What do you think?
Rate this book
Big Nate Novels #8
Big Nate Blasts Off
Soon to be an animated series from Nickelodeon!
For fans of the hilarious Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, here comes the eighth novel in the New York Times bestselling series Big Nate.
BIG NATE IS BLASTING OFF!
Nate has a crush on Ruby. But after his scrap with Randy Betancourt makes headlines in the Weekly Bugle, he's got a problem WAY worse than detention! Can Nate bounce back? And will the annual Mud Bowl be a blast . . . or a bust?
Meet BIG NATE, P.S. 38's coolest doodler and definitely NOT the teacher's pet.
For fans of the hilarious Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, here comes the eighth novel in the New York Times bestselling series Big Nate.
BIG NATE IS BLASTING OFF!
Nate has a crush on Ruby. But after his scrap with Randy Betancourt makes headlines in the Weekly Bugle, he's got a problem WAY worse than detention! Can Nate bounce back? And will the annual Mud Bowl be a blast . . . or a bust?
Meet BIG NATE, P.S. 38's coolest doodler and definitely NOT the teacher's pet.
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 16, 2016
1498 people are currently reading
2704 people want to read
About the author
Lincoln Peirce
259 books1,113 followersLincoln Peirce is a cartoon artist from Portland, Maine. He lives with his wife and two children, and occasionally gives lectures to students about cartoon creating. Peirce writes the comic strip "Big Nate". Peirce's comic strip, Big Nate, is featured as an island on the famous children's website, Poptropica. Big Nate appears as the first cartoon on The Maine Sunday Telegram in the comics section.
He studied art at Colby College in Maine were he began cartooning. He also studied at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture before teaching art and coaching basketball at a New York highschool for 3 years. He currently plays hockey with "an old men's league" and describes it as his best sport as a child. In an interview with the Washington Post, Peirce stated that his last name is pronounced "purse" and is not a misspelling of "pierce."
Lincoln Peirce was a member of the "Surviving as a Print Cartoonist" Panel at the Maine Comics Art Festival with fellow cartoonists Corey Pandolph (Barkeater Lake, Toby: Robot Satan, The Elderberries), Norm Feuri (Retail, Gill) and with Mike Lynch moderating. On the panel Lincoln revealed he is currently working with some animation and licensing projects including the addition of a Big Nate island to the online game Poptropica.
He studied art at Colby College in Maine were he began cartooning. He also studied at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture before teaching art and coaching basketball at a New York highschool for 3 years. He currently plays hockey with "an old men's league" and describes it as his best sport as a child. In an interview with the Washington Post, Peirce stated that his last name is pronounced "purse" and is not a misspelling of "pierce."
Lincoln Peirce was a member of the "Surviving as a Print Cartoonist" Panel at the Maine Comics Art Festival with fellow cartoonists Corey Pandolph (Barkeater Lake, Toby: Robot Satan, The Elderberries), Norm Feuri (Retail, Gill) and with Mike Lynch moderating. On the panel Lincoln revealed he is currently working with some animation and licensing projects including the addition of a Big Nate island to the online game Poptropica.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 214 reviews
May 10, 2017
Before reading
Just placed the order, eagerly waiting....
After reading
This book was perfect! I was bit let down by last installment but this one was awesome!
Seriously at one point, I choked out with emotions and wanted to cry *tiny sob*. It was heart touching, heart warming, cute over the top book.
And we have new character in this one as well - Ruby <3
Just placed the order, eagerly waiting....
After reading
This book was perfect! I was bit let down by last installment but this one was awesome!
Seriously at one point, I choked out with emotions and wanted to cry *tiny sob*. It was heart touching, heart warming, cute over the top book.
And we have new character in this one as well - Ruby <3
November 5, 2024
Lincoln Peirce can effortlessly make you laugh by presenting a good solid plot, believable characters and great life lessons that was cleverly wrapped with giggles that melt your heart.
The only thing that i didn't like is unnecessary jokes that were made on the expense of some helpless characters. Like making fun of some students/teachers appearances.
The only thing that i didn't like is unnecessary jokes that were made on the expense of some helpless characters. Like making fun of some students/teachers appearances.
March 4, 2016
5 stars. Big Nate has always held a soft spot in my heart, since 2011 when I first read this series. And, as he always has in the past, made me grin like an idiot and wish the book was longer.
In a nutshell? This book has a very basic plot: Nate is elated to hear that his new crush Ruby is seating next to him in his social studies class. But! He has competition. The school bully, Randy, also has a crush on Ruby!
Yep there's a love triangle.
But the book was so cutesy and funny and it didn't matter one bit!
And I enjoyed the way Nate and the rest of the characters are developing as well!
Ahh, this was a fantastic quick read.
In a nutshell? This book has a very basic plot: Nate is elated to hear that his new crush Ruby is seating next to him in his social studies class. But! He has competition. The school bully, Randy, also has a crush on Ruby!
Yep there's a love triangle.
But the book was so cutesy and funny and it didn't matter one bit!
And I enjoyed the way Nate and the rest of the characters are developing as well!
Ahh, this was a fantastic quick read.
Read
March 23, 2016Big Nate Blasts off is a hilarious book. It's the next book in the Big Nate series and is probably the funniest yet. Nate is preparing for the Mudbowl. The game PS 38 plays against Jefferson Middle School (which Nates dad invented). He also has a crush on a girl named Ruby which Randy Betancourt has a crush on too. during the book, Nate and Randy grow closer and closer friends, and soon they become great friends, but Ruby kisses Nate then Randy gets upset because he had a crush on her too.
Then, Nate goes on the verge of moving to California but then his dad finds a job.
I enjoyed this book because I was Practically laughing the whole time! it was so funny. My favourite part is when Nate makes the winning catch against Jefferson in the Mudbowl.
Then, Nate goes on the verge of moving to California but then his dad finds a job.
