The Best School Year Ever

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of bullying, animal cruelty, and child abuse.

When her sixth-grade year begins, Beth is disconcerted to learn that, by the end of the school year, she must think of at least one compliment to give Imogene Herdman. After witnessing the disruptive antics of the Herdman children for years, Beth simply does not believe that there is anything positive to be said about Imogene. By the end of the novel, however, Beth’s understanding shifts, and she comes to understand that in order to understand someone’s true character, it is necessary to look beyond the surface.

Beth uses much of her narrative to establish, in a series of comic vignettes, how terrible the Herdman children are. She depicts Imogene going along with her siblings’ schemes to steal Howard, wash their cat at the laundromat, and steal the talent show treats. She shares a story specifically about Imogene in Chapter 5, in which Imogene convinces all of the other children that the teacher’s lounge is a dangerous place where children are being held captive. Beth shares these stories as evidence for her claims that the Herdmans are awful people and that Imogene is without redeeming qualities.