Unplugged by Gordan Korman – Book Review

Title: Unplugged Author: Gordan Korman Publisher: Balzer + Bray Release Date: January 5, 2021

Jet Baranov is the son of the tech genius Vlad Baranov. Jet also happens to be a spoiled brat, willing to do anything that will get the attention of his busy parents. When one of Jet’s stunts finally crosses the line for his father, Vlad sends him to a wellness retreat in Arkansas, the Oasis. Its pathfinders (“instructors”) do all they can to make its visitors whole. The Oasis also prohibits all technology and serves the healthiest foods. From Jet’s perspective, it is a prison, and he chooses to treat such a sentence as a challenge, doing everything in his power to get kicked out. In the process, Jet and a few other younger Oasis attendees discover a hungry critter on the property. Then, they band together to keep their newfound pet alive. More rule-breaking follows as the young people of the Oasis find themselves up against sinister forces they never expected at the wellness retreat. Only true acts of bravery, care, empathy, and friendship will uncover the dark secrets lurking all about.

Unplugged by Gordon Korman stitches together several character’s stories to explain the unique personalities that all still find their way to the Oasis. The multiple points of view present a range of experiences towards a wellness (and tech-free) escape. It seeks to portray different attitudes about a potentially interesting topic. Unfortunately, the technique also stretches the narrative, leaving each individual voices without depth, transformation, and intrigue. The characters, who all assume the White Default, fulfill stereotypical categories: the hater, the lover, the go-with-the-flow person, and the mysterious one. Even as the last, suspenseful chapters unfold, though, hardly any of the characters undergo a significant personal change. The ones do seem affected by all the events of the plot live on the story’s periphery, and readers are merely told about these changes rather than having them shown. Still, Korman is exceptionally talented at creating suspense, creating dynamic conflicts, and drawing in readers at just the right moment. First, they’ll need to make it past the first third of the novel, which does drag, but if they do, Unplugged‘s intrigue will maintain the interest of middle grade readers.

As far as teachers are concerned, Unplugged offers surprising potential. Although the novel itself does not necessarily provide repeated opportunities to explore the effects of social media and the need for unplugged wellness, it still does create a platform for exploring these important and timely topics. Therefore, while the book may leave teachers yearning for more literary depth, its appeal to young people and the relevance of its social elements may be just the springboard students need to explore a world Unplugged.

Thank you to Edelweiss+ and publisher, Balzer + Bray, for an eARC of this book.

Classroom Applications

• Book Club or Book Exchange – Share the novel with students that enjoy reading mysteries or realistic fiction books.

Nonfiction Connections

The list below outlines topics that will enrich your students’ understanding of the novel.

• Effects of Social Media
• Effects of Device Usage
• Wellness & Meditation

Book Companions

The following are great books to pair with Unplugged. In parenthesis are the specific aspects students could explore when synthesizing across the texts.

• Posted by John David Anderson (Character Connections, Nonfiction Connections, Themes)

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