Gary Schmidt has the gift of turning middle school angst in to something profound and redemptive.
In his Newbery Honor book, The Wednesday Wars, he tackles the Vietnam War from the perspective of Holling Hoodhood, a 7th grader on Long Island, New York. With the help of teachers, friends and Shakespeare, Holling is able to navigate the complicated world of adolescence and a world immersed in conflict.
In Okay for Now, his sequel to The Wednesday Wars, Holling says so long to his friend, Doug Swieteck, as Doug and his family move to upstate New York. Doug is having a difficult time adjusting, but with the help of a friend, a part-time job, a librarian, and lots of birds, Doug manages to not only survive, but thrive.
If you are looking for middle grade literature that doesn’t include a single vampire, werewolf, wizard, or witch – I highly recommend the works of Gary Schmidt.
Book Review — The Wednesday Wars
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Book source: Library copy
Genre: Juvenile/Middle Grade Fiction
Toads, beetles, bats… Gotta love a kid who learns to swear from Shakespeare. But Holling Hoodhood (blame his ever insensitive parents for that name) learns that and so much more at Camillo Junior High School on Long Island, New York. Holling is the kind of kid who isn’t quite cool enough to keep the bullies away, but well rounded enough to accept his 7th grade teacher’s recommendation that they study Shakespeare together, agrees to be Ariel in The Tempest and saves his sister from getting hit by a bus, although, I’m sure he thought twice about it. He is a kid who loves the Yankees, but when snubbed by Mickey Mantle because his was wearing yellow tights, his friends come to his rescue and reject the baseball superstar.
Young love in Jr High isn’t easy either – when an interest develops between Holling and Meryl Lee (the daughter of Mr. Hoodhood’s chief business competition in town) things become complicated when their parents profession nearly dooms them, in true Romeo & Juliet style. And then there is Mrs. Baker – the teacher who coaches, edifies, trains, tutors, and inspires Holling to search for the man he will become.
There isn’t much more than I can say but, I LOVED THIS BOOK!! Every word, every scene, every conflict, every emotion. Every step Holling takes to look beyond himself and the world around him — to his friends, to his sister, to school work, to the Vietnam conflict – was a delight to read. It was witty, thoughtful, poignant, and nostalgic. If there is such a thing as a 7th grade Renaissance Man, Holling Hoodhood has it nailed.
Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt
My enjoyment rating: 5 of 5 stars
Book Source: Personal Copy
Genre: Juvenile/Middle Grade Fiction
Consider the following: an author proposes writing a middle grade novel involving John James Audubon’s Birds of America, an emotionally abusive father, a Vietnam veteran brother, the classic novel Jane Eyre, the New York Yankees, an eccentric playwright, a business executive who is both an expert at horseshoes as he is at cultivating orchids – you would probably consider him crazy and usher him out the door. But only author Gary Schmidt could weave all the above in a story so full of heartache and hope that the obvious response would be, “why didn’t I think of that story line?”
Doug Swieteck, a minor character from Mr. Schmidt’s Newbery Honor winner The Wednesday Wars, has moved from Long Island with Holling Hoodhood’s beloved Joe Pepitone’s New York Yankees jacket, to upstate New York to face the uncertainty of his father’s hostility and being the new kid on the block. With the help of multiple friends and teachers, Doug is able to navigate the natural difficulties associated with 8th grade, the increased tension at home, with his newly developed artistic talent studying Audubon prints and the burgeoning relationship with Lil Spicer, daughter of the local grocery merchant.
This was an extraordinary book. Mr. Schmidt was a master in the layering of story lines of Doug’s life. With the introduction of each bird (you’ll notice them immediately at the beginning of each chapter), and at each obstacle that Doug encounters, it was a natural instinct to reach through the pages to give this kid a hug. Additionally, Mr. Schmidt expertly shows how important teachers are to the lives of our children and that no child is out of reach of being nurtured and taught. And without much effort, he TEACHES the reader as well – about classic literature and art and science – it was seamless.
Finally, this was a story about the rebuilding of a family, the strength of a young man, and the beauty of a friendship. Oh, and birds. Lots and lots of birds.
