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Middle School is Worse than Meatloaf - Jennifer L. Holm

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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
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