Nominees:   2022202120202019201820172016201520142013201220112010200920082007200620052004200320022001

2016 Nominee
Voted 4 out of 20

A Year in the Life of a Total and Complete Genius

Written by Stacey Matson.
Published in 2014 by Scholastic.

Arthur Bean, soon-to-be a rich and famous author, has set two goals for himself: to win the school writing contest and to win the heart of his secret crush, Kennedy. But his life has had some major twists and turns lately, and the recent loss of his mother definitely complicates things.

Read Canadian Materials Review


15 thoughts on “A Year in the Life of a Total and Complete Genius

  1. Agnes Davidson

    I love how this book is written in emails, that’s a very creative way to write. This is one of the best RMBA books that there is for me. My favorite part of the book is the very end.

  2. agnes davidson

    It was pretty funny and I liked how they send e-mails to each other and I thought it was cool

  3. Charlotte Fursier

    I really enjoyed this book. It was both meaningful and funny.

    “A thought provoking book that mixes comedy and determination to make readers enjoy every single word.”

    A year in the life of a total and complete genius, is a book that shows you to set a goal and work for it. Life can take some sudden changes and you need to be prepared for them rather than just backing off. You need to ‘face your fears’, otherwise life will always be tough for you. Arthur is an ordinary boy, but his story tells you to live your life, rather than be the shadow of it. No matter how far away your goal is, how big or small it is, if you believe you can do it, you can. This book has a different writing style to most other books, because instead of the author putting a picture of what is happening in the book, it tells it like a diary, but with a collection of emails, letters and homework assignments. I think the different writing style helped to tell the book in a completely different perspective, and I enjoy reading in other’s point of view.

  4. Hillhurst School

    This book is just one of those books that are so funny you can’t put it down. And then you realize that you’ve stayed up until the middle of the night reading it. I do suggest it to people who like Diary Of A Wimpy Kid but I think this book is much funnier. I think that this book is the best out of all the RMBA books.

  5. Barnwell School

    I liked how “A Year in the Life of a Total and Complete Genius” didn’t have a narrator. It told the story through email, reading journals, and peer tutoring reports. I felt like I could relate to Arthur (main character). I understood his dilemma of not having an idea to write about for the upcoming writing contest. It was an “impossible to put down” book.

  6. Captain Nichola Goddard

    As I read this book, this really gave the feel to what a diary would be and the layouts to it be. It brought lots of different emotions as the author has done well to grab my attention as now I have read the second book in the series


Review This Book