I enjoyed this book because I was Practically laughing the whole time! it was so funny. My favourite part is when Nate makes the winning catch against Jefferson in the Mudbowl.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 26, 2016
A great ending. Big Nate really does blast off!
January 31, 2024
It’s hilarious. 16 stars!
February 17, 2022
I think it is a good book. I like how it has comics inside of it.
December 21, 2020
It's always fun to come back to this series. It's fun, it's juvenile, and yeah, sometimes Nate is actually kind of an asshole, but I was pleasantly surprised here. He actually has to deal with some of his assholery. Not only that, but there's a really sweet plotline of conciliatory friendship between former enemies that took me by surprise. It probably doesn't go into depth as much as it could, but what more do you expect from this book? Relatively mature themes and emotional highs and lows really raise the Big Nate bar here. I loved it.
March 10, 2016
*Guest review by the 11 year old*
Audio: This was my first Big Nate audiobook. I liked the narrator, he did a really good job.
Story: I've enjoyed all of the other books in the series. In this one, Nate and Randy both like Ruby and they get in trouble for fighting over her. They have to go to peer counseling and are stuck being partners for different activities. In the end, they aren't really friends, but they do figure out how to get along with each other.
Audio: This was my first Big Nate audiobook. I liked the narrator, he did a really good job.
Story: I've enjoyed all of the other books in the series. In this one, Nate and Randy both like Ruby and they get in trouble for fighting over her. They have to go to peer counseling and are stuck being partners for different activities. In the end, they aren't really friends, but they do figure out how to get along with each other.
October 5, 2022
literally dont ask me why i cried the entire way through like he's my son and best friend and annoyance all in one..
Read
March 23, 2022it was good
March 15, 2016
This book is one of my favorites in the series. I liked this book because it was funny and it had a good story line. This story is told in Nate's point of view and some crazy stuff happens. In this book Nate has a crush on the new girl named Ruby but so does his nemeses Randy. After they fight they have to go to work out their problems, but it after school so he can't practice for the mud bowl with his friends. This book is not that hard to read. I would definitely read more of his books and I would encourage you to try and read them.
If you like funny books with lots of pictures and book with comics i would recommend reading it.
This is such a good book i read it over and over so many time because it was super good.
If you like funny books with lots of pictures and book with comics i would recommend reading it.
This is such a good book i read it over and over so many time because it was super good.
March 10, 2016
PS 38 wins the mud bowl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
April 6, 2016
One of my favourite books in the series. I recommend this to anyone with a sense of humour. :)
December 24, 2019
MARATON Z LITERATURĄ DZIECIĘCĄ ;)
June 1, 2016
Personal Response: I thought this book was really good, because it was really funny and had some action in it as well. I wish that Lincoln Peirce would right even more Big Nate books, because I would read it as soon as I can get it from the library.
Plot: Big Nate Blasts Off by Lincoln Peirce is the eighth and final book in the Big Nate series. The book starts off with Nate talking to Francis, Dee Dee, Chad, and Teddy about why he is so happy to go to social studies. The only reason he is excited for social studies is that the seating chart has been changed. Instead of having Gina sitting behind him, he will now have Ruby sitting behind him. Ruby is a new student who just moved and now goes to P.S. 38. When class starts, Mrs. Godfrey tells the students to get out their assignments. Nate tears through his notebook and he can't find it. Ruby notices the comic that Nate is hanging on to, takes it from him, and starts reading it. When she finishes, she tells Nate that it was funny and can recognize some people in the comic. Mrs. Godfrey walks by, grabs it, and starts to read it. After she is done reading it, she gives Nate detention for making fun of a teacher. After school, Nate goes to the detention room. He sees Gina and asks why she is in there. Gina says that she is interviewing Ms. Czerwicki. Nate hands Ms. Czerwicki his detention slip and sits down. After Gina is done interviewing Ms. Czerwicki, she tells Ms. Czerwicki that the readers of the newspaper will like the interview. Nate asks Gina about the readers of what newspaper. Gina says that it is for The Weekly Bugle . Nate laughs at the sound of the name, because he thinks The Weekly Bugle is really bad. After about thirty minutes, Ms. Czerwicki tells Nate that he can leave. Nate then explains three reasons why he doesn’t like The Weekly Bugle . Reason number one is that it is boring. Reason number two is that there is no comics in it. The last reason is that the name doesn’t make sense, because it comes out only once a month, not every week. After Nate goes to locker to put his stuff away, where he is greeted by his friends, Francis and Teddy. They ask how detention was, and Nate answers sarcastically. Teddy and Francis say they are going to go to practice for the Annual Mud Bowl, which is ultimate frisbee in the mud and rain. Teddy tells Nate to catch the frisbee and chucks it about one hundred feet. Nate is about to catch it, but a door opens in front of him and he runs into Randy, the school bully. Randy is about to beat up Nate, but Ruby walks by and Randy acts all friendly to Nate. After that, Randy gets out of school as quickly as he can. Ruby wants Nate to say something to him, but he can’t say anything. Ruby leaves and Dee Dee appears from around a corner and starts walking with Nate, Teddy, and Francis out of the school. Dee Dee tells the three that Randy likes Ruby, Nate, Teddy, and Francis look really surprised. Dee Dee also says that Nate likes Ruby. Teddy and Francis sound surprised, but Nate says that it is true and that they should never tell them anyone. Nate, Francis, Teddy, and Dee Dee arrive at Nate’s house and they tell Nate’s dad that they are going to practice for the Mud Bowl. Nate’s dad tell the Nate, Francis, Teddy, and Dee Dee how he invented the Mud Bowl. He pulls out a piece of paper that states what happened for the first Mud Bowl and how Nate’s dad was the hero of the event. The next