The Wednesday Wars, a review

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D.  Schmidt

Reviewed by  Children’s Library Volunteer Alex Toutounji

On his first day of seventh grade in 1967 , Holling Hoodhood, otherwise known as the Son Who Is Going to Inherit Hoodhood and Associates, finds out that his teacher, Mrs. Baker hates  him. On top of that, his mother doesn’t believe him, his father doesn’t want to hear anything about it because it would be bad for his business and his sister, well, let’s say she has no interest in her brother whatsoever…  Because he isn’t Catholic or Jewish, he also hast to spend his afternoons with her in the classroom while all of the other kids go to church or temple. But as the days pass, he realizes that she might not be so bad after all…. He learns to like this wacky teacher that keeps pet rats in the classroom instead of fish or guinea pigs and that likes to read Shakespeare. This is a great novel that kids can really relate to, I mean, who hasn’t ever had a vibe from a teacher that says  ” I really don’t like you…. ” ?

The Wednesday Wars is a Newbery honor book and can be found in the Young Adult fiction collection on the teen mezzanine under J SCH  (YA).