Annie Green

Annie Green

Middle School the Worst Years of My Life

James Patterson

Fantasy

Just Right

134

1.    1.  I am currently reading Middle School the Worst Years of my Life by James Patterson and I am really enjoying it. In the story right now a boy named Rafe went to his first day of middle school. On the first day of school there is an assembly about rules and boring introduction stuff where they receive a booklet. In this booklet are the rules of the school and things that can earn you a detention if you break them. When the principal is droning on about these rules Rafe’s best friend Leo has a great idea; not to follow the rules. As the boys sit and plot there plan on getting Rafe to be the baddest boy around school they spy a rule that sticks out to them…pulling the fire alarm. When Rafe asks to go to the bathroom he does it!! The loudest most obnoxious noise known to man …. A school fire alarm. When Leo keeps telling Rafe how to be the worst kid in school they come up with a point system in where Rafe earns more points for the most dangerous rules he breaks. Soon Rafe begins to realize that being the bad boy is harder than it looks.

2.    2.  So far I really like this book. I like this book because I enjoy all the twists and turns that you find in the story. I think it’s fun to get another point of view from a fellow middle school student because Rafe’s life is not exactly the everyday life of a middle school student. I think it’s fun to learn about Rafe’s relationship with his creative yet quiet best friend Leo. I think Leo is really interesting because he is so smart and funny but the only way you can see that is through what Rafe tells the readers. Leo is quiet himself but only opens up to his best friend. The other thing I like about this story is the way that Rafe and Leo precept life. They view life in a very childish way and I think that that’s fun to read about.

3.   3.A theme that I have noticed so far in this book is Family Curse. The reason I put this theme with the book is because of my least favorite character Bear, Bear is Rafe’s stepfather. Rafe’s mother works really hard for her kids and in her job and Bear does nothing to help. Instead Bear sits at home, watches TV, and drinks soda. Not only is Bear really lazy but he is extremely mean to Rafe and his little sister. Bear has a really short temper and it seems that he is always getting mad at the children. I don’t think it is fair that Bear gets so mad at them because he barely knows them. He doesn’t take the time to learn about Rafe’s grades, likes and dislikes, his friends at school, and I find this extremely irresponsible.

4.   4.My favorite character is Rafe’s best friend Leo. I like Leo because I think he has a lot to offer but he is so quiet that he cannot share his knowledge with others. He is very creative; I think it’s cool that he draws so much. I find his drawings cool because he doesn’t speak that much but he speaks through his drawings. He shows Rafe what he is thinking and it’s a way for him to map out his thoughts. This is unique because a lot of people express themselves through talking and communicating with others but Leo expresses himself through his illustrations.

5.    5.My least favorite character is Bear, I don’t like bear because of his attitude toward his step children. He is so mean to them and he doesn’t care about them either. Most parents and step parents get mad at their children simply because there is trouble at work or there are stressed out. The problem with Bear is he does not work he sits on his lazy butt all day and watches TV. He doesn’t care about anyone, I’m not even sure why he got married to Rafe’s mother in the first place.

6.   6.A prediction I have about what will happen next is I think that Rafe will get in big trouble for breaking all of these rules. So far he has been called out by teachers and he has also had a few detentions but nothing to major. I think next time he does something really bad Bear and his mother will find out and get really angry with him, maybe even not let him hang out with his best friend Leo anymore. I think that Rafe will realize that this game is childish and silly and through the process grow up and mature a little.