The Wednesday Wars

5th-8th

So, I have a confession to make right off the bat with this one. Sure it was in the recommended reads area of Thomas Hughes. Sure it won a Newbury Honor Award. Sure it fits with my project since its a new kids book and all... But I got this book because Gary Schmidt was my writing professor in college and I just knew I was going to like this one right off the bat. Which I know is unfair and biased, etc etc, but to continue the baseball metaphor, can you blame me for wanting at least one guaranteed home run?

None of that matters. This book is good. Plain and simple. You don't have to believe me. Just believe everyone else instead.

Anyway, on with the review:

Its 1967 and Holling Hoodhood is starting 7th grade. His teacher Mrs. Baker hates his guts. Every Wednesday, while half his class leaves for Hebrew School and the other half leaves for Catechism he has to spend his afternoons alone with the teacher that hates him with "heat whiter than the sun." Every Wednesday that they are left alone, Holling is put through the ringer: cleaning out the classroom, washing the chalkboard and the erasers, and even feeding the class rats. Eventually that torture sadistically extends to reading Shakespeare...which leads to performing Shakespeare and quoting Shakespeare and the incredible and wonderful understanding of the human language and human heart that results from learning to appreciate brilliant writing. Phew. That was officially a run on sentence.

Its rare to read a book with the ability to convince you of the power of good literature. I mean, as a librarian, I already believe in it. But its always nice to read books that back it up. The excellent side note in this book is that it also speaks to the wonderful influence that a talented mentor can have on the lives of their students. As it turns out, Mrs. Baker doesn't hate Holling and ends up helping him through a potentially traumatic period of time which includes the assassinations of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. and the continuing horror of Viet Nam.

I guess I am not sure if this book officially counts as historical fiction. And despite it taking place in the late 60's, it has more of a mid 50's feel to it. Still, the family dynamic of an overbearing father, a rebellious sister, and a young boy caught in the middle provides enough fertile ground for Schmidt to pull up many ripe story lines. The book moves back and forth between negative events and positive events in Holling's life. Each one seems to build on the next as Holling works through the difficult process of growing up.

This book could be used in lots of different programs at the Library. The obvious uses would be on award winning reading lists or for a Newbury themed reading program. But the nice thing about the story is that it touches on just about all things that can be labeled "boy" or "growing up." There are excellent sections in the book on athletics (both coaching and competing), politics, rebellion, trust, religion, and tons of other topics. It is great to have a list of books like this where you can add them to a list for just about any topic.

All in all I really enjoyed reading and reviewing this book. I highly recommend it.