joshofstl 's review for:

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
5.0
An expansive middle-grade novel about a year in the life of a 7th grader on Long Island in 1967-1968. The author weaves together a number of sublots about baseball and Vietnam, about rats and Shakespeare. There's a lot going on here, both in the comedy and tragedy departments (again, a Shakespearean mirror) and I think part of the beauty here is in how it all colors this year in the life. I had some nits, including at least a couple of disasters that one of the major characters (
SpoilerMrs. Baker
) all but guarantees thanks to some baffling shortsightedness. I also felt like some arcs involving the narrator's father --
Spoilerspecifically, the fact that he repeatedly failed to show up places when he promised to
-- were left unresolved. Still, this is a really good story in the 4.5 star range that reflects both serious research and earnest, deliberate storytelling.