Maxx Comedy

Sarah Treleaven is a Toronto-based freelance writer and reviewer.

Eleven-year-old Max Carmody, the protagonist in Gordon Korman’s latest
tale, has wanted to be a standup comedian since he was seven years old.
Now a sixth-grader, Max gets his chance to shine when he enters a
competition for the title of funniest kid in America. But, before Max
can get to the contest, he has to endure more than his fair share of
mishaps and pratfalls.

Max is pretty likable, if not exactly a young Steve Allen. His jokes
consist mostly of groan-inducing observational humour, such as: “Why
do writers get writer’s block? Do garbage collectors get garbage
block?” While Max is a nice enough fellow, the real stars of the book
are his nutty sidekicks. Max’s misfit friends are considerably more
amusing than the wannabe comedian. Maude is a dry-witted pessimist who
believes the world is out to get her, and Andrew “Big” Byrd fancies
himself an amateur director (he films the wind) and takes a
near-obsessive interest in the class pet.

The subject of family is treated with considerable sensitivity. Korman
does a great job of articulating Max’s loyalty to his divorced father
and the subsequent strain on his relationship to his stepfather. The
book is written in a familiar, accessible style well suited to readers
in the fourth to sixth grades. Maxx Comedy is a nice little story about
the rewards of perseverance. Even if Max isn’t particularly funny,
it’s still easy to admire his dedication to a dream. Recommended.