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The Wednesday Wars - Audio

by Gary D. Schmidt, Joel Johnstone (Narrator)

4.1 of 5 stars 4.10 · rating details · 13,087 ratings · 2,965 reviews

From an award-winning novelist, a hilarious and poignant coming-of-age story set 1967.

Seventh grader Holling Hoodhood has a tough year ahead of him. First of all, his teacher, Mrs. Baker, keeps giving him the evil eye. Second of all, the class bully keeps threatening to do Number 167 (and you don’t even want to know what Number 167 is). Third of all, his father keeps calli...more

Audio CD, 0 pages

Published June 1st 2007 by Scholastic Audio Books (first published May 21st 2007)

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Jul 17, 2012 karen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: why-yes-i-ya, readventurer-made-me-do-it

this is my second book for the readventurer challenge.

this book is very...sweet. and ordinarily,a sweet book would make me feel like i had chiggers or something else foul crawling under my skin, and its earnest gee-whizzery would make me feel unclean just because of my mental rolodex of words that are more satisfying to say in moments of astonishment or crisis than "gee whiz."

but this one was different. this one was entirely wholesome, yeah, but wholesome and satisfying like fresh-baked bread, a...more

41 likes · like · see review

Jun 24, 2010 Greg rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-for-kids, fiction

A Review in Two Parts

Part One
Ariel, recommended this book to me, and she wrote a fine good review of the book. You can find it by clicking on her name.

I really liked the book, but didn't love it. I think the things I didn't love about the book were me being a crank. For example, the myopic narrator view point of a seventh grader was great; it caught the distortions that a kid sees the world through and the way teachers and others outside of their own circle are depersonalized into roles instead...more

23 likes · like · see review

Jul 20, 2009 Lucy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kidlit, historicalfiction, middlegrade, books-that-deserve-six-stars, 2009, favorites

Holling Hoodhood’s got a problem. It’s 1967, and he’s just started seventh grade at Camillo Junior High, and his teacher, Mrs. Baker, hates his guts. Every Wednesday afternoon, half of the kids in Holling’s class go to Hebrew school and the other half go to St. Adelbert’s for catechism. And Holling, as the only Presbyterian in the class, stays behind with Mrs. Baker.

And Mrs. Baker makes him read Shakespeare. Outside of class.

What follows is a year in Holling’s life, a year of Wednesdays with Mrs...more Holling Hoodhood’s got a problem. It’s 1967, and he’s just started seventh grade at Camillo Junior High, and his teacher, Mrs. Baker, hates his guts. Every Wednesday afternoon, half of the kids in Holling’s class go to Hebrew school and the other half go to St. Adelbert’s for catechism. And Holling, as the only Presbyterian in the class, stays behind with Mrs. Baker.

And Mrs. Baker makes him read Shakespeare. Outside of class.

What follows is a year in Holling’s life, a year of Wednesdays with Mrs. Baker and life in general. It’s 1967, and his sister wants to be a flower child, and his father owns the architecture firm Hoodhood and Associates and sees Holling as The Son Who Will Inherit Hoodhood and Associates. There are rats, and cream puffs, and Doug Swieteck’s brother. There are telegrams and baseballs and tights (with feathers!) and atomic bomb drills.

This is a quiet book that gets you in all the right places. If I had to sum it up in a phrase, I’d say it was about how people surprise you—sometimes in bad ways, and more often in very good ways. It’s about heroes—the ones you create for yourself, and the ones that you discover. It’s about finding your way when the world is confusing. It’s about being in seventh grade, and learning that it’s not who you are that matters, but who you decide to be.

This book made me laugh out loud on the subway, those big belly laughs that make strangers think you’re crazy. It also made me cry, no less that four times. This is not a book with great tragedy, but it is a book with great power. It’s a book that made me feel.

I read it slowly, reading and rereading each line and word, savoring the chapters. But I didn’t horde it, didn’t put it down and save it for later, because I could. not. stop. reading.

I just couldn’t. It wasn’t so much that I needed to know what happened—it was more that I desperately wanted to hear Holling’s voice in my head some more. I wanted more afternoons with Mrs. Baker.

This is the kind of book that you read and reread, and then read bits aloud to the people you care about, because you want to share it with them. It’s the kind of book that makes you feel like you really, really know the characters, like what happens to them is important to you.

