King of the Neuro Verse

 

Rating: 3 out of 5| Good glimpse into the frustration of the neurodivergent brain and a lesson for those of us in education about hōʻike (the power of authentic assessment built on inquiry and student gifts).

My Thoughts:

In this novel in verse, we see Pernell, a junior in high school, being ridiculed again by his English teacher, Ms. Harding. He realizes that by walking out of his class, he is putting himself back into summer school for the third summer in a row. But he is ok with summer school because summer is different because he gets to battle to become the Cypher king of the lunchroom and he thinks this summer is his year. 

What becomes ironic is that he loves to freestyle rap, but he has a hard time paying attention and focusing on the "rap" in English, until his parents finally get him diagnosed with ADHD. Through the verse, we see the difficult world of institutional education through his lens. It is not about medication alone to fix the system. It is also about teachers finding the strengths of all the students and helping them to meet the same standards as others, but assess them differently based on their own strengths. For Pernell, it was about seeing the connection between rap, cyphers, griot, iambic pentameter, music, and Pernell. 

Teacher Note | April is poetry month and that is when this was started, however, there are many novels in verse within this blog that can be used rather than individual poetry units. That being said, though, if you are teaching Seniors, April is a good time to introduce the Romanticist poets and then spend the last month (May) having the students create their own poetry anthology.

From the Publisher:

For the third summer in a row, Pernell is back in the classroom, facing the same struggles that have always made school seem more like a battlefield than a place of learning. This summer is different, though: he’s battling to become the Cypher King, leader of the lunchroom’s impromptu rap circles. Here, the rhythm flows and the words fly, creating a space where the wittiest and most rhythmically inclined reign supreme. Here, Pernell’s ADHD gives him an edge.

But life outside the cypher isn’t as forgiving. Pernell’s English teacher has it out for him. His parents are pressuring him to see a doctor for his lack of focus. And Electra, his friend-slash-crush and the only one who truly gets him, is too busy chasing her dream internship to give him the time of day.

If Pernell doesn’t pull himself together, he won’t just lose the title of Cypher King—he’ll lose his chance to graduate high school. In a world where the systems are turned against kids like him, Pernell needs to find a way to succeed with his ADHD, rather than in spite of it.

Publication Information:

• Author: Idris Goodwin
• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
• Publication Date: October 14, 2025
• Print Length: 256 pages
• Grade Level: 7-12