Fun Pick: The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee

The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee (book 3, Origami Yoda)
By Tom Angleberger
Amulet
2012
190 pages with illustrations
Hilarious, goofy and churlish, downright disrespectful, and insanely entertaining, The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee picks up as the kids continue another school year at McQuarrie Middle School without their beloved Dwight. Dwight was suspended last year and is now attending Tippett Academy and word is out that he’s BEHAVING. Dwight…behaving??? The kids all miss Origami Yoda and wish Dwight was back at school.

The origami kids are making a new case file and meet daily in the library. Principal Rabbski thinks origami is a big waste of time and “a major disruption of the learning environment.” Harvey disagrees and Mrs. Calhoun—the world’s greatest librarian---backs him. The librarian gets major props from the entire group of origami Star Wars fans. The students each comment in the new case file and then they sometimes comment on everyone else’s comments. It is truly hysterical. Tom Angleberger must be channeling his inner 7th grade nerd because whatever he’s doing, it’s clearly working.

Mike whines about having to attend church and dress up every time. His mother says it’s disrespectful to wear jeans in the “Lord’s house.” Tom says, “Personally, I think it’s disrespectful to be itchy in the Lord’s House.” Later, he says WTS? for What the spaghetti? at the church’s spaghetti dinner.

Sara makes a cootie catcher (her new origami puppet) that she swears tells fortunes and students begin to ask the Fortune Wookiee for answers. Another student, Murky, has invented his own vocabulary but is so hard to understand that the other boys write a Murkish Dictionary with words like “plastic dinosaurs,” “bolt,” and “Jell-o” --all Murky’s adjectives for when something is awesome. Harvey comments that all Murky says is awesome, but the other boys disagree—he doesn’t even use the word awesome—he has invented a whole new language for awesome.

Tommy visits Dwight and tries to persuade him to come back to McQuarrie. He asks him to take Yoda down from the wall. Dwight realizes that maybe he misses Origami Yoda after all.

Highly, highly recommended for anyone who loves Star Wars and origami. Fans of the series will have to read this one. This will be a big hit for middle grades and up. Grades 4-up.

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FTC Required Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.