Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life by James Patterson

The Hook: 

How does our main character, Rafe, handle middle school?—He’s got a plan—to break every rule there is in his school’s Code of Conduct handbook.  Don’t get any ideas, kids!  He gets in a whirl of trouble in the end.  He sets his “game” up in his head and it’s just like a video game.  Chewing gum in class: 5,000 points!  Running in the hallway: 10,000 points, pulling the fire alarm: 50,000 points!  But then…the game starts to catch up with him.  Is winning all that matters?  Can Rafe face the rules, bullies, and even the truth he’s been avoiding?  You’ll have to read Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life to find out. 

We have this book and the entire series in our library.  It is also in Sora, Axis 360 as an ebook.  It is 4 AR points. 

My Thoughts (Careful! There Could Be Spoilers): 

I have mixed feelings about this book. As a teacher, this book is rather horrifying. Rafe’s game is like a 12-year-old's manifesto for bad behavior—pulling the fire alarm, running through the halls, streaking, graffiti, etc. However, after revealing Rafe’s emotional scars you realize he is just a scared, angry, bored, yet intelligent and creative kid that many students relate to. So, basically this novel speaks to a lot of our kids. Rafe does have revelations about wrong and right and how to handle things in a more positive way in the end. He also learns that he is not alone in his feelings and there is a place for him too. It is written with little drawings in the margins similar to Diary of the Wimpy Kid. It is a thought provoking, funny book and does a great job at describing the psyche of many middle-schoolers.  

Recommendations: 

I recommend this book to any 5th-8th grader who feels out of place and those that don’t feel they have much control over their school and home environment. It is 336 pages and the first in a long series of books (15).