Genre: Middle Grade, Realistic
Fiction
Source: Purchased
I have read all of this author's
books. While cleaning up files, I
realized that I had never written a review of this one. So I reread it. Like
all of his books, Christopher Francis takes a prominent issue and creates a
story that not only shines a light on that issue but helps the reader see a way
through it. Alex's best friend has moved
away. Now, he has to face his first year of middle school alone. In his
first-period class, he sees the biggest kid he's ever seen. Henry is large with
red hair. He is also new to the school.
He was constantly picked on at his previous school because of his size. Over
the summer, his dad remarried, and that is why he had to change schools. Alex
is having a very rough first day after hitting Henry in the back of the head
with a slice of pizza and getting sent to the principal's office. It was at the
end of the first day that Henry and Alex had their first run-in with the school
bully, Damian Dermite. As Alex is leaving, he sees Henry on the ground, and
Damian is trying to force him to eat a worm.
Alex steps in. This time, he gets
suspended and is on the bully's radar.
If he can figure out why Damian is
a bully, maybe he can survive middle school.
A great book about bullying, finding friendship, and, most of all,
surviving middle school. Unfortunately,
as a middle school teacher, I see things like this play out all the time. It is
unfortunate. Maybe if more people were willing to step up we could diminish the
bullying issue.
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