day, Nate is in school and Chad walks up to Nate and tells Nate that he heard about him and Ruby. He sees Dee Dee and tells her to come with him. They go to the library to talk in secret. Dee Dee tells Nate that she only told three people and not everyone will find out. Two kids walk up to Nate and ask him how is Ruby doing. From around the corner, Randy walks up behind Nate, throws everything out of Nate’s backpack, and walks away. Mrs. Hickson walks up to Nate and Dee Dee and asks them who did the mess. Nate is about to tell that is was Randy, but Dee Dee takes the blame. All day, Nate has images of getting beaten up by Randy. Lunch comes and Nate tries to trade his lunch for something else. Kayla from The Weekly Bugle walks over to Nate and asks Nate about a comic she found. It happens to be Nates and Kayla asks Nate if he would like to have a column for The Weekly Bugle . Nate says that he will do it. After that, Ruby walks up to Nate and hands him a root beer. When Nate opens it, it explodes all over Nate. Nate thought that Ruby did it for a little bit, but Dee Dee says that she knows the whole story. Ruby is going to give Nate her root beer, but she has to throw away her trash. Randy walks over and shakes it up, and Ruby gives Nate the soda. Dee Dee is going to stop him from opening it, but is stopped by Mrs. Colletti. Dee Dee tells Nate to go clean off in the bathroom and Nate meets Randy in the bathroom. Nate starts yelling at Randy for doing that dirty deed, but gets stopped by Principal Nichols. He tells Nate that he needs to stop picking on Randy or he will have to disciple him. After school Nate heads straight home and sees his dad putting a jacket for a suit. Nate asks him where he is going to go, which he replies that he has to go to the office. Ellen, Nate’s sister, tells Nate that their father never dresses up when he goes to the office. Nates asks Ellen how Gordie, Ellen’s boyfriend, and Ellen got together. Ellen suspects that Nate likes someone. Nate yells at her and tells her that he doesn’t like anyone. He starts working on his column for The Weekly Bugle . The next day, Nate hands his finished column to Kayla. Everyone in the school loves Nate’s column, except Randy. Randy starts a fight with Nate, but the two get stopped by Principal Nicholas. Principal Nicholas asks what happened, and Nate is about to answer, but Randy starts to act all innocent and tells Principal Nichols that Nate started it. He tells the two to come with him to his office. Principal Nichols tells Randy that he got some information some a teacher and that that teacher saw that Randy started the fight. Principal Nichols asks Nate how Randy got so angry, which Nate says that he made fun of Randy in a newspaper. Principal Nichols tells the two that they have to go to peer counseling and Gina will be the peer counselor. Nate walks out of the principal’s office and to his locker. Teddy and Francis were angry at Nate, because they heard that he has to go to peer counseling. Nate gets called over to Ruby, who asks Nate if he and Randy got into a fight, which he replies that he did. After school, Nate goes to peer counseling. Gina tells Nate and Randy to write all the good and bad things about the other person. After a couple minutes, Gina tells Nate and Randy to exchange papers. They read what the other person wrote, which makes both of them really mad. After peer counseling is done, Gina tells Nate and Randy that she is going to make sure that they are partners for the fieldtrip to the science museum. Nate needs to get his permission slip signed, so as soon he gets home, he asks his dad to sign the slip. He tells his dad that he put their home phone number for work. He tells Nate to get his sister for a family meeting. Nate’s dad tells Nate and Ellen that he got laid off and is currently looking for a job. They also might have to move to California. Nate goes outside and sits on the ground. He gets hit in the head by a frisbee. Francis, Teddy, and Dee Dee walk over to Nate and Francis tells Nate sorry for hitting him in the head with the frisbee. Dee Dee tells Nate that she has a little talk with Ruby and Ruby told Dee Dee that she likes Nate. Nate says that he thought he likes Ruby, but doesn’t anymore. The next day, the sixth grade class goes on the field trip to the science museum. They have to fill out packets that Mr. Galvin handed to them. Randy tells Nate that each of the will do a page. As Nate is walking over to find a beetle that he has to draw, he sees students from Jefferson getting out of a elevator. Nolan from Jefferson walks over and grabs his paper. Randy comes to save Nate. Nate tells Randy that Nolan stole his paper, which Randy says that he can’t get another bad grade or he will have to talk to the counselor about it. Nate asks Randy why he has to go to counseling, which Randy says that his grades stink and his parents are getting a divorce. Nate tells Randy that he is possibly moving to California and asks if Randy has ever moved. Randy says that he moves every week from his mom’s to his dad’s. Nate decides to leave Randy alone and gets another packet. After the trip to the science museum, Nate starts practicing for the Mud Bowl. Teddy overthrows Nate and the frisbee landed right next to Randy. Randy throws a perfect pass to Nate. Nate and Nate asks Randy if he wants to join the Mud Bowl team. The team asks Nate why he wants Randy on the team and Nate says that he can help beat Jefferson. Nate tells Randy he is on the team and Randy starts to show off right in front of Ruby. Nate is about to tell Dee Dee and Francis that he is going to move, but is stopped by a honk. It is Nate’s dad and he tells Nate that he got a job in town and they don’t have to move. Nate runs back to the team and tells them that he isn’t moving. Ruby give Nate a kiss on the cheek and Francis tells the team that they are going to celebrate over ice cream. The rest of the team starts going, but Nate sees Randy sitting by a tree. Nate talks to Randy and cheers him up. It starts raining and Nate tells Randy that this is the perfect weather for the Mud Bowl. On Friday, the 38th Mud Bowl starts and Jefferson gets a fast lead. P.S. 38 comes back to tie the game 19 to 19. Jefferson is about to score, but Nolan drops the frisbee. Randy tells Nate to go as far as he can and Nate catches the frisbee to win the game. The next day, The Weekly Bugle tells the story about the Mud Bowl and how P.S. 38 won. After reading the story, Nate tells the people surrounding that he ending his column for the school paper. The book ends with Nate saying that his career writing comics is about to begin.
