Brought home as an advance copy fromALA. The 15 year old was laughing out loud, and so was I. This book is an Origami Yoda read-alike. It has the same case file format and many of the same plot devices (the middle school dance, the misfit guy with several annoying semi-friends, finding community and friendship with the odd kids at school). However, the writing is aimed at later middle school aged kids--Origami Yoda is more for 4th/5th graders and 6th graders. There is a lot more going on in Ungifted: two schools, the military deployment and two pregnancies, plus a robotics competition and a subplot about YouTube. The focus is a portrait of Donovan Curtis, an ordinary kid with a gift for getting into mischief and an ability to empathize with other kids. It's an entertaining story, but (again contrasting it with Origami Yoda), it seemed a little less emotionally focused because the sub plots are so numerous. This would be a good purchase for any middle grade collection.