How Lunchbox Jones Saved Me from Robots, Traitors, and Missy the Cruel

by Jennifer Brown

For fans of Gordon Korman and Jack Gantos comes the ultimate, middle-grade redemption story, where losers are the real winners.

Forest Shade Middle School is the losing-est school in the history of losing. And that's just fine for Luke Abbott, who'd rather be at home playing video games and avoiding his older brother Rob and the Greatest Betrayal of All Time.

But now he’s being forced to join the robotics team and spend his afternoons with Mikayla, the girl who does everything with her toes; Jacob and Jacob, who aren't twins but might as well be; the sunflower seed-obsessed Stuart; and Missy the Cruel, Luke's innocent-looking bully since they were six-years-old. But it's an unlikely connection with a mysterious boy known only as “Lunchbox Jones" that will change Luke's life. When Lunchbox Jones’ blue tin goes missing, followed by the boy himself, Luke races to find his new friend in time to save their team!

Genres: Middle Grade, Humor, Realistic Fiction, Childrens, Fiction, Friendship, Young Adult

240 pages, Hardcover

First published August 11, 2015

About the author

Two-time winner of the Erma Bombeck Global Humor Award (2005 & 2006), Jennifer's weekly humor column appeared in The Kansas City Star for over four years, until she gave it up to be a full-time young adult novelist.

Jennifer's debut novel, HATE LIST (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2009) received three starred reviews and was selected as an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, a VOYA "Perfect Ten," and a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. HATE LIST also won the Michigan Library Association's Thumbs Up! Award, the Louisiana Teen Readers Choice award, the 2012 Oklahoma Sequoyah Book Award, was an honorable mention for the 2011 Arkansas Teen Book Award, is a YALSA 2012 Popular Paperback, received spots on the Texas Library Association's Taysha's high school reading list as well as the Missouri Library Association's Missouri Gateway Awards list, and has been chosen to represent the state of Missouri in the 2012 National Book Festival in Washington, DC. Jennifer's second novel, BITTER END, (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2011) received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and VOYA and is listed on the YALSA 2012 Best Fiction for Young Adults list and is a 2012 Taysha's high school reading list pick as well.

Jennifer writes and lives in the Kansas City, Missouri area, with her husband and three children.

Reviews

[Jacobe D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

How Lunchbox Jones Saved Me From Robots, Traitors, And Missy The Cruel is the story of Luke Abbott; the seventh grade "video game master" with nothing better to do. Luke is in a war with his brother, Rob, who has just recently decided to join the Marines, meaning he is basically pretending Rob is a ghost. With Luke's school sixth grade friend Walter - the car know-it-all -, and his video game friend Randy, his life is basically divided into two parts; school and home. Not that school is any fun though. When you are a Forest Shade Middle School Student, you are basically sentenced to becoming a loser. Their trophy case is empty, and their spirits are aren't even half full. But when a desperate teacher calls upon Luke to join the Robotics Team, Luke's life is just about turned upside down. No more endless video gaming afternoons. And I mean, there's no way Forest Shade would even win the Robotics Tournament, right? So what's the point? Robotics class is like a living crazy town. Especially with Lunchbox Jones, the supposable murderer that always carries around a little blue lunchbox, and Missy the Cruel, the cute, tiny girl that somehow managed to ruin Luke Abbott's Elementery School life. But what if the team has a shot at winning? And worst yet, what if Lunchbox Jones is absent when the team might just make that shot?

How Lunchbox Jones Saved Me From Robots, Traitors, And Missy The Cruel was a really fantastic book! Friendship and family are main themes in this book, and it touched my heart while making me laugh, which is hard to do! The only reason that this book only has four stars, is because the rising action was all very similar, and it led up to a smaller climax. It was still incredibally interesting, but I would not recommend this book to people who need an enormous turning point. Readers who like books such as Diary Of A Wimpy Kid (For the funny and friendship/family parts) and The Battle Of Darcy Lane (for the bonds of friends and following of dreams) would enjoy How Lunchbox Jones Saved Me From Robots, Traitors, And Missy The Cruel. Happy reading!

