Title: The Wednesday Wars
Author: Gary D. Schmidt
Major Themes: School, Teachers, Vietnam War, Shakespeare
Synopsis: Holling Hoodhood is sure that his teacher hates his guts, and when he is stuck alone with her for an hour every week, he knows he is in for problems.
After my mom read Pay Attention, Carter Jones when she visited us last year, and highly recommended it, I read that book aloud to my children. It was a powerful book. Recently, I listened to Trouble, also by Gary D. Schmidt, and really fell in love with this man’s stories. Meanwhile, my mom had found The Wednesday Wars, also by him, and recommended it so highly that I decided it would be my next read. Wow, that one is powerful, too.
Publisher’s description:
Seventh grader Holling Hoodhood isn’t happy. He is sure his new teacher, Mrs. Baker, hates his guts. Throughout the school year, Holling strives to get a handle on the Shakespeare plays Mrs. Baker assigns him to read on his own time, and to figure out the enigmatic Mrs. Baker. At home, Holling’s domineering father is obsessed with his business image and disregards his family.
As the Vietnam War turns lives upside down, Holling comes to admire and respect both Shakespeare and Mrs. Baker, who have more to offer him than he imagined. And when his family is on the verge of coming apart, he also discovers his loyalty to his sister, and his ability to stand up to his father when it matters most.
Each month in Holling’s tumultuous seventh-grade year is a chapter in this quietly powerful coming-of-age novel set in suburban Long Island during the late ’60s.
My thoughts:
By now, my daughter has read The Wednesday Wars as well, and we have been discussing it. There have been very few books we have talked about as much as this one! There is so much included in this book. I loved the parts about Shakespeare and how Holling learned to like those works. I loved the humor (the parts about cream puffs were hilarious!), and the war on the rats added a fun dimension. I also loved watching Holling learn and grow into a more mature person—but his father was not a man to admire. Gary D. Schmidt seems to specialize in stories about dysfunctional families with the main character being a child who grows and changes as a result of hard things they experience. Wrapped up in these hard stories is humor—like the cream puffs and rats in this story(and the Shakespeare play is a can’t-miss-it scene as well). And that name—who would have a name like Holling Hoodhood?! I have concluded that I would like to have all of this author’s books on my shelf. I have read one aloud to my family, and would love to read more to them.
WARNING: (No chapter numbers, just titles.) November: People hear a soldier died. December: “Gee”, lying. January: Stealing, “gee”, getting revenge, smoking. February: A lie, smoking. March: “Good Lord”, “dang it”, “you dang slugs” (five times), animals killed, “stupid” (twice), a boy is punched in the face. April: Girl squeezes a boy’s hand, “dang slug”. May: Lying. June: Girl squeezes a boy’s hand, “good Lord”.
Age levels:
Listening Level—Ages 8 – 12, Family Friendly
Reading Independently—Ages 8 – 12, 10 – 12, 12 – 15
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle | Hardcover | Audible Audiobook (unabridged) | Audio CD
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
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