It’s the kind of book that makes you want to read Shakespeare, and more importantly, to curse like Caliban.

It’s really one of the best reading experiences I’ve had in a long time. I urge you to read it. I want to talk about the Mickey Mantle episode with you. I want to hear what you think about cream puffs. And I want you to know what I mean when I say, “toads, beetles, bats.” Or “chrysanthemum.”

Mostly, I want you to meet Holling Hoodhood and Mrs. Baker, two of my new favorite literary creations. I want them to be part of your life the way they’ve been part of mine since I started this book. I really think you’ll like them a lot.(less)

29 likes · like · see review

Dec 24, 2010 Bonnie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-middle-grade

At first I thought this book was too young for me. The protagonist is a 7th grader, an age I am far past. It was a bit slow at first and my initial conclusion was: This would be great book for a middle school boy, especially one you want to get interested in Shakespeare, but not so great for the general reader.

And then I kept reading and realized that this was a brilliant, touching and funny book. Schmidt is excellent at making believable, nuanced characters--not something I often see at books a...more

8 likes · like · see review

Jan 02, 2008 Christina rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Other Librarians

Shelves: kid-books

Oh it's the season to read the books we adults want children to read, and in actual fact they have no interest in doing so. Wednesday Wars sadly falls into that catagory.
It's 1968, and Holling Hoodhood is stuck with his teacher every Wednesday afternoon when the rest of his class attends religious education classes that their respective places of worship.
Holling learns to love Shakespeare, and how to run a good race, and he learns to understand his teacher, Mrs. Baker, and to love his older si...more

7 likes · like · see review

Dec 23, 2007 Suzanne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: youngadult-fiction, historical-fiction

I love this book. Love, love, love, love, love, love. Love.

First, it takes place on Long Island, which I didn't even know when I ordered it for the library. So, sure I got an extra chuckle out of Schmidt's description of LI in November than the reader from, say, Nebraska will. But still, this is just an adorable story and you don't have to be stuck on the Long Island Expressway to enoy it. It reminds me of Richard Peck, if Richard Peck wrote about 1960's surburban life and not 1930's Illinois....more

6 likes · like · see review

Jul 07, 2010 Tatiana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ala-ya-2008, 2010, newbery, children-s-middle-school

I think I have come to understand what it takes for a book to be awarded Newbery. It seems these Newberry awarded books are just so wholesome, so full of great life lessons, so sweet and touching in a non-nauseating or preachy way. The Wednesday Wars is just like that.

13-year old Holling Hoodhood is in trouble. While his Jewish and Catholic classmates attend religious studies on Wednesday afternoons, he, the only Presbyterian in his class, is forced to spend this time with his English teacher Mr...more

11 likes · like · see review

Jan 31, 2008 Claire Scott rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: adult readers of kid lit and YA lit

Shelves: ya, love-love-love, middle-grade

If I had the option to give 6 stars to The Wednesday Wars, I'd do it. I giggled out loud at least 30 times on the bus *and* the train, earning myself a certain public transit notoriety as That Annoying Lady With The Book. And most people didn't even notice me getting teary during the poignant parts. Of course I'd heard glowing reviews of this book, but I didn't love Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, so I was skeptical. But no longer. Gary Schmidt, please write more!

It's 1967-68, and Hollin...more

6 likes · like · see review

Dec 09, 2008 Wendy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Mam, Laurie

Shelves: newbery-honor

Really charming. It was the same kind of nostalgic book as Penny From Heaven, but better-written, funnier, and more real-feeling. (This one has its obvious parallel in a really good episode of The Wonder Years.) This reminded me of older books about boys coming of age, like It's Like This, Cat and Onion John; but I think the language is wholly modern and accessible. I thought it was so much better--tighter, I guess--than Trouble.

Also, a question: looking at the other reviews, and thinking of rev...more Really charming. It was the same kind of nostalgic book as Penny From Heaven, but better-written, funnier, and more real-feeling. (This one has its obvious parallel in a really good episode of The Wonder Years.) This reminded me of older books about boys coming of age, like It's Like This, Cat and Onion John; but I think the language is wholly modern and accessible. I thought it was so much better--tighter, I guess--than Trouble.

