DISCLAIMER: I received a digital review copy of The Fort via Edelweiss Above the Treeline in exchange for an honest review

I read my first Gordon Korman book in 4th grade. I picked up Swindle on a whim at the Scholastic book fair and he’s been a favorite ever since.

Masterminds might still be my favorite (it just holds a special place in my heart, y’know) but I always hailed Restart as his best work.

Well, friends, this has topped Restart.

I knew I was going to enjoy this. The synopsis gave me the same vibe as Stand by Me (which is one of my favorite films) and I knew I was going to love it the second I read the summary. But wow. This was absolutely incredible.

It’s a far more serious tone than I’ve read from Korman’s middle grade works (although his latest stuff has taken on a more serious tone with Restart, War Stories, and Linked) but it was so, so good. A few of the kids’ plots hit close to home and they were handled incredibly well.

I honestly can gush about this book all day but alas, I only have so much room here and spoilers are kind of a no-go with arc reviews, but all I need to say is go read this book. I promise you’ll love it.

Perfect for fans of Rob Reiner’s Stand by Me and John David Anderson’s Posted.

I listened to this via Libro.fm's Educator ALC program. It deal with a lot of tough topics--domestic abuse, parental neglect, divorce, and more, but in a way that is appropriate for middle schoolers. The story is told from multiple perspectives, which worked pretty well overall, except for one odd chapter out of a side characters' perspective, which felt out of place. I also thought that the conclusion of the story was a little bit intense with all of the plot lines connecting all at once in a pretty violent way--not beyond belief but a lot all at once in comparison to the pacing of the rest of the book.