The Wednesday Wars Book Review by Gary D. Schmidt

 

Written by Gary D. Schmidt

Published by Clarion Books in 2007

ISBN: 978-0547237602

Plot Summary: Holling Hoodhood is a 7th grader that lives in Long Island in New York. He is consumed with his problems of being bullied, family job issues, and his friends while not realizing what is going on around him in the world in the 1960's. His teacher Mrs. Baker sees potential in him as he has to spend every Wednesday alone with her while his classmates go to other schools for religious instruction. She takes the time to teach him about Shakespeare and how it can apply to Holling's life.  Holling's sister is an active protestor against the Vietnam War which causes a rift in the family. Holling figures out that by the end of the story that the lessons that Mrs. Baker has taught him applies to his story and that he needs to set out on his own to figure out what he wants to do in life and where he wants to go. 

Critical Analysis: This story hits many themes that readers of all ages can relate to. From discrimination of classmates, to disagreeing with people in your family, to finding that there are positive things in this world even when surrounded by darkness there will sure to be something that you can resonate with as you read this heartwarming tale about the difference that a teacher can make in the life of 1 student. Mrs. Baker and Holling start out desping each other and the time that they spend together but they learn over the course of a year that there are redeeming qualities about both of them. The author uses real life situations that are hard to navigate as a 7th grader to show that even when life hands you lemons, you can always make lemonade. 

Review: It’s 1967, and on Wednesdays, every Jewish kid in Holling Hoodhood’s class goes to Hebrew School, and every Catholic kid goes to Catechism. Holling is Presbyterian, which means that he and Mrs. Baker are alone together every Wednesday—and she hates it just as much as he does. What unfolds is a year of Wednesday Shakespeare study, which, says Mrs. Baker, “is never boring to the true soul.” Holling is dubious, but trapped. Schmidt plaits world events into the drama being played out at Camillo Junior High School, as well as plenty of comedy, as Holling and Mrs. Baker work their way from open hostility to a sweetly realized friendship. Holling navigates the multitudinous snares set for seventh-graders—parental expectations, sisters, bullies, girls—with wry wit and the knowledge that the world will always be a step or two ahead of him. Schmidt has a way of getting to the emotional heart of every scene without overstatement, allowing the reader and Holling to understand the great truths swirling around them on their own terms. It’s another virtuoso turn by the author of Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy (2005). (Fiction. 10-14)

Connections: Students can do some research into the time period of the Vietnam War and how it affected politics and life in the United States. https://www.archives.gov/research/vietnam-war 
Students can present a report on how discrimination has been a part of American society and will give ideas about how to make the current world a better place. 

More Stories about the Vietnam War
The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai     ISBN: 978-1643751351
The Odd Angry Shot by William Nagle                  ISBN: 978-1922079718

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