[Cooper H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Luke is a boy who loves to play video games every day with his online friend randy,but that all changed when the robotics teacher heard about Luke's love in video games and thought that might help his team win, you see Luke's school never wins at any thing they have a teachers hamster on the football team, that's how bad they are at football! As I was saying the robotics teacher thought Luke might be able to program. Luke's dad later made Luke join, on one of the meetings Luke had to program and they showed the principal.you should read the book to find out about what happens! This book made me feel like I should try to do things I normally would not want to try, I think book was ok because the story was well described but I would like a book with more action adventure. People who really liked wonder should read this book.

[Kate C · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book How Lunchbox Jones Saved Me from Robots, Traitors, and Missy the Cruel is about a boy named Luke that joins his middle school robotics team, but knows that he has better things to do like play video games. Luke thinks that his team is just a group of losers. I liked this book because it teaches a valuable lesson of friendship. I didn't like this book because it is not really my style of book. This book made me feel happy, and sad at times. People who like robots, and video games will like this book. This book reminded me of Holes.

[Blake T]

This book is about a boy named Luke Abbot, who comes home every day and plays video games. That is literally all he does. Then one day during school he grabs a flier that their school mascot is handing out, just because he feels bad for the mascot of a middle school that has never won anything. After school when he decides to take a peak at the flier, he finds out that it was for the robotics team. Soon his dad makes him join the team and then he is off to his doom; no more video games. Another thing is also bothering Luke, his brother Rob has decided to join the marines and abandon him. Will Luke survive the time with the robotics team, or will he be swallowed into their after school doom class? Read to find out. This book in my opinion, was very good because of the way the author created the characters. I also liked how the author created tension by having Luke's brother Rob join the marines and supposedly betray him. I didn't like that the author made the whole book based on the story line of the robotics club. I think people who like robotics and action will like this book. This book is like The Harry Potter series because of the wizard and robotics theme. I felt like this book could have had more action, drama, and tension because when I started this book I thought that Rob would continue to be bad but it turns out he didn't. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did!

[Brenda Kahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was caught totally off-guard by this book and did not expect to love it the way that I do! I bought it for my school's collection, probably based on its reviews, which I don't specifically remember. I just finished reading it aloud to a small group I work with daily. We have read an impressive amount over this past school year! After we finished our last read-aloud, one of the boys brought this book to me and asked if it could be our next book. Why not? I read it cold so I was learning about the story along with the group. All went well. It's a fun story about a boy who's a bit stuck in a rut but who has a wonderful extended family is really cares about him. It's funny. The dialogue is spot-on. The little "Robot Programs" that head each chapter are amusing. The only trouble I had with any character was with Mr. Terry. I mean, really dude? Is this the way to run a club. I mean, when I was told I was teaching a robotics class, I learned how to build a robot! I realize his portrayal was to move the plot. Still, it irked.

Anyway, pieces were falling into place, we were reaching the end. I mildly wondered if the ending would be unrealistic - no spoilers here - when we learned why Lunchbox carries his lunchbox. Thankfully, I've been suffering from allergies this week because that's what the kids thought when I could barely get through the scene! "You're allergies are really bad today, Mrs. Kahn!"
Me, in a wobbly voice, "Yeah, they're awful." I even mimed wiping a tear away when the character wiped a tear in order to get rid of mine.

So, I highly recommend this as a read-aloud. You might want to practice it first.

[Elizabeth Meadows · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book with good themes. You don't have to love robotics and video games to enjoy this book, but I think that students who do love those things will really enjoy this book and identify with it.

One of the side themes of this book is that several characters are dealing with losing a family member, both permanantly through death, or a family member leaving their family for one reason or another.
The author deals with each of these situations in a very healthy and thought provoking way.

