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Benjamin Franklin: Huge Pain In My …    by Adam Mansbach & Alan Zweibel Amazon.com order for
Benjamin Franklin
by Adam Mansbach
Order:  USA  Can
Hyperion, 2015 (2015)
Hardcover, CD, e-Book
* *   Reviewed by Jessica Maguire

Reality. Time travel. Old timey stamps. Middle school. All these come together for Franklin Issac Saturday. The result is a fantastically hilarious story for readers aged ten to fourteen.

Franklin, 'Ike' to his friends, sums up the novel perfectly when he says '... human beings have believed a Ton of Incredibly Stupid Stuff.' When Ike has to do an extra credit project for history he never thought he would have the power to influence the past, or that his letter to a famous historical person would actually reach said person.

So, when Ike receives a response from Benjamin Franklin, he assumes that the class popular guy is just playing a joke on him. But the reality is the old timey stamp Ike swiped from his stepdad, Dirk the Jerk, really did get his letter to Ben Franklin.

With the help of his crush, Claire, Ike realizes he can time travel if he mails himself to B. Franklin and that two kids in the present day have the chance to alter the past. Will this go off without a hitch? Nope.

With his funny communications with his namesake and upbeat contemporary dialog, Ike becomes a real and likeable character. His capers had me rolling my eyes, cringing, and giggling, and also very, very glad not to be a middle school aged kid anymore. I found the ending to be a bit frustrating ... no complete resolution with the door left open for another book (which I look forward to should there be one!)

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