YA Pick

I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want To Be Your Class President
by Josh Lieb
Razorbill (Penguin), 2009.
302 pages

This debut novel for young adults by screenwriter Josh Lieb whose credits include t.v. shows The Simpsons, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and NewsRadio is hilarious! Readers who liked the Wimpy Kid series will probably eat this up.

Oliver is not just your ordinary middle school kid. He really is a genius of unspeakable evil and he really does want to be the class president. He takes $500.00 in bingo winnings and invests in stock--soon he finds himself a billionaire. But, everyone knows a kid can't buy and sell stocks or companies or take over the world until he's at least 18 years old. Oliver finds a "patsy" to act as the head of his company: Sheldrake Industires.


Running for class president proves harder than running a billion dollar corporation. Middle school is not for the faint of heart! Snarky comments and funny illustrations with Oliver's footnotes on almost every page make this book memorable.

Highly recommended grades 6-12. Anyone with a sense of humor should enjoy this book.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I bought this novel for my middle school library. I received no monetary compensation for my review.