[James Kull · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing! I usually try to stick to fantasy ( my favorite genre ) but this book was flat out amazing! If you are a fan of books that have a almost real experience feeling to them then you would LOVE this book! This book is nothing like Percy Jackson ( sorry I have read nothing that is like it so I'm using Percy Jackson as a comparison ) but for some reason I got a kind of real world feeling from Percy Jackson as I do this book. This book is about a kid named Luke who's life is pretty much video games, and Missy the Cruel who has bullied him since he can remember. When his parents make him join the robotics team a ton of new surprises await him. For one, Missy is on the team and her feelings toward Luke hasn't changed. Also, Lunchbox Jones is on the team and he is the biggest, most scary kid in the school! People say that he lives in the woods and eats stray kids who wonder into his new domain. When his video game tournament happens to be on the same day as the robotics tournament, it comes down to a choice: Reality or Virtual Reality. Have fun reading!

[Mckelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Asked my 8 year old to recommend some books for readers of his age and he said this one. He read it multiple times in the three weeks we had it from the library. I found I really, really enjoyed it too. I loved the characters, loved the metaphors and exaggeration, and enjoyed the plot and the feel good moments that didn't feel overdone or fake. It was actually a page turner too, which I can't often say when I read books written for this age. It was a winner.

[Carolyn Deas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Luke Abbott loves video games. It's basically all he does with his free time. That is until he's forced to sign up for the Forest Shade Middle School Robotics Team. Forest Shade Middle School has never won anything - their sports teams are terrible but is their hope for the Rallying Robo-Raccoons?

The team is comprised of a cast of characters from a kid who has pockets full of sunflower seeds, a girl who does everything with her feet, and boys that are twins but aren't (I don't know a better way to explain it). Oh yeah, and Lunchbox Jones. The meanest bully at school.

What I loved about this book is that you think it's going to be a story about a kid learning to love robotics, but it's so much more than that. There is another storyline where Luke's brother is leaving for boot camp in a few short months and Luke is having a terrible time with it. So much so that he actually refuses to even acknowledge his brother. Throughout the story, he kid of warms up to him again and once he finally shares his feelings with hi parents, his relationship with his brother gets better.

I also loved the dialogue in the book. Luke seems like a kid that couldn't care less about other people but it turns out that he really cares a lot. He rallies his team together and gets them to the tournament even after everyone quits. He joins forces with the kid he is most afraid of and they make it happen. He even comes to the realization that he's friends with these kids - kids he didn't want anything to do with in the beginning.

Reading this book made me wish that I had been into robotics when I was in school. It wasn't that I thought it was weird or nerdy (I'm so nerdy it's not funny) but it was because I didn't think I would understand how to do it. This book made me realize that I can't do a lot of things until I try and practice. And besides, the chances of me maiming the school principal like Luke did are pretty slim, right?

I gave this book 4/5 stars.

[Nadina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt this novel was a little slow. I also didn't see much point in the little portions at the beginning of each chapter with "program name, step one, step two, step three".
The characters were okay, but I feel there were potentially too many characters and therefore not enough focus on the main characters.
The plot for the first half to three-quarters of the book felt really slow, and then the last part of the book seemed really rushed, and so, even though I read most of this book in one sitting, I did feel like it was a chore and had it not been on the list of Sunshine StatebYoung Readers Awards I don't think I would have read it.
There was some growth of the characters over the course of the book, especially Luke, but again, the pacing for this was a little sporadic (a little bit like their robot was at first I guess).
Honestly, this is probably not a book I would be inclined to recommend.

[Olivia Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a definite middle school boy's read. It is full of funny anecdotes and descriptions of the people that Luke comes into contact with. Luke reads as a witty and honest character, but he also uses that wit to avoid issues that he can't deal with. There are a number of characters who are dealing with issues that are out of their control and those issues affect who they are and how others treat them. This is such a good book to use to address the old adage of "be kind to everyone because everyone we meet is fighting a hard battle".

We read this book as the first book in our 5th & 6th grade afterschool book club and I cannot wait to hear the conversations that our students will have about these characters, their issues, and how relevant and real they are to the students in our school.

