Handbook of Nothin' by N.K. Wright

Nathan Wright is always messing up, so people called him Nothin' Right. There's a 350-pound goat in the corral that sends him flying whenever he tries to take care of the other animals. He breaks his brother's bike, spills buckets of milk, and gets picked on by bullies. However, he's able to impersonate famous people, seems to have a growing talent for high jumping, and a cute girl may like him. He sent away for a Kung Fu handbook, and it just arrived in the mail. Is this the solution to his problems, or will it make things worse? Real life is a lot different from television and books.

Nathan is an underdog, and it's easy to root for him. The descriptions of his screw-ups are usually humorous, and the on-going battle with the goat is entertaining. His relationship with the cute girl creates some tension for him, but it also helps him to develop some confidence. She believes in Nathan. It was more difficult to follow the plot early in the book, but I enjoyed the book overall.