60 pages 2 hours read

Chris Tebbetts, James Patterson, Illustr. Laura Park

Middle School, The Worst Years of My Life

Fiction | Graphic Novel/Book | Middle Grade | Published in 2011

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Further Reading & Resources

Further Reading: Literature

The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise (2019) by Dan Gemeinhart

Told from a girl’s point of view, this mid-grade novel deals with a parent and child also dealing with unresolved grief and finding new friends in creative, outlandish ways.

Hello Universe (2020) by Erin Entrada Kelly 2020

This illustrated mid-grade novel touches on several pertinent elements of Middle School, including students with disabilities, friendless preteens, dealing with bullies, and accepting outside help.

Restart (2018) by Gordon Korman

This mid-grade novel concerns a former bully who wakes up from a head injury with amnesia and cannot understand why fellow students fear and loathe him; he struggles to create a new life while dealing with the leftover debts of his previous wrongdoings.

Further Reading: Beyond Literature (nonfiction)

Finding the Magic in Middle School (2022) by Chris Balme

Describing middle school children as the “ultimate underdogs,” the author presents a handbook for transforming the often painful tween years into an age of empowerment.

Video & Podcast Resources:

Middle School, the Worst Years of My Life, Lionsgate, (2016).

This motion picture uses most of the book’s characters and some of its motifs but deviates from the themes of the novel.