The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
Selected by Joni Borg
From Amazon.com:
Gary D. Schmidt was awarded a Newbery Honor in 2008 for The Wednesday Wars, the story of the seventh-grader Holling Hoodhood from suburban Long Island in 1967 who is stuck spending his Wednesday afternoons with his teacher Mrs. Baker . . . who is clearly trying to kill him with Shakespeare. As time rolls on, Shakespeare starts to grow on Holling, and even when he’s not playing the yellow-tighted role of the fairy Ariel, he can’t help but hurl the occasional Elizabethan insult. Laugh-out-loud scenes involving overfed escaped classroom rats and chalk-dusted cream puffs mix seamlessly with more poignant moments, some related to the Vietnam War. Holling is courageous, funny, and unique, and readers will love seeing him evolve beyond the expectations of others to become his own fabulous self.Awards: 2008 Newbery Honor Book, 2008 ALA Notable Children’s Book, 2008 ALA Best Book for Young Adults, 2007 Booklist Editors’ Choice, 2007 National Parenting Publications Book Award, 2007 New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing, 2007 Book Sense Award Finalist
This book was selected because:
I chose it because it is a quick read and shouldn’t be stressful to finish in our short amount of time between meetings. It is a Newberry Award winner. It will make you laugh and maybe shed a tear. It is a great book. Can’t wait to see all of you next week at my house on Sept. 6 at 7:30! Enjoy your last week of summer! -joni
Edit:
Hey, I just noticed that The Wednesday Wars is only a Newberry Honor book, not the winner for 2007. Oh well, I think you will find it is an exceptional book anyway.
Lakeland Book Club 