Also, a question: looking at the other reviews, and thinking of reviews of other books I've read recently--WHY do so many adults seem to think kids can't enjoy historical fiction unless A. they're already familiar with all cultural references in the book, or B. all cultural references and implications are spelled out in words of one syllable, or, failing that, in an author's note or glossary? Teachers, librarians, parents, is this something you've observed? It seems like an unqualified assumption to me. Even though I'm of a different generation from today's kids, I'm not really that old, and none of that ever bothered me. For one thing, I learned a ton of history from books I read for pleasure, and for another, if I didn't understand something I skimmed over it or occasionally asked my mother what it meant. No. big. deal. I don't like to be all "Well, *I* grew up just fine" about this, but it's still hard for me to imagine that kids now are THAT much different from when I was a kid--especially kids who like to read. I would think that there were some kids who hated historical fiction then and there are some who hate it now. Yes? No?

ETA: Huh. I just remembered that I made sort of the opposite argument a few months ago, about Noel Streatfeild's books having too many cultural references that kids wouldn't get. Clearly there's some kind of line I want to draw; it has something to do with how easy the book is to understand with or without cultural references, and is related to the way some old books make good quasi-historical-fiction, and others are just dated. But I'd hold that it's irrelevant as regards actual historical fiction. If kids don't "get it", it's about the writing, not the topic. Some reviews here seem to be claiming that because kids don't know who RFK was, books shouldn't mention RFK.(less)

3 likes · like · see review

Jul 20, 2007 Kricket rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2007, tween, newbery

This is a beautiful book, so I reviewed it for our librarian blog at work.

Holling Hoodhood has many things on his mind. The U.S. is at war with Vietnam. His older sister has painted a flower on her face. His father is trying to run the town’s other architect out of business. And Holling’s teacher, Mrs. Baker, hates his guts. You see, every Wednesday after lunch, half of the kids in Holling’s 7th grade class go to the Temple Beth-El for Hebrew School. The other half goes to St. Adelbert’s for Cat...more

3 likes · like · see review

Oct 24, 2012 Kristi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Holling Hoodhood is one of the most enjoyable characters I have read. I love his attitude and his outlook. I also enjoyed the other characters especially his teacher and lunch lady. It is set in 1967, which was a tumultuous year for everyone and especially for a 7th grade boy. He is dealing with so much from family troubles to social to political. Such a clean enjoyable read. I enjoyed watching his relationship with his teacher evolve. What a fabulous teacher and style. I do agree with Holling,...more

3 likes · like · see review

Apr 26, 2008 Heathercrow rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was absolutely fabulous! I enjoyed every minute of it. I was very surprised to find out that it was more than just a Jr. High kid putting up with bullies. It was about life and how you deal with different trials no matter what your age is and everyone deals with these trials in different ways. I am totally serious when I say that I laughed and cried and ignored my family until it was done. It is very worthy of the 2008 newberry award.

6 likes · like · see review

Dec 09, 2007 Joshua rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Without too much effort, you could probably come up with a dozen or so books of the Teacher-Who's-Totally-Mean-At-First-Develops-A-Mentoring-Relationship-With-The-Student-And-There-Are-Some-Life-Lessons-And-A-Bunch-Of-Growing-Up-Happens Genre, but dollars to doughnuts, none would be quite as good or as fun to read as Wednesday Wars. Toads, beetles, bats, I loved it--as the Bard might say. This one could probably work as young as fourth grade.

5 likes · like · see review

Dec 13, 2011 Jenny rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Absolutely LOVED this book! Not only was I laughing the whole way through it but I was fascinated by the writing. Now I have to go out and buy it so I can read it again and again and study the writing. And of course enjoy the story. Too funny!

Re-read: Enjoyed it again! This is such a great book.

3 likes · like · see review

Feb 27, 2009 Christina rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010-caudills, middle-school

All of the people who gave this book five stars can't be wrong, can they? Well, I've been in the minority before, so I guess I'll put myself there again because I really do not think my middle-school students will understand the humor in this book. It reads as an adult's nostalgic look back at his seventh-grade year during the Vietnam War. Although the situations that Holling, the main character, finds himself in are supposed to be funny, I didn't find them to be humorous because of the undercur...more

2 likes · like · see review

view all 6 comments

Seth I used to work in a middle school in Oregon and our kids loved it. Even our lower-level readers. Many of them found it funny, others did not, most of...more
Apr 09, 2013 08:34am

