Surviving Middle School

June 6, 2016
Adopting a jokey but understanding tone, Reynolds uses his own past experiences and those of the students he currently teaches to commiserate with readers who are dealing with insecurity, the pressure to conform, grade stresses, and other difficulties; throughout, he urges them to maintain their individuality and accept that there will be good days and bad. While some of Reynolds’s metaphors can be goofy to the point of nonsensical (he compares negative external pressures to “space gnomes who are only after one thing: garlic bread,” and hard-to-scrub-away “caked dirt” represents inner determination), his compassion for those in the trenches is never in question, and readers in need will find plenty of encouragement in these pages. Ages 10–14. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary Agency.

April 1, 2016

Gr 5-8-Former middle school teacher Reynolds has turned his love of garlic bread into an excellent and engaging treatise on life aimed at the "Wimpy Kid" generation. He begins with a hilariously rose-colored recounting of his own first day at middle school. Traitorously truthful members of his family chime in with the real story and allow readers to sympathize and relate. Each chapter is dedicated to a serious issue facing middle school students. Reynolds uses age-appropriate metaphors to get his message across, including space gnomes (forces fighting against kids) and garlic bread (adolescents' true inner selves). The author covers issues such as insecurity and self-confidence and provides a simple list of "stuff" to help navigate life successfully. Sprinkled throughout the book are pertinent quotes by famous people designed to inspire. Goofy black-and-white illustrations add to the kid-appeal. VERDICT Thoughtful, humorous, and filled with practical advice and insight, this book is recommended for all libraries.-Cindy Wall, Southington Library & Museum, CT

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2016
Grades 6-8 Reynolds uses humor and oddball metaphors to make the advice he delivers to new, beleaguered, or confused middle-schoolers palatable. The point of school, he explains to his young audience, is to learn how to use your voice to share your ideas, to solve problems, and to work with others. One's inner joy and potential for personal growth he sees as a loaf of yummy garlic bread, which is continually under threat from an army of voracious space gnomes (i.e., bullies, grades, competitions, insecurity, and fear ). Everyone also has dense stores of empathy and determination to draw on when challenges arise. As a middle-school teacher, he offers plenty of classroom anecdotes, but his focus is on broadly encouraging self-knowledge and self-confidence, rather than tackling specific issues or scenarios. Typical of such guides, though, he does include lists, writing exercises, and inspirational quotes as well as selected films, websites, and novels. Silly stock cartoons further lighten the already positive message and overall tone.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)