Recommendation: I recommend this book for males and females ages 10 and up, because the book is an easy book to read, and will keep the reader interested until the very end. Another reason is that the book is full of funny jokes and even has a secret code with messages to figure out.
Plot: Big Nate Blasts Off by Lincoln Peirce is the eighth and final book in the Big Nate series. The book starts off with Nate talking to Francis, Dee Dee, Chad, and Teddy about why he is so happy to go to social studies. The only reason he is excited for social studies is that the seating chart has been changed. Instead of having Gina sitting behind him, he will now have Ruby sitting behind him. Ruby is a new student who just moved and now goes to P.S. 38. When class starts, Mrs. Godfrey tells the students to get out their assignments. Nate tears through his notebook and he can't find it. Ruby notices the comic that Nate is hanging on to, takes it from him, and starts reading it. When she finishes, she tells Nate that it was funny and can recognize some people in the comic. Mrs. Godfrey walks by, grabs it, and starts to read it. After she is done reading it, she gives Nate detention for making fun of a teacher. After school, Nate goes to the detention room. He sees Gina and asks why she is in there. Gina says that she is interviewing Ms. Czerwicki. Nate hands Ms. Czerwicki his detention slip and sits down. After Gina is done interviewing Ms. Czerwicki, she tells Ms. Czerwicki that the readers of the newspaper will like the interview. Nate asks Gina about the readers of what newspaper. Gina says that it is for The Weekly Bugle . Nate laughs at the sound of the name, because he thinks The Weekly Bugle is really bad. After about thirty minutes, Ms. Czerwicki tells Nate that he can leave. Nate then explains three reasons why he doesn’t like The Weekly Bugle . Reason number one is that it is boring. Reason number two is that there is no comics in it. The last reason is that the name doesn’t make sense, because it comes out only once a month, not every week. After Nate goes to locker to put his stuff away, where he is greeted by his friends, Francis and Teddy. They ask how detention was, and Nate answers sarcastically. Teddy and Francis say they are going to go to practice for the Annual Mud Bowl, which is ultimate frisbee in the mud and rain. Teddy tells Nate to catch the frisbee and chucks it about one hundred feet. Nate is about to catch it, but a door opens in front of him and he runs into Randy, the school bully. Randy is about to beat up Nate, but Ruby walks by and Randy acts all friendly to Nate. After that, Randy gets out of school as quickly as he can. Ruby wants Nate to say something to him, but he can’t say anything. Ruby leaves and Dee Dee appears from around a corner and starts walking with Nate, Teddy, and Francis out of the school. Dee Dee tells the three that Randy likes Ruby, Nate, Teddy, and Francis look really surprised. Dee Dee also says that Nate likes Ruby. Teddy and Francis sound surprised, but Nate says that it is true and that they should never tell them anyone. Nate, Francis, Teddy, and Dee Dee arrive at Nate’s house and they tell Nate’s dad that they are going to practice for the Mud Bowl. Nate’s dad tell the Nate, Francis, Teddy, and Dee Dee how he invented the Mud Bowl. He pulls out a piece of paper that states what happened for the first Mud Bowl and how Nate’s dad was the hero of the event. The next day, Nate is in school and Chad walks up to Nate and tells Nate that he heard about him and Ruby. He sees Dee Dee and tells her to come with him. They go to the library to talk in secret. Dee Dee tells Nate that she only told three people and not everyone will find out. Two kids walk up to Nate and ask him how is Ruby doing. From around the corner, Randy walks up behind Nate, throws everything out of Nate’s backpack, and walks away. Mrs. Hickson walks up to Nate and Dee Dee and asks them who did the mess. Nate is about to tell that is was Randy, but Dee Dee takes the blame. All day, Nate has images of getting beaten up by Randy. Lunch comes and Nate tries to trade his lunch for something else. Kayla from The Weekly Bugle walks over to Nate and asks Nate about a comic she found. It happens to be Nates and Kayla asks Nate if he would like to have a column for The Weekly Bugle . Nate says that he will do it. After that, Ruby walks up to Nate and hands him a root beer. When Nate opens it, it explodes all over Nate. Nate thought that Ruby did it for a little bit, but Dee Dee says that she knows the whole story. Ruby is going to give Nate her root beer, but she has to throw away her trash. Randy walks over and shakes it up, and Ruby gives Nate the soda. Dee Dee is going to stop him from opening it, but is stopped by Mrs. Colletti. Dee Dee tells Nate to go clean off in the bathroom and Nate meets Randy in the bathroom. Nate starts yelling at Randy for doing that dirty deed, but gets stopped by Principal Nichols. He tells Nate that he needs to stop picking on Randy or he will have to disciple him. After school Nate heads straight home and sees his dad putting a jacket for a suit. Nate asks him where he is going to go, which he replies that he has to go to the office. Ellen, Nate’s sister, tells Nate that their father never dresses up when he goes to the office. Nates asks Ellen how Gordie, Ellen’s boyfriend, and Ellen got together. Ellen suspects that Nate likes someone. Nate yells at her and tells her that he doesn’t like anyone. He starts working on his column for The Weekly Bugle . The next day, Nate hands his finished column to Kayla. Everyone in the school loves Nate’s column, except Randy. Randy starts a fight with Nate, but the two get stopped by Principal Nicholas. Principal Nicholas asks what happened, and Nate is about to answer, but Randy starts to act all innocent and tells Principal Nichols that Nate started it. He tells the two to come with him to his office. Principal Nichols tells Randy that he got some information some a teacher and that that teacher saw that Randy started the fight. Principal Nichols asks Nate how Randy got so angry, which Nate says that he made fun of Randy in a newspaper. Principal Nichols tells the two that they have to go to peer counseling and Gina will be the peer counselor. Nate walks out of the principal’s office and to his locker. Teddy and Francis were angry at Nate, because they heard that he has to go to peer counseling. Nate gets called over to Ruby, who asks Nate if he and Randy got into a fight, which he replies that he did. After school, Nate goes to peer counseling. Gina tells Nate and Randy to write all the good and bad things about the other person. After a couple minutes, Gina tells Nate and Randy to exchange papers. They read what the other person wrote, which makes both of them really mad. After peer counseling is done, Gina