The Wednesday Wars: A Newbery Honor Award Winner

Gary D. Schmidt

May 2009 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

In this Newbery Honor–winning novel, Gary D. Schmidt tells the witty and compelling story of a teenage boy who feels that fate has it in for him, during the school year 1968-69.

Seventh grader Holling Hoodhood isn't happy. He is sure his new teacher, Mrs. Baker, hates his guts. Holling's domineering father is obsessed with his business image and disregards his family. Throughout the school year, Holling strives to get a handle on the Shakespeare plays Mrs. Baker assigns him to read on his own time, and to figure out the enigmatic Mrs. Baker. As the Vietnam War turns lives upside down, Holling comes to admire and respect both Shakespeare and Mrs. Baker, who have more to offer him than he imagined. And when his family is on the verge of coming apart, he also discovers his loyalty to his sister, and his ability to stand up to his father when it matters most.

Ratings and reviews

Young adult literature loves to target curmudgeon English teachers in its plots, and here is another example. This novel was recommended to me by Alicia Siebers, an English-teaching peer at my own middle school. She read it in a couple of nights; it took me longer. Mrs. Baker is the foil who antagonizes our protagonist, the introspective Holling Hoodhood. Characteristic of Young Adult Literature, the protagonist has a name that can become the gist of jokes and many strange looks and comments. Set in 1967, the Vietnam War is in full bloom. the English tacher's husband is a lieutenant stationed over there, which adds to the rising action in the story. Holling interacts with the teacher; his father-who is very stereotyped as a hippie-hating, government supporting, hard-core conservative who is an architect vying for jobs in a tighly-knit community; a love-interest, or course; and the usual YAL gamut of bizarre incidentals like yellow-toothed rats running loose in the middle school, threats from bullies, and atrocious cafeteria food. All this being said, I enjoyed the book. It is very reawdable (written at a 6th grade level, I would presume), and the story took me back to those days because I was a 7th grader in 1967, too, listening to the horrifying news fromVietnam. Despite the bad press the English teachers gets in this book, she turns out to be okay in the end. And so did the book. I rated this a Three Stars Plus.

I don't understand why there are so many question marks, mega spaces, and misspelled words. Please edit this book because this is driving me nuts!

I had to read this book for my summer reading, it is boring and there is no excitement what so ever in this book I feel like it drags an forever. I would never recommend it. EVER

About the author

Gary D. Schmidt is the bestselling author of The Labors of Hercules Beal; Just Like That; National Book Award finalist Okay for Now; Pay Attention, Carter Jones; Orbiting Jupiter; the Newbery Honor and Printz Honor Book Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy; and the Newbery Honor Book The Wednesday Wars. He is also contributor to and co-editor of the acclaimed short story collection A Little Bit Super, co-edited by Leah Henderson. He lives in rural Michigan.