[Elli W · Rating 4 out of 5]

How Lunchbox Jones Saved Me From Robots, Traitors, And Missy The Cruel is about this 7th grade gamer named Luke Abbott. One day he picks up a robotics flier and is forced to join the team. Luke isn't happy with his life at this point. Aside from having to join the robotics team and giving up video games, his brother Rob decided to join the Marines. Do you think Luke will be ok after this dreadful robotics experience, or do you think he'll grow to love it? I think this is a pretty good book, it has humor, and is heartwarming at times. I recommend this book to 4th-7th graders. Enjoy reading this great book!

[Julie Trejo 5th Grade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Luke Abbott, pretty normal kid, attends a school with a losing record in everything. When a robotics team is announced, Luke joins, and so do a mixed bag of characters from different social groups in his school, including the insecure middle school girl bully, Jacob and Jacob who are not twins, and a kid known as Lunchbox Jones. Luke sticks it out, but would rather be playing video games. The team succeeds in many ways, but not necessarily competitively. Told in a humorous way, this middle school story is going to be popular with gamers and laughers as well.

Readers who liked Holes might enjoy this book as well. Gamers will certainly want to read it!

[Jennifer (JenIsNotaBookSnob) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first 15 pages of this book had me thinking this was a book just for kids- something I wouldn't enjoy. Then there's this bit on page 16 that was funny that restored some hope for me. The book is about robotics- *spoiler* Lunchbox Jones is not the robot on the cover. *spoiler* The book is really about a lot more than robotics- it's also about relationships that change as you get older and losses that don't get much easier to deal with. Towards the end of the book, there's this wonderful interchange that just gets to you emotionally.
BUT, kids will enjoy that this is mostly about robotics and dealing with family and playing video games.

[Jnase1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book that involves a bit of a coding theme. Might be one to suggest to the Makers Club, Robotics Club or Coding Club.

It was a good story with a message about the power of positive thinking and how learning about people’s situations helps you understand others better. Would recommend for a book club or read aloud for 4th and up.

[WHiT MiLLz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is awesome. I recommend it for people who like books about daily life and some action thrown in. This book is a fun example of middle school life and has some action. It is a Texas Lone Star book.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

If ever there was a case of not judging a book by it's cover, this is it. Makes me sad, because the kids that would really enjoy this book probably won't see past the cover so will never read it.

[Ruby sexton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow.

Heart touching! Great, awesome, sad, life changing, view changing, makes you appreciate life as it is a little more. 😶

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfectly fine book. Middle grade readers will like it. The military recruit/family aspect of it is handled well.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and light-hearted story about a boy who unwillingly ends up on a school robotics team and learns powerful lessons about friendship and assumptions.

[Tanya French · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great easy middle school read-audience wise both my 7 & 10 yr old enjoyed

[infoqueen · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are certain constants in 7th grader Luke Abbott’s life: his grandmothers will pinch his cheeks when they come over on Friday nights for dinner; Missy the Cruel will make his life miserable, as she has done since grade school; Lunchbox Jones will be menacing and scary; his big brother Rob will be his best friend and hero; video game swill fill his every waking moment when not at school; and Forest Shades Middle School will never win anything. Then Luke gets recruited to the school robotics team, and everything changes—except the pinching.
Luke is an instantly- relatable kid, and the story grounds him in a realistic setting with realistic problems. The humor is spot-on for middle grade readers (“Everybody knew Lunchbox Jones, but nobody knew Lunchbox Jones…Some kids believed that he was hatched in a lab experiment gone awry.”), although occasionally over-the-top (the scenes with the grandparents, collectively referred to as “The Aws” tend to run long). The author also handles the more emotional moments deftly (Luke’s sense of betrayal over Rob’s joining the marines, his fear for his brother’s safety, and his sudden insight into both Lunchbox Jones and Missy the Cruel).
The ragtag robotics team: Mikayla Armitage, whose “big claim to fame [is] she could do things with her toes; the two Jacobs, who weren’t twins but might as well have been; the sunflower seed munching Stuart Hicks; and the titular Lunchbox Jones and Missy the Cruel seem like prime candidates for a clichéd Underdogs Triumph in the End sort of story, but Brown wisely steers them toward a truer and more satisfying ending.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading this book (it was an ARC that I got from the ALA Midwinter Conference), and it was wonderful! I think it has been the best middle school book I have read this summer. Author Jennifer Brown does a magnificent job weaving in the highs and lows that we encounter in life through a likeable main character (Luke) and his family. Told through Luke's eyes, this novel shares his perception of the world and how life's events and his understanding changes the way he thinks. It's a book that all middle school children should read.

