Total Knockout: Tale of an Ex-Class President

I love this new book by Taylor Morris. Lucia Latham is a fantastic character: lovable, ambitious, funny and struggling to keep it together under the weight of a middle school political scandal (that she's responsible for). It's a story about what happens when you fall on your face in front of everyone, and have to pick yourself awkwardly back up. Especially for any girls out there who feel the pressure to be perfect-overachievers (when family, friends, and boy issues are hitting the fan) this is a great read!

Total Knockout: Tale of an Ex-Class President by Taylor Morris mixes sports with school, popularity with politics. As thirteen-year-old Lucia prepares to run for class president, she expects to have a landslide victory and a great year. After all, she's already been class president two years in a row. Sure enough, she wins - but after she bends some rules, she gets impeached! She refuses to go down without a fight. As Lucia tries to regain her title and win back her friends, she also struggles with her stubborn streak. It's very hard for her, but she has to face the truth of the matter: she did bend the rules, and she knew it when she did it. With her second novel, Taylor Morris comes out swinging. Lucia's story isn't only about her pull for the class presidency; it's also about her hobbies (she boxes regularly with her best friend Cooper) and her family (her father is out of work, which changes their family dynamic and his personality). I liked that Lucia had to deal with the consequences of her actions, and that, even with all of her smarts, she had to stumble and learn a valuable lesson: sometimes, you have to admit what you did was wrong before you can figure out how to make it right.

Lucia Latham is nothing if not driven. She's going to be elected as president of her junior high school for the third time, a feat never accomplished before. To top that off, Lucia is also a boxer who wakes up extra early every day to practice with her best friend Cooper. Lucie is determined to leave her mark on her junior high school even greater than being a three-time president. But will Lucia know when she is taking it too far? And will she be able to pick herself up if she falls? Total Knockout is Lucia's story of family, friendship, and personal image problems. Totally Knockout is the slightly humorous but very meaningful story of a young girl learning from her mistakes and fixing them. Lucia's character is very easy to understand, because I'm sure we've all been greedy at one time or another. I found it a little amusing when Lucia didn't completely think her plans through, but that turned out to be her downfall. Nevertheless, I still like Lucia's character and was cheering for her to clean up her mess. Some of the other characters, on the other hand, were more difficult for me to understand; they weren't as well developed because the story was told from Lucia's point-of-view. The most interesting addition to the plot was Lucia's boxing, and although I didn't understand many (or any) of the references to boxers, I did like how Lucia applied boxing principles to her life. I also liked how boxing connected Lucia and her father. Like Taylor Morris' other novel, Class Favorite, Total Knockout is most suitable for the middle grade audience. Older readers may enjoy this book too.

Lucia Latham has to win the election. She just has to! She was class president in sixth and seventh grade. Never has the same student been voted president of Angus Junior High three years in a row, and Lucia will do whatever it takes to make history, including talking her friend, Melanie, into running for president alongside her. There's no way Melanie will beat her, and when she comes in second, then Melanie would become her vice-president. And with her best friend, Cooper, running unopposed for secretary, shell have no problems getting the council to go along with her big idea! But, in asking Melanie to run, she doesn't figure in the possibility that Melanie might actually be more popular that she is. And when the principal puts Lucia's big plan into motion, Lucia doesn't expect the students, including those on her own council, to hate it. And since nobody else really cares about student council the way she does, Lucia certainly never expected Nicole Jeffries, the school's top reporter, to discover that she had broken one of the student council by-laws, resulting in a scathing article that called for Lucia to resign or be impeached! As Lucia's presidency crumbles she finds she has no one to talk to. Her father has been little more than useless since losing his job. Her mother, already stressed from having to carry the full financial load, is all out of sympathy. And Melanie seems to actually enjoy being the new president. Lucia heads over to Cooper's to vent and ends up confused and angry when she finds him boxing with Melanie! What will Lucia decide to do when she finds out about Melanie's plan for the big yearly 8th-grade fundraiser? Will she be able to help her dad find his way back into the game? And what about Cooper? Will she ever be able to look at him like she used to? Her best friend ever? Once again, Ms. Morris has created a delightful cast of characters. The reader will relate to Melanie's frustration after doing something she knew was wrong, and now having to cope with the natural consequences. They'll recognize her confused emotions as Cooper stirs strange feelings, and her resulting jealousy of Melanie. Sprinkle in a few upper cuts and jabs, and the result is a total knockout! Although this second book is more serious than Taylor Morris' debut novel, if you loved CLASS FAVORITE, you will be equally thrilled with TOTAL KNOCKOUT! Reviewed by: Cana Rensberger