Book Review: The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt

The Wednesday Warsbegin when Holling Hoodhood is the only kid in his class who doesn't spend Wednesday afternoons being religiously instructed. Instead he must spend those afternoons with Mrs. Baker, the teacher who hates his guts, reading Shakespeare and fighting off demon rats.

This book, from the very start, had me in stitches. Holling is the ultimate junior high school suffering student - forced to read Shakespeare. Even as he discovers plenty of excellent cuss words and somehow wears yellow tights with feathers on the...never mind...he learns about friendships and understanding people who are different. I also managed to learn a lot about the late 60s and the Vietnam war, which I know too little about. For some reason, this book has stuck with me for a while. My husband and I have been reading this one (off and on) together and he's really loving it too. If you haven't read this yet, do. it. now.

Read-alikes:
Rather unique, but for the humor, it was like A Year Down Yonderand A Long Way From Chicagoby Richard Peck
For the junior high school experience: Diary of a Wimpy Kid and the sequels by Jeff Kinney

RATINGS:
s-factor: none
(though I love the alternatives)

mrg-factor: none

v-factor: none

Overall rating: *****