tells Nate and Randy that she is going to make sure that they are partners for the fieldtrip to the science museum. Nate needs to get his permission slip signed, so as soon he gets home, he asks his dad to sign the slip. He tells his dad that he put their home phone number for work. He tells Nate to get his sister for a family meeting. Nate’s dad tells Nate and Ellen that he got laid off and is currently looking for a job. They also might have to move to California. Nate goes outside and sits on the ground. He gets hit in the head by a frisbee. Francis, Teddy, and Dee Dee walk over to Nate and Francis tells Nate sorry for hitting him in the head with the frisbee. Dee Dee tells Nate that she has a little talk with Ruby and Ruby told Dee Dee that she likes Nate. Nate says that he thought he likes Ruby, but doesn’t anymore. The next day, the sixth grade class goes on the field trip to the science museum. They have to fill out packets that Mr. Galvin handed to them. Randy tells Nate that each of the will do a page. As Nate is walking over to find a beetle that he has to draw, he sees students from Jefferson getting out of a elevator. Nolan from Jefferson walks over and grabs his paper. Randy comes to save Nate. Nate tells Randy that Nolan stole his paper, which Randy says that he can’t get another bad grade or he will have to talk to the counselor about it. Nate asks Randy why he has to go to counseling, which Randy says that his grades stink and his parents are getting a divorce. Nate tells Randy that he is possibly moving to California and asks if Randy has ever moved. Randy says that he moves every week from his mom’s to his dad’s. Nate decides to leave Randy alone and gets another packet. After the trip to the science museum, Nate starts practicing for the Mud Bowl. Teddy overthrows Nate and the frisbee landed right next to Randy. Randy throws a perfect pass to Nate. Nate and Nate asks Randy if he wants to join the Mud Bowl team. The team asks Nate why he wants Randy on the team and Nate says that he can help beat Jefferson. Nate tells Randy he is on the team and Randy starts to show off right in front of Ruby. Nate is about to tell Dee Dee and Francis that he is going to move, but is stopped by a honk. It is Nate’s dad and he tells Nate that he got a job in town and they don’t have to move. Nate runs back to the team and tells them that he isn’t moving. Ruby give Nate a kiss on the cheek and Francis tells the team that they are going to celebrate over ice cream. The rest of the team starts going, but Nate sees Randy sitting by a tree. Nate talks to Randy and cheers him up. It starts raining and Nate tells Randy that this is the perfect weather for the Mud Bowl. On Friday, the 38th Mud Bowl starts and Jefferson gets a fast lead. P.S. 38 comes back to tie the game 19 to 19. Jefferson is about to score, but Nolan drops the frisbee. Randy tells Nate to go as far as he can and Nate catches the frisbee to win the game. The next day, The Weekly Bugle tells the story about the Mud Bowl and how P.S. 38 won. After reading the story, Nate tells the people surrounding that he ending his column for the school paper. The book ends with Nate saying that his career writing comics is about to begin.
Recommendation: I recommend this book for males and females ages 10 and up, because the book is an easy book to read, and will keep the reader interested until the very end. Another reason is that the book is full of funny jokes and even has a secret code with messages to figure out.
December 28, 2025
granddaughter loved this
After reading this I can see why teachers recommend this story. It’s a great read, I’m granddaughter loved it and loves reading it to me and showing me the cartoon pictures.
After reading this I can see why teachers recommend this story. It’s a great read, I’m granddaughter loved it and loves reading it to me and showing me the cartoon pictures.
July 20, 2017
This was okay, not my favourite Big Nate book
January 27, 2021
Big Nate never fails to make me laugh!
November 22, 2024
it was good.
September 27, 2018
It is cool
December 13, 2025
While I was mostly still fine with the series for a good, long while, having enjoyed everything that I had seen and read from the books up until this point, I was starting to slowly yet surely lose my patience with that of the Big Nate series. This became clear as day to me whenever I read and reviewed Big Nate: Lives It Up, which, on its own, was a perfectly fine book, with a pretty solid story, the same great characters with the same really solid writing that I was used to seeing with the series, the same great art and art style, along with a good amount of jokes that did manage to be pretty funny and entertaining for what they were. However, upon reading that book, it then dawned on me just how much this series was willing to reuse and recycle the same plotlines, tropes and structure over and over and over again for the sake of pumping out new issues, which isn't too big of a problem, because of the kind of series this is, but it is still one that is worth noting either way, as I imagined it wasn't going to get any better with the next book in the series, Big Nate: Blasts Off............ which, for some reason, doesn't have a proper picture on this website. Just another example of how professional these guys can be.
Unlike with all of the other books in this series that I have covered so far, I have actually never read this book before, and I know for a fact that I am right about that this time, instead of assuming I hadn't read anything from the previous book beforehand. I believe around the time I had known about the previous book was around the time that I stopped reading in general, so I gave no thought to whatever came next for Big Nate or how his story ended, and I didn't really care to figure it out for the longest time, considering that I had gotten my fill with everything else beforehand. Apparently though, many other people thought so too, because this would actually end up being the last book that the Big Nate series would ever get, with the series going back to doing newspaper comics regularly, of course, but nothing more beyond that, which was kind of surprising upon hearing about that for the first time, not gonna lie. Although, now that I have read this last book for myself, I can honestly see why that was the case, because unfortunately, ladies and gentlemen, we are ending off this series with what is, in my opinion, the worst book in the series. Sure, it isn't anything too bad, as it does have a lot of the same great attributes that a lot of these books have and has a lot of care and effort put into it, but it is so devoid of creativity and wastes plenty of opportunities for the things it sets up to where it definitely ends up being a disappointing finale for the series, even if it is still a pretty decent one.