Christina Seth wrote: "I used to work in a middle school in Oregon and our kids loved it. Even our lower-level readers. Many of them found it funny, others did...more
Apr 09, 2013 05:02pm

Jul 20, 2011 Mrshuck rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Wednesday Wars is a rare piece of literature that feeds the soul. Schmidt creates a plot that skims along the positive side of life, occasionally dipping into the deep, heavy emotions of loss and love. Holling Hood Hood is content with his shallow existence as a sports loving, cream puff craving young man skipping through his urban wonder years during the late sixties. An unexpected relationship develops between him and his teacher, Mrs. Baker. Because Holling is mostly ignored by his ghostly mo...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 30, 2008 Marya rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: teen-historical-fiction

The narrator is a 7th grader who is suffering through the usual trials and tribulations of adolescence. In particular, he becomes a cross country runner, learns a love for Shakespeare, and finds a mentor in his English teacher. The entire story is written very much in a Leave It to Beaver "golly gee oh shucks" voice. At one point the narrator can't even say the word "butt" *in his own interior monologue*.

What modern day teen would identify with a Leave it to Beaver world? What (straight) 7th gr...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 26, 2007 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

On Wednesday afternoons at Camillo Junior High half of the class goes to Hebrew School at Temple Beth-El and the other half goes to Catechism at St. Adelbert’s. But Holling Hoodhood is Presbyterian so he stays with his teacher on Wednesday afternoons. At first the teacher gives him tasks to do like clean the chalk boards and erasers. But soon she has a better idea: she teaches him Shakespeare. Holling thinks this is all intended to torture him. But his teacher’s nefarious plan doesn’t work becau...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 20, 2008 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone who likes coming-of-age stories

Recommended to Jennifer by: Julie

Shelves: read-young-adult

I enjoyed this gentle coming-of-age story set in Long Island in 1967. Holling Hoodhood's seventh grade year is memorable because of what happens to him and around him. Much of the novel focuses on Holling's relationship with his English teacher, Mrs. Baker. At the beginning of the year, Holling is convinced that Mrs. Baker has it in for him. On Wednesday afternoons when half the class goes to Temple and the other to CCD classes, Holling (the lone Presbyterian) is stuck with Mrs. Baker. She makes...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 08, 2007 Rebecca rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I loved this book.

Takes place in 1967, Long Island...Holling Hoodhood, the one Presbyterian in a 7th grade sea of Catholic and Jewish peers, is the only student left in Mrs. Baker's English class on Wednesday afternoons (when all others leave for Catholic and Hebrew lessons)...and he is sure that Mrs. Baker is out to get him. So begins The Wednesday Wars. Or rather, so begin the Wednesday Wars.

The chapters are broken down into the months of a schoolyear. Holling's Wednesdays with Mrs. Baker turn...more I loved this book.

Takes place in 1967, Long Island...Holling Hoodhood, the one Presbyterian in a 7th grade sea of Catholic and Jewish peers, is the only student left in Mrs. Baker's English class on Wednesday afternoons (when all others leave for Catholic and Hebrew lessons)...and he is sure that Mrs. Baker is out to get him. So begins The Wednesday Wars. Or rather, so begin the Wednesday Wars.

The chapters are broken down into the months of a schoolyear. Holling's Wednesdays with Mrs. Baker turn into Shakespeare study. As the year goes on, the plays and the one-on-one Mrs. Baker time provide the background, as Holling's seventh grade year, with normal family & friend life, transpires.

Equal parts funny and poignant. I almost-cried more than once. But I won't tell you the parts that made me almost-cry--because then you wouldn't cry when you read them, because you'd be expecting them.

I love the characters. I love Mrs. Baker.

Partly, I like this book for its under-stylized cover! It feels like a real, serious, kid's book. Not a fancy slicked over cover as pretty and seductive as candy. Not signalling a light-weight breeze of a read. This feels like a real book, written for young readers. The bright (ugly) yellow endpapers, with their old-schooly canvas-texture underscore the "serious book"-feel. This is no glistening red popsicle. This is no bright-eyed modern girl making a funny face with a volleyball. [however, both books alluded to, I loved] This is a gray chalky background with a simple, 50s-60s-ish line drawing of boy/Shakespeare silouhettes. Fits the story, is attractive, feels like a book that could be read in school, and its substance is interesting. Nicely done, Houghton Mifflin!

