There are many side effects of going steady with someone who is better read than I am. Sometimes this makes me resentful- for example when every time a new author is mentioned whom I have never heard of and the description I receive to describe who said author is begins with "He's this really famous guy who..." Well if he's really famous but I haven't heard of him or any of the other two dozen people you're talking about then I sound totally illiterate. But I digress. There are also a few upsides- the best of which is getting free books from his massive collection that overflows the shelves onto the floor AND book recommendations when my inspiration runs dry. And the last of these recommendations were excellent!
The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt includes so many things that I value in books- a compelling plot, lessons that can be extracted and applied into a broader context, and it can be enjoyed by more than one age group...lots of others. But let me tell you about the book first...
The Wednesday Wars is about Holling Hoodhood, a 7th grader who is convinced from day one of the school year that his teacher, Mrs. Baker, hates him. This is because Holling is the only Presbyterian 7th grader and, as such, doesn't go to religious class on Wednesday afternoons like all the other Jewish and Catholic students. So, Mrs. Baker is forced to sit with him last period every Wednesday, making it the worst day of the week for Holling as he is forced to clap erasers, clean out the disgusting coat room, and, worst of all, read Shakespeare plays. But instead of rebelling against this tyranny like he wants to, Holling is forced to be nice to Mrs. Baker because of her connection to the people awarding the contract Holling's father's architecture firm that Holling's father really wants to win. However, before long, Holling comes to realize that Shakespeare, previously the worst torture of all, is actually relevant and that Mrs. Baker isn't actually the awful teacher he thought. How does this amazing transformation come about? Well I can't give everything away or otherwise you wouldn't go read it like you're supposed to now but I will tell you that if you previously thought that giant rats, major league baseball players, and cross country running had nothing to do with each other- you're wrong :)
So, now- back to what I was saying about the best things about the book: compelling storyline- based on what I told you above, check. Lessons that apply to a bigger context- check. I think the way that Schmidt used various Shakespeare plays that Holling was reading and applied them to his life was brilliant. Each of the months of the school year, Holling read a different play and learned about his own life from the lives of the characters. He learned about love, friendship, mercy, revenge, overcoming prejudice and many other lessons from plays such as Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Hamlet. So yes, broader context.
Enjoyed by more than one age group- check. I tested this theory by giving the book to my mom and having her read it and she liked it just as much as I did. The author of the NYT book review article for this book apparently tested it too by giving it to a 10 year old. The kid also loved it, in case you were wondering. This kind of relevance to readers of all ages reminds me of (dare I say this?) C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia. While considered as children books, they are enjoyed by people of all ages precisely because they strike that balance of childish fantasy and a more complicated message that is understood by older readers. This same thing is accomplished in The Wednesday Wars and that is what makes it great.
So, go read it! And then go read Shakespeare, because you will want to do that too.
Oh, and just in case you're wondering, YES! There is a sequel to it- its called Okay for Now (but more on that later).
-For your reference, the NYT book review article- http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/books/review/Stone-t.html
The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt includes so many things that I value in books- a compelling plot, lessons that can be extracted and applied into a broader context, and it can be enjoyed by more than one age group...lots of others. But let me tell you about the book first...
The Wednesday Wars is about Holling Hoodhood, a 7th grader who is convinced from day one of the school year that his teacher, Mrs. Baker, hates him. This is because Holling is the only Presbyterian 7th grader and, as such, doesn't go to religious class on Wednesday afternoons like all the other Jewish and Catholic students. So, Mrs. Baker is forced to sit with him last period every Wednesday, making it the worst day of the week for Holling as he is forced to clap erasers, clean out the disgusting coat room, and, worst of all, read Shakespeare plays. But instead of rebelling against this tyranny like he wants to, Holling is forced to be nice to Mrs. Baker because of her connection to the people awarding the contract Holling's father's architecture firm that Holling's father really wants to win. However, before long, Holling comes to realize that Shakespeare, previously the worst torture of all, is actually relevant and that Mrs. Baker isn't actually the awful teacher he thought. How does this amazing transformation come about? Well I can't give everything away or otherwise you wouldn't go read it like you're supposed to now but I will tell you that if you previously thought that giant rats, major league baseball players, and cross country running had nothing to do with each other- you're wrong :)
So, now- back to what I was saying about the best things about the book: compelling storyline- based on what I told you above, check. Lessons that apply to a bigger context- check. I think the way that Schmidt used various Shakespeare plays that Holling was reading and applied them to his life was brilliant. Each of the months of the school year, Holling read a different play and learned about his own life from the lives of the characters. He learned about love, friendship, mercy, revenge, overcoming prejudice and many other lessons from plays such as Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Hamlet. So yes, broader context.
Enjoyed by more than one age group- check. I tested this theory by giving the book to my mom and having her read it and she liked it just as much as I did. The author of the NYT book review article for this book apparently tested it too by giving it to a 10 year old. The kid also loved it, in case you were wondering. This kind of relevance to readers of all ages reminds me of (dare I say this?) C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia. While considered as children books, they are enjoyed by people of all ages precisely because they strike that balance of childish fantasy and a more complicated message that is understood by older readers. This same thing is accomplished in The Wednesday Wars and that is what makes it great.
So, go read it! And then go read Shakespeare, because you will want to do that too.
Oh, and just in case you're wondering, YES! There is a sequel to it- its called Okay for Now (but more on that later).
-For your reference, the NYT book review article- http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/books/review/Stone-t.html
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