Middle School, The Worst Years of My Life

Leo is the focus of the narrative’s two plot-twisting secrets. Originally presented in the opening pages as Rafe’s only friend, in Chapter 24, Rafe declares Leo to be an imaginary friend, and in Chapter 73, Jules announces Leo was Rafe’s twin brother who died of meningitis when the boys were three.

Because of his shifting identity, Leo’s character morphs within the reader’s understanding. Initially, Leo seems to be the kind of malevolent troublemaker who slyly gets his friends into trouble while avoiding any responsibility for the mischief he has instigated. Reinforcing this idea is the conversation between Rafe and Leo, where Leo tells Rafe he will never excel and be popular, but he can make a name for himself by breaking the rules. Seeming to bear out this one-sided relationship is Jules, who early on asks Rafe whenever he gets in trouble if he has been talking to Leo again.

The reader’s opinion of Leo shifts with the revelation that there is no Leo. This causes the reader to wonder what emotional issues Rafe may have since he appears to have two identities: the fantasy person who pushes him to misbehave and the tender Rafe who protects his sister from Bear and stops Operation R.A.F.E. so his mother will not have anything to cry about. Interestingly, this perception implies that, on some level, Rafe knows how bright and creative he is since he calls Leo a genius.

The third perspective of Leo, the deceased three-year-old twin whom his brother keeps alive in his fantasies, presents Rafe in a still different light: a longing child who is missing his other half while he struggles with lingering grief. Becoming an adolescent, when childhood assumptions and priorities dissipate, may be behind Rafe’s acting out behavior. He is unwilling to fall into adolescence if it means finally letting go of his brother. Jules seems particularly attuned to the unreconciled nature of Rafe missing Leo.

The authors give little solid information about Jules, the mother of Rafe and Georgia. She is a single mom, engaged to a man, Carl/Bear, who seems unworthy of her and her family in every respect. Readers may surmise that her relationship with him has more to do with combatting loneliness and needing a babysitter than affection, as either confusion or anger marks every conversation between the two. The authors give no information about Rafe’s father or grandparents. Jules seems as alone as Rafe in terms of support and companionship.

Readers discover that Jules works as a server at Swifty’s Diner, where pieces of her abstract art adorn the walls. Jules loves art so much that she named each of her three children after a beloved artist. She is thoughtful and open-minded, seeking to know both sides of an issue before passing judgment. Jules is quite capable of abstract thought and deep insight, as her exposure to Rafe’s notorious Operation R.A.F.E. notebook strikes her not as rebellious delinquency but rather as the burgeoning development of an artist. Jules’s strongest quality is her devotion to her children and her willingness to pursue their best interests tirelessly.

Rafe’s sixth-grade English teacher, Mrs. Donatello, is the first to give Rafe detention and also the first to recognize that there is some unexpressed issue at work behind his mischievousness. She quickly perceives that he possesses real talent and creativity. Though Rafe frequently refers to her as the Dragon Lady, she persists in working with him in solo detention sessions and tutoring. Mrs. Donatello brings in art supplies during one tutoring session, encouraging Rafe to express himself artistically. She interrupts the principals’ meeting with Jules and Rafe to suggest that Rafe go to an arts-based middle school rather than HVMS and offers to help him develop his portfolio for application.

From a literary standpoint, Mrs. Donatello opens the door to studying the authors’ use of symbolic names. In particular, three famous 15th-century Italian Renaissance artists are referenced in the book. The key to understanding their uses in the book begins with the recognition of Donatello, the sculptor. Next is the great artist and inventor Leonardo DaVinci, and finally, the prolific painter and architect Raphael, best known for his portraits of important women. The authors depict Mrs. Donatello as someone trying to sculpt Rafe into a self-accepting, skilled artist. As described by Rafe, Leo is the real artist of the narrative and the inventor and perfecter of Rafe’s projects. Rafe, who draws architectural structures—like schools turned into castles and dungeons—draws countless pictures of the beautiful Jeanne.

Rafe describes himself from the first pages as a loser, especially in contrast to the girl who catches his eye on the first day of school, Jeanne Galletta. She is pretty, smart, articulate, and a wonderfully caring listener. The authors play with words again since Galletta is Spanish for “cookie” or pastry, a double play on words. Her precocious intellect implies she is a “smart cookie,” though the additional implication is that Rafe sees her as “delightfully attractive.” Rafe never gives her any nickname; rather, Galletta is the authors’ play on words. Because of their different social standings at HVMS, it is very unlikely that the two would ever be in close contact or speak to one another outside of a classroom. The fact that they continue to cross paths and develop an awkward friendship, as Rafe sees it, is a tribute to Jeanne seeing something in Rafe that intrigues her and makes her want to help him.

While Jeanne’s interest in Rafe is platonic and altruistic, his interest in her is romantic, at least until Rafe invites her for pizza, and she lets him know he is not a part of her circle of friends. After it becomes clear that Rafe is sweet on her and she does not harbor the same feelings for him, he feels embarrassed to find himself thrust into her presence against his will when she becomes his peer tutor. It is a common middle school nightmare for boys that the person the boy is most attracted to becomes his greatest source of humiliation.