good side—the only sure way to do that was to be a super-talented musician. She just liked helping out. She also liked the stage to be orderly. She knew how to arrange the chairs and music stands correctly, and she understood how to put everything away again, just right.

    Her best friend, Nikki Scanlon, had wanted to be the co-manager, but Jordan enjoyed doing the work herself. Also, by the time she finished putting things away three mornings a week, Jordan was sometimes by herself, alone on the big stage. She enjoyed that, too.

    And today, like the other times she’d been alone in there, she went to the center of the stage and looked out over all the empty seats.

    Baird Elementary School had once been the town’s high school, and the auditorium was in a separate building off to one side. It was a large room. Row after row of theater seats sloped up to the back wall.

    Jordan smiled modestly and walked to the front edge of the stage. Looking out over the crowd, she lowered her eyes then took a long, graceful bow.

    The people were standing up now, whistling and hooting and clapping like crazy. She smiled and bowed again, then gave a special nod to her mom and dad, there in the front row. She even smiled sweetly at her big sister, Allie, and her little brother, Tim. Of course, Tim

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