Luke Abbott attends Forest Shade Middle School, which is not exactly known for garnering trophies and winning championships. His love of video gaming ends up getting him placed on the school's robotics team, with several other students. Included in the Rallying Robo-Raccoons team are Lunchbox Jones, who ranks #1 on Luke's Scariest Things list, and Missy the Cruel whose name says it all. Needless to say, the team doesn't gel, the coach is absent more than present, and none of the students know the first things about robotics...or so it seems at first.

Together with his car-crazy friend Walter and his online gaming friend Randy, Luke manages to survive his day-to day life. And he learns quite a bit in the process: how life is full of give-and-take experiences, how not to judge people by their appearance and actions, and how he can be the one to make a difference and instigate change.

I can't wait to share this book with my students. Put this book on your 'must-read' list!

[Cherie W · Rating 4 out of 5]

How Lunchbox Jones Saved me from Robots, Traitors, and Missy the Cruel is about a kid named Luke Abbot who goes to Forest Shade Middle School which is a school that loses everything. He ends up joining the robotics team agAinst his will, and it basically saves him from having to do football. ( His PE coach heard that his brother, Rob, is joining the marines, and tried to get him to join. he feels really betrayed that his brother just decided to join the army. He doesn't even have to.) the robotics team is: Luke, Mikayla Armitage, Jacob Davis, Jacob David, Missy Farnham, Stuart Hicks, and * gulp* Lunchbox Jones. Lunchbox Jones is a big, scary kid who got his name, well, nickname, because he carries a bright blue lunchbox around with him. Missy is Luke's biggest enemy. When she moves to another school, it's Luke's best day ever. She sends the rest of her old team a video, and it cause everyone on the team except for Lunchbox Jones and Luke to quit. Lunchbox Jones and Luke work on getting the team together and the robot, and the team finally gets back together. However, Lunchbox Jones has been at school for the entire week before the tornament. He built most of the robot, and Luke is worried about him. He goes to Lunchbox Jones's house to find out what's going on. Lunchbox tries to use excuses like him being sick, but Luke finally figure it out. He lost his lunchbox. Lunchbox Jones's lunchbox held pictures of his dead father who was his very best friend. The robotics eam wins something, which is the schools first trophy.

[Helen F · Rating 4 out of 5]

How Lunchbox Jones Saved Me From Robots, Traitors and Missy the Cruel by Jennifer Brown is a very freindship based book. Meet 7th grader Luke Abbott, loves video games and hates his brother. Luke is currently attending Forest Shade Middle School, probably the most untalented school there is. What I mean by this is that it has no trophys, nor thats it's won anyhing. All this changes when Luke's dad makes him take robotics instead of playing video games all the time. If Luke isn't disappointed enough already, he see's also that his mortal enemy Missy the Cruel and his mortal fear Lunchbox Jones decides to join. Everthing is going horrible at robotics, that is until Missy moves to goat grove ( Forest Shades Middle School's rival). When Missy goes everything comes crashing down behind her. The whole team quits, well except Lunchbox Jones who Luke finds working on the robot one afternooon. Facing his fear he decides to work with Lunchbox Jones and go to the robotics tournament with him. Read the book to find out if Lunchbox Jones and Luke win the tournament together!
Some things I liked about this book was that I could totally relate the book. Some things I dislike about this book was that it didn't intrigue me or make me want to read more. If you like Friendship based books you would love this one. This book is very similar to The Battle of Darcey Lance by Tara Altebrando.

