Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life

James Patterson

2/5 Rules

Rafe Khatchadorian is about to begin middle... with no friends. Well, he has one friend: Silent Leo, but you'll learn more about him as the book goes on. As the assistant principal is going over rules on the first day, Rafe and Leo come up with a plot: Operation RAFE. The objective is to break every single rule in the rule book, and you can earn points while doing it.

Operation RAFE is the only thing that gets Rafe through the days. With an almost-stepdad ruining home, and an annoying sister he can't get away from, Rafe's only escape is breaking the rules. However, his rule breaking will land him in more trouble than he ever expected.

I tried really hard to like this book. I love James Patterson, and I love Diary of a Wimpy Kid type books, but I couldn't get into this one. It took me almost 3 days to read it because I had no desire to go back to it after a few chapters. I did have sympathy for Rafe. He obviously was going through hard times and acting out because of it... but I just couldn't get past his annoying behavior. Working with "behavior" kids, I usually have compassion for these types of characters, but I felt Rafe's character development was poor. I also know these books aren't meant to be realistic, but the plot was so unbelievable. As I have students moving to middle school next year, I worry that they'd actually think it's like this. Overall, I just truly didn't like this book, and I really wanted to.

Suggest Replacement Reading: The Benefits of Being an Octopus - Ann Braden