Slugfest

Slugfest by Gordon Korman is a contemporary middle grade novel about a group of kids who are forced to take a summer-school gym class (known as “Slugfest”) in order to graduate middle school. Through explorations of expectations, fairness, and privilege, the book’s alternating perspectives show the bonds that are forged by shared experiences and support, both from one another and from a truly good teacher. Slugfest was a Junior Library Guild High Interest selection and an Amazon Book of the Month. Korman was born in Canada and is the prolific author of over 100 books for young readers; his works have sold over 30 million copies worldwide. His debut novel, This Can’t Be Happening at Macdonald Hall, was published when he was 14 years old, and he has gone on to pen sweeping tales of comedy and adventure, including the best-selling Masterminds series and books in the 39 Clues series. Korman holds a degree in film writing from New York University, and he currently lives on Long Island, where he writes full-time. 

This guide refers to the 2024 Balzer + Bray e-book edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of bullying.

Plot Summary

Slugfest opens with star athlete Arnie “Yash” Yashenko being informed that he will have to attend summer school to complete eighth-grade gym in order to graduate middle school. Since Yash only needs to make up the credit because his middle-school principal let him skip gym to practice with the high-school sports teams, Yash is bitter. Summer-school gym class is known as “Slugfest” since it is typically filled with kids who are as slow as slugs. In addition to Yash, Slugfest attendees include Cleo Marchand (who missed three months of school after a sports injury), Kaden Cooperman (the smartest kid in school, who skipped gym to avoid ridicule), Jesse Darrowick (the school prankster, who was sent to summer school as punishment), Arabella Hopp (who refused to attend gym because she felt that it infringed on her freedom of choice), and a few other kids who likewise don’t want to be there. Rather than a typical gym teacher, the kids get Mrs. Finnerty, who used to teach second grade. She has the kids play games like Duck, Duck Goose and Red Light, Green Light.

Though the kids like Mrs. Finnerty herself, they are embarrassed to be playing such kiddy games in Slugfest. Arabella is also taking an investigative journalism class, which teaches her to question everything. She starts to wonder why the school gave Slugfest such an inappropriate teacher, floating that perhaps Mrs. Finnerty isn’t certified and that, by extension, the class’s gym credit won’t count. After watching his friends move on to summer training for high-school football, the idea of being left behind terrifies Yash. When a new kid joins the team who seems to be just as good as him, Yash vows to do whatever it takes to make sure that his Slugfest credit counts.

When the kids discover that Mrs. Finnerty isn’t on the list of certified teachers on the state website, Arabella is sure that she has an open-and-shut case. As she puts together her evidence as part of her investigative journalism project, the other kids start running drills with Yash during their breaktime. The exception is Cleo, both because she has to retake all her classes and because she is annoyed at how life just seems to fall into place for Yash. Partway through the summer, there is an open-house night for the summer-school kids, their parents, and the wider community. The Slugfest kids show off what they’ve been learning by completing an obstacle course full of kiddy activities. Yash hears his football friends jeering at the slugs from the audience, which angers him because the slugs have supported him when his football friends left him to rot. He puts his all into the obstacle course, showing off and stunning the bullies silent, which makes Cleo start to respect him.

When Arabella meets the new kid on Yash’s football team, Nate, at the library, she realizes that he’s from another town and shouldn’t be allowed to play for Yash’s school. When she tells Yash, he’s conflicted: He doesn’t want to be a tattletale and also wants to earn his spot on the team, not have it handed to him because Nate is disqualified. The only way for Yash to prove himself is to compete in the upcoming summer football tournament. The slugs rally around him, and though Yash doesn’t think their team has a prayer, he can’t help but feel grateful for the support. Meanwhile, Jesse starts his investigative journalism project, which involves trying to spread a rumor that toilets will be banned in the town.

When Arabella turns in her investigative journalism project early, the other slugs decide that they have to get the report before it’s revealed to the town. Yash and Cleo break into the school and steal it, only to encounter Mrs. Finnerty. She invites them back to her house to chat, where they discover that she’s a gold-medal Olympic swimmer. The reason why the class didn’t find her on the list of certified teachers is because she’s certified under her given name, not Finnerty. When Arabella learns the truth, she can’t believe that she made such a rookie mistake and vows to do better when searching for the truth.

The day of the tournament is rainy, but Yash refuses to let this get in the way. The slugs’ first game goes poorly until a touchdown by Cleo restores her competitive spirit. Emboldened, the slugs pull themselves together and manage to win, advancing to the second round. The second game is even more brutal, but Yash and Cleo realize that the other team’s weakness is excessive organization. By making chaotic plays that no football player would ever make, the slugs confuse the opposing team and manage a second win, bringing themselves up against Yash’s school team in the final round.

The first half of the game is a slaughter, with the other team leading 29 to nothing. The other team offers a deal to go easy on the slugs so that they don’t get any more humiliated. Yash is on the verge of agreeing when a group of protesters arrives at the tournament, having been fooled by Jesse’s misinformation about an upcoming ban on toilets. Though the odds still aren’t good, Jesse argues that anything is possible, and the teams finish the game playing their best. The slugs manage to tighten the score gap, only to lose the game because of an incomplete catch from Kaden.

Horrified, Kaden bursts into tears, but players from both teams rush to comfort him for almost making a catch that professional players couldn’t make. Knowing that it’s the right thing to do, Nate confesses to the entire tournament that he isn’t actually from the town, disqualifying his team and handing the victory to the slugs. Yash makes up with his football friends, excited to play with them and compete against Nate when school starts. Back at summer school, the slugs finish their classes, knowing that they’ll always be a team.