Also, I'm liking how it feels like well-done historical fiction for the 11-14 set. You have Vietnam in the background; there's nightly Walter Kronkite; a terse father running his architecture firm in the early days of a neighborhood's growth; suburban perfection with subdermal unrest... And then, set in this, a compelling and contemporary-kid-relevant story of student and teacher. [I wrote this bit at the beginning of my reading--I'm not sure how much historical-ness there needs to be for a book to be considered historical fiction. ...this one is light on the history--but there's the air of a moment in time, and American history... and the specific historical references worked into the story are pretty moving.](less)

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Jan 12, 2009 Kristin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Gary Schmidt is genius. As a professor of English he admittedly has an edge in the world of writing and his amazing talent could not be more obvious than it is in this book. Holling Hoodhood is a seventh grade boy who has to learn Shakespeare and finds ways to apply the heroes and stories from those plays to his own crazy life. This is a story of friendship and family during the late 1960's and I highly recommend it.

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Aug 07, 2008 Shirley rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I listened to this book in the car and on my Ipod and loved it. I wanted something my 23-year-old and 16-year-old could listen to with me on a road trip so chose a young adult book. It takes place in the late 60's during the Vietnam War and is about a jr. high boy, Holling Hoodhood, who learns there is a lot more to his teacher than he ever would have imagined. He learns to read Shakespeare and understand it, and he learns that teachers have lives too. Mrs. Baker's husband is MIA and he sees her...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 09, 2008 Kendra Allen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I enjoyed this book and thought it did a good job of relating a condition of feeling like an outsider without using race or ethnicity. Instead, the main character feels left out because on Wednesday afternoons, half of his class leaves to go to the Catholic church and the other half leaves to go to the synagogue. He's Presbyterian, so he gets to stay put with the teacher, who he has determined is out to get him...hence the Wednesday wars. Maybe I'm a little partial because I'm Presbyterian and g...more

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Jul 13, 2008 Snorkle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: newbery-honor, young-adult, juvenile, read-2008, review-on-blog

Holling Hoodhood is exasperated when he finds out that he is going to be spending every Wednesday afternoon with his teacher, Mrs. Baker. He knows that she hates his guts, why else would she make him read Shakespeare? Over the course of 7th grade Holling grows and learns that sometimes things are not always what they seem.

I thought that this was a good book - I read it because I was recommended it, and I had loved, "Lizzy Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt. I enjoyed the characte...more

1 like · like · see review

Jun 25, 2008 Kerri rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

All I can say is WOW! What a beautifully written book. The symbolism is phenmomenal, and the realism of the characters and what they lived through is beyond words. My favorite kinds of books are what I like to call "slice of life" books. Books that let you in on the everyday, normal existence of an everyday, normal person. That is where the true miracles exist - the love/hate relationship of a brother and sister, the secret life of a lonely teacher, the first crush of a 7th grade boy, and the ef...more

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Mar 02, 2009 Janessa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Wednesday Wars engages the reader at so many different levels. I instantly fell in love with protagonist, Holling Hoodhood, and the impending sense of doom that peppers his wry telling of his story. And who wouldn't be fatalistic in his circumstances? On Wednesday afternoons, while his Catholic and Jewish schoolmates leave school to receive religious instruction, Holling, the only Presbyterian in his class, is left alone with his teacher Mrs. Baker, whose Wednesday afternoons he has single-hande...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 17, 2009 Diane rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-books-read

I felt like I needed a lighter read, so I chose the audio version of The Wednesday Wars after hearing some good feedback on the 2007 Newberry Honor book.

The year is 1967 and the Vietnam War is in the news. Lyndon Johnson is President and Holling Hoodhood is in the seventh grade, learning about Shakespeare.

Holling Hoodhood is the only Presbyterian in his grade, so he has to stay in the classroom with his teacher Mrs. Baker on Wednesday afternoons while his classmates attend Hebrew school or Catec...more

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Jan 04, 2009 Megan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this book anticipating a light-hearted novel about a 7th-grader in Vietnam War-era America. I wasn't disappointed - I laughed and laughed and laughed. I was surprised by how much depth the novel had, though, as it deals with issues like wartime prejudice. Rated G.

