Monday, October 1, 2007
Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
This is the story of Holling Hoodhood's seventh grade year at Camillo Junior High in 1967, highlighted by Wednesday afternoons, when Holling is left alone in Mrs. Baker's class while his classmates go to temple or catechism class. Excellent middle school fiction.
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6 comments:
I am not sure I want to second this book. It didn't really hook me until I read 50% of the book. Then I wondered how realistic is this book. There are amusing incidents, there are poignant times, but I wish it grabbed me at the beginning.
Second. This title has a limited audience, but it is very well written and engaging in a quirky sort of way. It is set in the late 60's when the Vietnam War was raging, schools still had atomic bomb drills, and flower children drove their conservative parents crazy. The main character loves Shakespeare at first reading, an unlikely scenario, but you can't help but love him.
Took me a while to get into it also, but I think maybe kids will immediatly connect to the "my teacher HATES Me" thing. I love the Shakespeare connections. Yes, its a long shot to have a kid that gets Shakespeare and LIKES it at this age but maybe it was more likely in the golden age of the early 60's (I wouldn't know ; ) )
I really liked this book but the title bugs me. Holling and Mrs. Bakers' Wed.'s weren't really wars. The were building a strong bond of friendship but it wasn't war-like at all. Sure, the title's catchy with alliteration and all but I don't think it's fitting.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I laughed aloud throughout and was in tears at the end. The rats in the ceiling were hilarious! You just knew what was going to happen. I think the student/teacher relationship had enough conflict to merit the title. And yeah, at least some children of the 60/70s liked Shakespeare. Some of today's children too.
I think middle school readers will find this book totally engaging. It has it all - teacher relationships, first girlfriend, bullying. Schmidt does a great job with Hollin Hoodhood!
I hated the cover and thought some more editing might have helped but other than that, I loved the book. I also thought the rats were hilarious and even woke my husband up one night while reading because I couldn't stop laughing. I will take the word of the middle school folks as to whether or not it would appeal to kids.
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