The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt Awards: Booklist Editors' Choice; Kirkus Editors Choice; ALA Notable/Best Books; Newbery Honor; Publishers Weekly Best Book; YALSA's Best Books for YA
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
In the words of our narrator, Holling Hoodhood:
"Let me tell you..."
This book is absolutely wonderful. I had tears from laughing, and then I had tears from crying. This book will definitely will be one of my favorites this year.
The year is 1967 and Holling is a 7th grader at Camillo Junior High on Long Island. On Wednesdays, half the class is excused early to attend Hebrew School and the other half is excused early to attend Catechism. But Holling is the only Presbyterian in his class. So his teacher, Mrs. Baker, has it in for him because she has to come up with something for him to do every Wednesday afternoon.
First and foremost, this is a book about growing up. But there's so much more: Vietnam. Shakespeare. Baseball. Rats. Friends. The family business. Cross-country. Architecture. Being a hero. First love. Trust. Faith. Siblings. Not being a jerk. Parents. Teachers....I could go on.
Just read it.
Also reviewed by:
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- In the Pages...
- Mindy Withrow
- Deliciously Clean Reads
- nomadreader
- Book Nut
- Bibliophile by the Sea
- Good Clean Reads
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Book 23 of 100 for the 100+ Reading Challenge, Book 14 of 50 for the New Author Challenge, Book 8 of 12 for the Historical Fiction Challenge, Book 10 of 50 for the RYOB Challenge, Book 9 of 10 for the Book Awards IV Challenge, Book 26 of 50 for the Countdown Challenge (2007), Book 17 of 25 for the MG Reading Challenge, Book 13 of 50 for the YA Reading Challenge
Source: Purchased
7 comments:
I read this book a few weeks ago and liked it so much I was kicking myself for not reading it the first time I heard about it!
I need to read this! I listened to the audio version of Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by the same author last year, and it was one of my top reads of the year.
Just read it, indeed. Glad you liked it!
I loved this book!! I recommend it all the time for a good, fun read.
I liked this one, too, and I've been meaning to read more by Gary Schmidt ever since, but I haven't gotten around to it. Have you read anything else by him that you would recommend?
Hhhmm, it's funny that we adults seem to like it and yet my daughter reading it for her book report seems to be bored to tears by it.
loved loved loved. nice job. THANKS for making me read it :)
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