The Wednesday Wars

When our class first received the book, I took a simple glance at the front cover, read a little on the back cover and instantly thought this book was going to be dull and boring…but, I stood corrected. I guess that's why they say, "Never judge a book by its cover." So far I have to say I'm really enjoying this book. The author had put A LOT of humor that I actually laughed out loud when reading. I mean, who doesn't like humor? What struck me the most was the way the author really got inside of a teenager's head, and really understood how the character would respond to a particular situation. When a character like Heather Hoodhood (Holling's older sister), would speak, you really learn to appreciate the way Gary D. Schmidt composed her dialogue. This is because he would put her words in such a way a typical teenage girl would speak to a younger brother – like if she is bugged, she would speak with an annoyed, sarcastic tone in her voice. If you have an older sister, I bet you could really relate her attitude to Heather Hoodhood's. If you can't…well you're a lucky duck. You can see the way he really understands a teenager's mind when he writes. Another thing I also really liked is this way he expressed one's emotion and feeling, especially since he wrote the story from a twelve-year-old boy's perspective. He would make the reader think because when describing his characters' emotion or feeling, he wouldn't just make the character literally say how they feel, he would make the character show it through actions, describing their facial expressions, or speaking in a specific tone so the reader has to infer how the character feels or what mood they are in. He also uses similes, metaphors, and other methods to make his story more interesting. We have only read three chapters and I'm already getting into the story. I have to say, the book really shocked me, because I expected much less. I didn't expect the story to be this funny, or this interesting. It's a real page-turner for me, and I just can't wait to see what else happens throughout the rest of the novel!

-Christine