I can't really do this book justice in my review, so I'm including an excerpt:

"And then, suddenly, there he was. Doug Swieteck's brother, on the other side of Camillo Junior High, waiting for a school bus to turn the corner so th...more

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Jan 02, 2009 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: work, elementary

Life is tough at Camillo Junior High for seventh grader Holling. Each Wednesday afternoon as the rest of his classmates leave school to attend religious instruction, Holling reads Shakespeare with his teacher, Mrs. Baker. Even though he's convinced she hates him, Mrs. Baker helps Holling prepare for cross country tryouts and a Valentine's Day date with Meryl Lee, gets him tickets to opening day at Yankee Stadium, and often takes the place of his too-busy-to-care parents.

Set during the 1967-68 sc...more

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May 09, 2013 Kavya rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Wednesday Wars
Gary D. Schmidt
Historical Fiction
264 Pages

Holling Hoodhood is a seventh grader at Camillo Junior High in, New York. On his first day, he instantly feels that his teacher, Mrs. Baker, hates him. This is because Holling is Presbyterian, and on Wednesdays while other kids go to a religious class, Holling is the only one who stays back in class with Mrs. Baker. However, Mrs. Baker and Holling become close after having spent much time together. Mrs. Baker introduces Holling to Sha...more The Wednesday Wars
Gary D. Schmidt
Historical Fiction
264 Pages

Holling Hoodhood is a seventh grader at Camillo Junior High in, New York. On his first day, he instantly feels that his teacher, Mrs. Baker, hates him. This is because Holling is Presbyterian, and on Wednesdays while other kids go to a religious class, Holling is the only one who stays back in class with Mrs. Baker. However, Mrs. Baker and Holling become close after having spent much time together. Mrs. Baker introduces Holling to Shakespeare, whom Holling becomes very fond of. Throughout the book, Holling has not had a very good relationship with his father; however Holling has never stood up to him because he is too scared of him. He believes that his dad lets his job take over his life. On the other hand, Holling’s sister, Heather, always argues with her dad because she claims that he never believes in her, and that he is always trying to put her down. One day, Holling finds out that his baseball hero is having an autograph signing. He asks his dad take to take him; however he never comes to pick Holling up. Next, Holling begins to have a relationship with a girl named Meryl Lee Kowalski, even though he knows that both their dads are both rivals because both of them own an architect company. Both of them want to drive each other out of business. Unfortunately, there was an understanding between the two dads which lead to Holling and Meryl breaking up. Mr. Hoodhood is gaining control of Heather by not letting her volunteer at a place she wants to, and makes her work at his job. Heather is not happy at all by this, but Mr. Hoodhood claims he is just keeping her safe. Heather then runs away with her boyfriend. However later on Heather does come back. In the end, Holling remembers all the knowledge he has gained from his experiences, and he knows that he has a great life ahead of him.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Firstly, because of the theme of standing up for what you believe in. At the beginning of the book, Holling was too afraid of his father to say anything to him. However, as Holling grew throughout the book, he finally stood up to his dad at the end of the book. I thought that that was an important message that was shown really well throughout the book. Also, I liked the bits of humor the author added to the book. There were a lot of serious parts in the book; however the humor really lightened the mood. In conclusion, I would rate this book four out of five stars.
(less)

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About Gary D. Schmidt

Gary D. Schmidt is an American children's writer of nonfiction books and young adult novels, including two Newbery Honor books. He lives on a farm in Alto, Michigan,with his wife and six children, where he splits wood, plants gardens, writes, feeds the wild cats that drop by and wishes that sometimes the sea breeze came that far inland. He is a Professor of English at Calvin College.

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Quotes from The Wednesday Wars

“Vengeance is sweet. Vengeance taken when the vengee isn't sure who the venger is, is sweeter still.” — 54 people liked it

“Think of the sound you make when you let go after holding your breath for a very, very long time. Think of the gladdest sound you know: the sound of dawn on the first day of spring break, the sound of a bottle of Coke opening, the sound of a crowd cheering in your ears because you're coming down to the last part of a race--and you're ahead. Think of the sound of water over stones in a cold stream, and the sound of wind through green trees on a late May afternoon in Central Park. Think of the sound of a bus coming into the station carrying someone you love.
Then put all those together.” — 36 people liked it

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1188205.The_Wednesday_Wars_Audio?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1360058093l/1188205.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1188205.The_Wednesday_Wars_Audio?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Wednesday Wars - Audio by Gary D. Schmidt[/url]

The Wednesday Wars - Audio

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