Surviving Middle School by Luke Reynolds - ADVISABLE

Surviving Middle School by Luke Reynolds, 164 pages. NON-FICTION. Aladdin (Simon & Schuster), 2016, $20.

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence G

BUYING ADVISORY: MS – ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

The author has taught in a middle school and offers up easy to read and engaging stories about how to get through middle school.  Reynolds addresses a variety of issues including the evil of comparing yourself to others, the importance of being yourself, pausing before making decisions, love, and why grades aren’t as important as learning.  He’s also pretty sure teachers are human.  Who would have guessed?

I went into this book thinking it would be boring and academic.  The cover was pretty bland.  However, I was pleasantly surprised.  This book really is geared for middle school students and the advice is relevant for anyone.  There are fun illustrations throughout and Luke Reynolds has a great sense of humor. He even offers a journal exercise at the end of each chapter to help readers process his advice.  As a middle school teacher myself, I am going to use some of his advice, even though the garlic bread metaphor is a bit overdone. (Hah!)

Michelle in the Middle, Teacher