4. Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life

Middle School The Worst Years of My Life by James Patterson and Chris Tebbets; illustrated by Laura Park (Little, Brown and Company, 2011).

Genre

Humor, Coming of Age

Review

Rafael (Rafe) Khatchadorian decides that his best bet for getting through sixth grade is to break every rule in the Hills Village Middle School Code of Conduct.  He and his best friend (who midway through the novel turns out to be imaginary) call the challenge Operation R.A.F.E. (Rules Aren't For Everyone).  Rafe spends much of his time and energy coming up with clever ways to break school rules, earning points along the way.  He also works hard to avoid Miller the Killer, the school bully, and his mom's boyfriend -- who he calls Bear.  He also works to catch the eye of Jeanne Galletta, whom he has a crush on.  The result of Operation R.A.F.E. is mostly that Rafe's grades plummet to the point where he's in danger of failing.  Worse yet, Miller the Killer gets a hold of Rafe's notebook (in which he's tabulated, plotted, and illustrated all of his adventures) and promises to give it back for one dollar a page.  But once Rafe's bought the book back, Miller leaves a Xerox of the whole thing on Rafe's doorstep, causing a huge amount of fallout for Rafe, his mom, and her boyfriend.  Rafe's great plan to get through sixth grade just might force him to repeat it instead.  His final rule-breaking scheme, another secret about his imaginary friend, and a possible solution to all of his problems take up the last quarter of the book.

Opinion

The book is charming and liberally illustrated in the style of its cover.  The various confessions about Rafe's best friend Leo caught me a bit off-guard, which was fun and means the book is likely to surprise its readers.  Mostly, I appreciated how even while Rafe was breaking rules, he remained charming.  Patterson shows that trouble makers aren't always ogres and that sometimes they just need a different direction.

Ideas

If I were putting together a middle school survival kit, this book would go right next to Are You There God? It's Me Margaret.  They serve wildly different purposes and come at 6th grade from wildly different angles.  But I think there is a bit of Margaret and a bit of Rafe in many 6th graders.  The pairing would help create a well rounded image of middle schoolers.