Jake the Fake Keeps It Real
(Jake the Fake #1)

Actor/comedian Robinson, Go the F**k to Sleep author Mansbach, and The Knight Life cartoonist Knight team up for a slightly edgy spoof of touchy-feely, experiential education in this heavily illustrated story. Jake, an African-American sixth grader, has a severe case of imposter syndrome after cheating and faking his way into the elite Music and Art Academy. Jake's gifted older sister, Lisa, thrives at the academy, where students are encouraged to get creative through assignments like chewing a piece of gum for six hours, then writing a play about it. Under the very loose tutelage of free-spirited Mr. Allen, Jake pushes the definition of artistic in order to "throw everybody off the scent of my fakeness," finding freedom (and a cover) in intentionally bizarre behavior such as trash sculpting or creating bands that don't play music. Knight's zippy b&w spot illustrations play up the story's gross-out humor--as in a scene of laser-beam-wielding dolphins decapitating radioactive kangaroos during Jake's book report about an imaginary book--and a supporting cast of quirky art-school types rounds out this offbeat novel, first in a planned series. Ages 8-12. (Mar.)

Gr 3-6—Jake is starting sixth grade at the Music and Art Academy (M&AA). He's nervous not just because he's at a new school but also because his sister is an incredibly talented senior there and Jake might have gotten in by accident: he faked playing the piano and singing an original song. His struggles to fit in with the "weird and artsy" kids at his new school make up the bulk of the plot until the end-of-the-semester talent show is announced and Jake can't think of something to do. He eventually finds his real talent right onstage. Accompanied by comic strip—style art, this tale of middle school woes from Robinson (of The Office fame) and Mansbach (Go the Fuck to Sleep) hits a few humorous notes and more than a few flats. Notably, Jake's jokes sometimes rely on ableism (for example, he describes a piano piece as being so easy that "a guy with only two fingers could do it," further commenting, "That guy's nickname would be Peace Sign."). More disturbing, a whole segment follows the class on a field trip to the local mall, where they are assigned to go on a "vision quest" to find their "consumer spirit item" after an earlier reference to "a mummified Madagascar Monkey Porpoise," which serves as the teacher's former spirit animal. This type of flippant allusion to "spirit animals/items" perpetuates and affirms dangerous stereotypes about Native American cultures. VERDICT While fans of Dav Pilkey's "Captain Underpants" and Jeff Kinney's "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" might enjoy some of the humor, the cultural insensitivities make this title a pass.—Brittany Drehobl, Eisenhower Public Library District, IL