The story is more or less what you would expect, with there being some alternate twists to the general formula and some new plot points they explore here or there, but most of it is more or less the same, which is fine, but it doesn't make me anymore interested or excited in what I am reading about, the characters are pretty good, to where Nate is still the same snarky, sarcastic asshole that we all know and love, and all of the other characters here are pretty good too, although it does feel like characters like Francis and Teddy get less and less of a role in these books, making them feel lifeless compared to the characters they actually focus on, the writing is relatively solid, giving us more of the same witty and sarcastic dialogue that we tend to hear from Nate and a lot of the others, but it doesn't show any signs of getting any better or more interesting and just stays content with doing the same thing over and over again, which is a bummer (sound familiar?), the art is still great, having the same great designs and a generally really solid art style throughout that I have already talked plenty about in the past, so moving on, and the humor is...... not all that good, to where there were no jokes in here that I groaned at or hated, but there weren't too many that made me laugh, chuckle or even smile all that much either, which is somewhat disappointing, but honestly, it isn't that surprising at this point for me.
As you could probably guess at this point, there are some flaws that this book has that does end up making it my least favorite in the series by a long shot, such as the fact that this book is, once again, nothing all that special: it gives you more of everything that you would expect from a Big Nate book, including all the same kinds of jokes, storylines, characters and what have you, making it offer not too much different compared to every other book in the series so far. That doesn't make the book worse by any means, especially when considering some stuff that I am going to mention soon enough, but it does make it so that those who weren't big fans of the previous books, as well as for those who aren't huge fans of these kinds of books in general, probably won't like this one either. Not only that, but this book serves as yet another example of how this series is unwilling to change and evolve as it continues, which could be the primary reason that led to its downfall. The book focuses on Nate trying to win the affection of this girl at his school, which does have the possibility of having plenty of different fun and story-related possibilities to it, but it becomes distracted by a million different things, and then it turns into a story about Nate battling it out with Randy and being his rival throughout most of the whole thing, all leading up to this sports tournament that they battle in, which they already did in the SECOND BOOK IN THE SERIES. I know this is a very simple world full of plenty of simple characters, but come on, surely it can't be that hard to come up with new things for them all to do, right?
And see, it also sucks too because there are some genuinely really interesting and great moments and storylines that I did end up really liking from this book, which I would even go as far to argue could've actually saved it from being disappointing. There is this point in the book where Nate's dad talks with him and his sister to tell them that he lost his job, with him trying to get a new job somewhere in town while also mentioning the fact that, if he can't find a job there, they would have to move to California, so for most of the rest of the book, Nate has this looming fear of having to move away from all of his friends that he has made, and it causes how he acts around them to be different. This is a genuinely great idea for a storyline, one that is mostly played pretty seriously and gets you to genuinely feel bad for Nate, and it gets even better with him confiding in with Randy about this possible moving situation, and he also tells Nate that his parents had recently gotten divorced, and that he has been dealing with the repercussions of how that whole arrangement has now effected his daily life. Once again, this is a very interesting plot point and one that is great to see in a book like this, especially for me, as someone who did grow up with divorced parents, and I feel like if more focus was put on this and the whole California thing, the book would've ended up being SO much better. However, there is just one teensy little problem with both of these different plotlines........... they both only show up on PAGE 156. In a book that is only a little over 210 pages long, this makes it so that only a third of this book actually has all of these interesting plot developments and interesting concepts, whereas everything beforehand is more of the same shit that just ends up being tiring to read at this point, and it honestly makes me glad that this series is finally over more then anything, and I shouldn't be saying that about a series like this.
Overall, despite still being nothing special and constantly reusing the same ideas and plotlines over and over again for the most part, Big Nate: Blasts Off, despite my overall disappointment with it, is still a good book at the end of the day, one that closes things off with yet another round of all of the same stuff that people grew to love from this series, along with some new and interesting developments too, making for a book that I did have a pretty decent time with as a whole despite everything else, what with its repetitive, yet still good and interesting storylines, a set of pretty solid characters paired up with some good writing, the same great artwork as ever before, and not too many jokes that ended up making me laugh or enjoy myself more, but there was nothing here that made me hate my time reading this either, so that's all I could really care about at the end of the day. I would recommend it for those who were huge fans of the previous Big Nate books, as well as for those who are huge fans of these kinds of books in general, as while it may not have anything all that new or interesting for the kind of series it is, it still manages to feature just enough solid content and interesting ideas to where it is worth at least going through once over, which is all anyone can ask from it at the end of the day. But anyways, that is IT, baby, I am DONE with this series once and for all! It's about time, and now that that is all done, I guess it is time for me to move onto another book series... possibly another one from my childhood that I want to revisit and tear apart too..... hmmmmmmm............ ah, I got nothing. Let me go sit in my tree house for a bit, maybe I'll think of something.
Book #32
Unlike with all of the other books in this series that I have covered so far, I have actually never read this book before, and I know for a fact that I am right about that this time, instead of assuming I hadn't read anything from the previous book beforehand. I believe around the time I had known about the previous book was around the time that I stopped reading in general, so I gave no thought to whatever came next for Big Nate or how his story ended, and I didn't really care to figure it out for the longest time, considering that I had gotten my fill with everything else beforehand. Apparently though, many other people thought so too, because this would actually end up being the last book that the Big Nate series would ever get, with the series going back to doing newspaper comics regularly, of course, but nothing more beyond that, which was kind of surprising upon hearing about that for the first time, not gonna lie. Although, now that I have read this last book for myself, I can honestly see why that was the case, because unfortunately, ladies and gentlemen, we are ending off this series with what is, in my opinion, the worst book in the series. Sure, it isn't anything too bad, as it does have a lot of the same great attributes that a lot of these books have and has a lot of care and effort put into it, but it is so devoid of creativity and wastes plenty of opportunities for the things it sets up to where it definitely ends up being a disappointing finale for the series, even if it is still a pretty decent one.
