Skip to main content

Middle School is Worse than Meatloaf - Jennifer L. Holm

By
Middle School is Worse than Meatloaf: A Year Told Through Stuff
By Jennifer L. Holm
Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2007. Unpaged. Chapter book.

Jennifer L. Holm has given us a different style novel this time. Middle School is Worse than Meatloaf: A Year Told Through Stuff is full of exactly that, stuff. It is not your standard novel with lots of words and a few illustrations. The entire story of Ginny Davis' 7th grade year is revealed to the reader through report cards, classroom assignments, notes from her mom, postcards from her grandpa, cartoons drawn by her brother, refrigerator magnets, receipts and many, many more things.

It is truly amazing how much you can learn about a person from their stuff. This book made me laugh, it made me cry, it brought back both good and bad memories from my own junior high years. Although this book is written in an unconventional way, it still conveys all the up and down emotions of a typical 7th grade girl.

Comments

curlyq said…
This book was wonderful. I had a hard time transitioning from elementary to junior high and this book certainly brought back memories of those two years, good and bad. The book's design is excellent and makes it very fun and entertaining to read. Although it's set up almost with the feel of a diary/scrapbook, you forget that you're not just reading a novel due to the pull of the story. Check this book out--it's definitely better than meatloaf (which I happen to like).
October 31, 2007 at 4:20 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Display: Dino-mite Reads

By
Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs By Mo Willems New York: Balzar + Bray, 2012. Picture Book. "Once upon a time, there were three hungry Dinosaurs: Papa Dinosaur, Mama Dinosaur . . . and a Dinosaur who happened to be visiting from Norway. One day--for no particular reason--they decided to tidy up their house, make the beds, and prepare pudding of varying temperatures. And then--for no particular reason--they decided to go . . . someplace else. They were definitely not setting a trap for some succulent, unsupervised little girl. Definitely not!" --Editor Smart Vs. Strong! Written by Jill Esbaum Illustrated by Miles Thompson New York: Simon Spotlight, 2021. Easy Reader. 64 pages. "When Thunder gets stuck in quicksand, Cluck uses his smarts to free his friend." --Editor How Dinosaurs Went Extinct Written by Ame Dyckman Illustrated by Jennifer Harney New York: Brown and Company, 2023. Picture Book. "When a child in a museum asks how dinosaurs became extinct, Dad co
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: The Enigma Girls

By
  The Enigma Girls By Candace Fleming New York: Scholastic Focus, 2024. Informational. 371 pages. If you have an interest in little known aspects of history or in World War II in particular, this book is for you. The Enigma Girls tells the story of 10 young women who worked at Station X at Bletchley Park in England helping to break ciphers during World War II. Each of the girls grew up in different circumstances, and thus, each worked at in a different part of Station X cracking codes. The reader learns about how Station X worked through the stories of each of the girls. Whether it was transcribing the Morse code messages that the Germans were sending to their armies or decoding, translating, or paraphrasing messages, each girl had a part to play. The stories of the girls are intermixed with plenty of photographs as well as special chapters about how to decode various types of ciphers. Learning about Station X through the eyes of the girls that worked there helps the reader gain a huma
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: The Hidden Dragon

By
The Hidden Dragon By Melissa Marr New York: Nancy Paulsen Books, 2023. Fiction. 161 pages. Three children, Otter, London, and Sophia, live in a fantasy world with dragons. Otter (short for Ottilie) is the daughter of a ship captain, and she loves the sea and its dragons. London is a stowaway boy, searching for a new life full of adventure. Sophia lives in a thief house with other children, all dedicated to helping each other and trying to make the kingdom better. As trouble begins to brew both on land and at sea, these three heroes realize that maybe it's up to the kids to make things right. Readers experience the book from multiple perspectives, and with a bit of mystery and adventure, this is an amazing fantasy read. With the inspiring message that children truly can make a difference, readers will enjoy how each character fights for what's right, even when it's inconvenient. The ending is resolved a little quickly, but this is a great read for all "hatchlings."
Post a Comment
Read more