It's taken me quite a while to write about this book, because I've been struggling for the words. I can't even put into words why I've been struggling so much.
Junior high, as most people who go through it know, is BRUTAL, even if you don't experience anything as traumatic as what is depicted here. You're at a time in your life where you're still trying to figure out who you are, and the world is not kind to people who don't know who they are. (It's not kind to people who do, either, which is illustrated pretty vividly here.) Every emotion is dialed up to 11, so there are no happy mediums; everything that happens is either the worst or the best thing EVER.
I was not bullied in junior high (or ever; that has not been a trial of mine.) But I was a very imaginative and sensitive child who was on the younger end of my grade, and I took myself EXTREMELY seriously. And while I had friends, I was introverted enough that social situations were (and are still) a challenge for me. Add to that four brothers who delighted in pushing my buttons, and the end of the equation is that I don't have a lot of fond memories of junior high.
Still, I'm not sure why this book resonated with me so deeply. It's a compelling story; I read snippets of it over and over again, and the primary conceit is both charmingly nostalgic and scathing social commentary, which is a tough needle to thread. And the end, like life, doesn't tie things up neatly; though wounds heal, the scars remain. I will say that I grew to dislike the repeated foreshadowing; after a while it stops building tension and just becomes tedious. It works, but probably not as well as the author wanted it to. But for the messages about inclusion and friendship alone, I'm glad I spent the time.
Author: John David Anderson
Potentially objectionable content: Some mild language, allusions to homosexuality, intense bullying scenes
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