The story is more or less what you would expect, with there being some alternate twists to the general formula and some new plot points they explore here or there, but most of it is more or less the same, which is fine, but it doesn't make me anymore interested or excited in what I am reading about, the characters are pretty good, to where Nate is still the same snarky, sarcastic asshole that we all know and love, and all of the other characters here are pretty good too, although it does feel like characters like Francis and Teddy get less and less of a role in these books, making them feel lifeless compared to the characters they actually focus on, the writing is relatively solid, giving us more of the same witty and sarcastic dialogue that we tend to hear from Nate and a lot of the others, but it doesn't show any signs of getting any better or more interesting and just stays content with doing the same thing over and over again, which is a bummer (sound familiar?), the art is still great, having the same great designs and a generally really solid art style throughout that I have already talked plenty about in the past, so moving on, and the humor is...... not all that good, to where there were no jokes in here that I groaned at or hated, but there weren't too many that made me laugh, chuckle or even smile all that much either, which is somewhat disappointing, but honestly, it isn't that surprising at this point for me.
As you could probably guess at this point, there are some flaws that this book has that does end up making it my least favorite in the series by a long shot, such as the fact that this book is, once again, nothing all that special: it gives you more of everything that you would expect from a Big Nate book, including all the same kinds of jokes, storylines, characters and what have you, making it offer not too much different compared to every other book in the series so far. That doesn't make the book worse by any means, especially when considering some stuff that I am going to mention soon enough, but it does make it so that those who weren't big fans of the previous books, as well as for those who aren't huge fans of these kinds of books in general, probably won't like this one either. Not only that, but this book serves as yet another example of how this series is unwilling to change and evolve as it continues, which could be the primary reason that led to its downfall. The book focuses on Nate trying to win the affection of this girl at his school, which does have the possibility of having plenty of different fun and story-related possibilities to it, but it becomes distracted by a million different things, and then it turns into a story about Nate battling it out with Randy and being his rival throughout most of the whole thing, all leading up to this sports tournament that they battle in, which they already did in the SECOND BOOK IN THE SERIES. I know this is a very simple world full of plenty of simple characters, but come on, surely it can't be that hard to come up with new things for them all to do, right?
And see, it also sucks too because there are some genuinely really interesting and great moments and storylines that I did end up really liking from this book, which I would even go as far to argue could've actually saved it from being disappointing. There is this point in the book where Nate's dad talks with him and his sister to tell them that he lost his job, with him trying to get a new job somewhere in town while also mentioning the fact that, if he can't find a job there, they would have to move to California, so for most of the rest of the book, Nate has this looming fear of having to move away from all of his friends that he has made, and it causes how he acts around them to be different. This is a genuinely great idea for a storyline, one that is mostly played pretty seriously and gets you to genuinely feel bad for Nate, and it gets even better with him confiding in with Randy about this possible moving situation, and he also tells Nate that his parents had recently gotten divorced, and that he has been dealing with the repercussions of how that whole arrangement has now effected his daily life. Once again, this is a very interesting plot point and one that is great to see in a book like this, especially for me, as someone who did grow up with divorced parents, and I feel like if more focus was put on this and the whole California thing, the book would've ended up being SO much better. However, there is just one teensy little problem with both of these different plotlines........... they both only show up on PAGE 156. In a book that is only a little over 210 pages long, this makes it so that only a third of this book actually has all of these interesting plot developments and interesting concepts, whereas everything beforehand is more of the same shit that just ends up being tiring to read at this point, and it honestly makes me glad that this series is finally over more then anything, and I shouldn't be saying that about a series like this.
Overall, despite still being nothing special and constantly reusing the same ideas and plotlines over and over again for the most part, Big Nate: Blasts Off, despite my overall disappointment with it, is still a good book at the end of the day, one that closes things off with yet another round of all of the same stuff that people grew to love from this series, along with some new and interesting developments too, making for a book that I did have a pretty decent time with as a whole despite everything else, what with its repetitive, yet still good and interesting storylines, a set of pretty solid characters paired up with some good writing, the same great artwork as ever before, and not too many jokes that ended up making me laugh or enjoy myself more, but there was nothing here that made me hate my time reading this either, so that's all I could really care about at the end of the day. I would recommend it for those who were huge fans of the previous Big Nate books, as well as for those who are huge fans of these kinds of books in general, as while it may not have anything all that new or interesting for the kind of series it is, it still manages to feature just enough solid content and interesting ideas to where it is worth at least going through once over, which is all anyone can ask from it at the end of the day. But anyways, that is IT, baby, I am DONE with this series once and for all! It's about time, and now that that is all done, I guess it is time for me to move onto another book series... possibly another one from my childhood that I want to revisit and tear apart too..... hmmmmmmm............ ah, I got nothing. Let me go sit in my tree house for a bit, maybe I'll think of something.
Book #32
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 9, 2017
This book is humorus and wacky as it has many jokes that hit and has a great story. This book gives the characters reasons why they are doing what they due, one example is how they gave a reason why the bully was a bully unlike most media which just has a bully do bad stuff just because. As i read the book it gave me good reasons to keep reading with questions such as will they succeed, why is this happening, or will they just give up? I like this book for many reasons like characters, story, and suspense. I do have to criticize, there was a problem the character had no control over near the end of the book feeling rushed and the way it was solved was also rushed as well, but this was only one minor problem that doesn't effect the book to bad. I would recommend this book to big nate fans and casual readers that don't want to get into longer books just yet.
Read
April 13, 2022goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood o = 0 at the end of the number one for my out of ten revive.
April 17, 2019
it was OK.
September 14, 2018
Mud Bowl, comics, a new crush, say hello to Nate as he navigates school, friendship, love, and more!
