Book review: Middle School: The worst years of my life
This book from the Middle School series is now a major Hollywood movie and was released on the big screen last year.
Author: James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts.
Reviewed by: Izahn Krige
Review made possible by: Penguin Random House.
Rafe Khatchadorian is a sixth grader in middle school and hates all that is middle school, comparing it to a maximum security prison as his imagination collides with his slight problem with authority.
With his scheming best friend, Leonardo the Silent, he comes up with a maybe-secret plan to break every rule in the school’s Code of Conduct book.
The two don’t expect their principal to strike back and this is when real and imagined chaos ensues.
The graphics on almost every single page are enthralling and kept me going back a page or two to look at them again as I continued reading.
What makes the pictures so captivating is the imagination of the main character – and that most sixth graders can probably relate to turning their least favourite teacher into an imaginary, terrifying dragon.
This book breeds creativity and forces you to explore your own imagination, something that is so important to the development of a child, especially in an age when children grow up too soon and their heads are filled with things ahead of their time.
A child needs to lose themselves in their imagination and this book is a perfect example of a child doing just that.
‘Middle School: The worst years of my life’ is a 281-page book that will keep any child who loves reading busy for days on end – and captivated by the images.
What makes this book even more amazing, in my opinion, is the sneak preview of the follow-up ‘Middle School: Get me out of here!’ which gives an extra 20 pages of pictures and hilarious story-telling.
For the love of imagination, this book will be a wonderful addition to a pre-teen’s bookshelf.