[Liz Friend · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story: All Luke Abbott really wants is to hang around, play Alien Onslaught with online friend Randy, and keep his brother from going into the Marine Corps and possibly getting killed. Is that so much to ask? Dad says "Yup" and forces him to join the robotics team at Forest Shade Middle School, famous for never having won anything EVER. Could Luke and the team start a new trend? Unlikely, with the group of losers assembled here. But Luke's going to have to figure out how to take charge of his own life if he ever hopes to keep out of the clutches of Missy the Cruel--and giant Lunchbox Jones may be just the guy to help him. Stranger things have happened.

June Cleaver's ratings: Language G; Violence G; Sexual content G; Nudity G; Substance abuse G; magic & the occult G; GLBT content G; adult themes (bullying; abandonment) PG; overall rating PG (for grades 4-8).

Liz's comments: Luke is a funny, wise-cracking narrator trying to hide the fear he has about his brother's upcoming departure for boot camp, and his journey to acceptance of this, as well as the team's accomplishments, add a deeper quality to this story than might first be guessed from the cover blurbs. Here's a story with a lot of heart that even kids who aren't robotics-team nerds will like.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review copy provided NetGalley

If you are looking for a good book to encourage the development of a robotics program in your school, this is undoubtedly the right book to do it. It's also a great book to explore the theme of friendship, particularly with misunderstood bullies. It's simply outstanding. Add to that the fact that the book is incredibly funny, and you've got a book that is sure to make a few readers take notice. It's the same brand of humor as a great Dan Gutman book called The Get Rich Quick Club.

This book brings up programming as well, so it might be good to connect it to maker space collections that are developing in schools and libraries lately. Honestly, this is the kind of book that fits exactly what the school market is looking for. It is a STEM gold mine. I'd love to share this as a potential classroom read-aloud this fall. Really well done.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute, overly exaggerated, silly story with a message about friendship and empathy. Luke is in a total loser of a middle school, evidenced by the fact that they have never won anything, and a guinea pig was on the school's football roster for two seasons before anyone noticed. Luke loves playing an alien based video game online with a boy he has not met, and is unhappy that his older brother has joined the marines. When his dad has Luke join the robotics team, it is not at all his idea of fun. The team includes a girl who does things with her toes - like paint and eat; Missy the Cruel, a petite bully; and Lunchbox Jones, a hulking but quiet boy who always carries a lunchbox with him - everywhere. While preparing for the robotics contest, Luke manages to make friends with Lunchbox, work through some of his feelings about his brother joining the military and become more empathetic towards others. I think that kids will enjoy the book.

[Sarah McElrath · Rating 3 out of 5]

A humorous look at the life of Luke Abbott, a seventh grader who would like to do nothing more than beat his high score in the video game, Alien Invaders. He joins the robotics team (at the losingest school ever) under duress, but finds that there is more to the other students on the team --including Lunchbox Jones & Missy the Cruel--than he first thought. They might even be friend material.

The seventh grade boy humor was amusing, but it was the family dynamics, especially how Luke faced the imminent departure of his big brother Rob who had joined the Marines and was scheduled to head to bootcamp as soon as school was over.

The book should appeal to students who like Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney and James Patterson's Middle School series.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Narrated by Luke himself with a voice that could be the real kid – Jennifer Brown knows just how kids think and talk and Luke’s dilemmas – a nasty girl at school; anger at his brother for signing up for the Marines and deserting him, having to go to robotics rather than go for the upper levels destroying aliens with his on line friend – are all too real.

Luke learns how it feels to be in others’ skins – compassion – while helping win his middle school’s first trophy – but for what?

This is one terrific book for all ages – hey! I escaped middle school a bunch of years ago – and I wish I had been as cool and sharp as Luke – see how you feel – you won’t regret it!