So, this is my very first Big Nate novel. I have read a few Big Nate comic books, but never managed to read any of the novels. I have to say that I really loved this one. It is a mix of text + comics, so a graphic novel, which fits perfect with the character.
I feel like Nate has a lot to learn about his comics. I agree with the principal and other characters. Nate's comics are quite often about making fun of people, in a mean and rude way. And sorry, I get that he isn't happy with these people, but making fun of them makes you just as bad as they are (especially in case of Randy). I do hope that Nate learns to make comics that are fun for everyone, without hurting anyone.
I loved that Nate has another crush! Yep, no more Jenny. Thank heavens. I was already not seeing that having a future, and I was hoping that Nate would also see it. In this one Jenny clearly has found another guy she likes (and we also see how they met up). Thankfully, there are more fish in the sea, as Nate meets with Ruby. It was enormously adorable to see them get closer. Even if that got him into trouble with Randy, who also likes Ruby.
Randy was a terrible character, and frankly, I just couldn't care about his sobsobstory that we learn about later on in the book. I guess we are supposed to feel sympathetic because his life sucks, but sorry that just doesn't excuse you from being a crappy person and all the bullying you do, and have done, throughout the years. Because this isn't the first time he and Nate go head to head, apparently it has been going on for years. :|
The Mud Bowl? I just love it, plus the revelation of Nate's father about it. I wish I could participate in Mud Bowl. Frisbee is fun, and not caring about cleanliness is also fun at times.
Then there is the newspaper and Nate's feelings on it. I can understand his feelings, that newspaper does sound extremely dull. And who decided it should be a named Weekly Bugle when it is only monthly? :P
Of course, there is also enough friendship. Nate has some terrific friends, even if one of them *looks at Dee Dee* has a lot to learn about secrets and not spreading them around.
There was also some stress for Nate regarding his family. I won't spoil what is going on, but dang. Poor Nate.
Also nice that Nate's comics and the normal illustrations differ. It took me a bit to get used to them though, but after a while I could appreciate it.
All in all, I definitely want more of these Big Nate novels! They are just too much fun to read, I had quite a few laughs, and I also flew through the book. Before I knew it I finished the book! I would recommend it to everyone looking for a fun book.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
So, this is my very first Big Nate novel. I have read a few Big Nate comic books, but never managed to read any of the novels. I have to say that I really loved this one. It is a mix of text + comics, so a graphic novel, which fits perfect with the character.
I feel like Nate has a lot to learn about his comics. I agree with the principal and other characters. Nate's comics are quite often about making fun of people, in a mean and rude way. And sorry, I get that he isn't happy with these people, but making fun of them makes you just as bad as they are (especially in case of Randy). I do hope that Nate learns to make comics that are fun for everyone, without hurting anyone.
I loved that Nate has another crush! Yep, no more Jenny. Thank heavens. I was already not seeing that having a future, and I was hoping that Nate would also see it. In this one Jenny clearly has found another guy she likes (and we also see how they met up). Thankfully, there are more fish in the sea, as Nate meets with Ruby. It was enormously adorable to see them get closer. Even if that got him into trouble with Randy, who also likes Ruby.
Randy was a terrible character, and frankly, I just couldn't care about his sobsobstory that we learn about later on in the book. I guess we are supposed to feel sympathetic because his life sucks, but sorry that just doesn't excuse you from being a crappy person and all the bullying you do, and have done, throughout the years. Because this isn't the first time he and Nate go head to head, apparently it has been going on for years. :|
The Mud Bowl? I just love it, plus the revelation of Nate's father about it. I wish I could participate in Mud Bowl. Frisbee is fun, and not caring about cleanliness is also fun at times.
Then there is the newspaper and Nate's feelings on it. I can understand his feelings, that newspaper does sound extremely dull. And who decided it should be a named Weekly Bugle when it is only monthly? :P
Of course, there is also enough friendship. Nate has some terrific friends, even if one of them *looks at Dee Dee* has a lot to learn about secrets and not spreading them around.
There was also some stress for Nate regarding his family. I won't spoil what is going on, but dang. Poor Nate.
Also nice that Nate's comics and the normal illustrations differ. It took me a bit to get used to them though, but after a while I could appreciate it.
All in all, I definitely want more of these Big Nate novels! They are just too much fun to read, I had quite a few laughs, and I also flew through the book. Before I knew it I finished the book! I would recommend it to everyone looking for a fun book.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
Read
February 2, 2017The book "Big Nate Blasts Off" by Lincoln Pierce is about how Nate has a huge crush on a girl but his enemy does too. Both of them hate each other deeply and fight over the girl. Also, they have to play in a huge school game of Mud Ball so what will happen in the end? Will they become friends? Or stay as enemy's?
I liked this book because it had the sort of 'thought' a middle schooler has so I could really connect with the characters and everything. Also because I've read all these books so I knew I would like this one also.
I would recommend this book to anyone that like comics or still has a childish way of seeing things. I would also recommend this book to people that are actually in middle school because you could probably connect to this book a lot.
I liked this book because it had the sort of 'thought' a middle schooler has so I could really connect with the characters and everything. Also because I've read all these books so I knew I would like this one also.
I would recommend this book to anyone that like comics or still has a childish way of seeing things. I would also recommend this book to people that are actually in middle school because you could probably connect to this book a lot.
March 8, 2016
For my book I read Big Nate Blasts of by Lincoln peirce. This book is one of my favorites in the series. I liked this book because it was funny and it had a good story line.
This story is told in Nate's point of view and some crazy stuff happens. In this book Nate has a crush on the new girl named Ruby but so does his nemeses Randy. After they fight they have to go to work out their problems, but it after school so he can't practice for the mud bowl with his friends.
If you like funny books with lots of pictures than you should consider reading it.
This book is not that hard to read. I would definitely read more of his books and I would encourage you to try and read them.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 214 reviews