http://www.syndetics.com/index.aspx?isbn=9780606105736/mc.gif&client=bipsite&type=nocover
Schmidt, Gary D. 2007. The Wednesday Wars. New York: Sandpiper. ISBN 9780618724833
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt follows the
trials and travails of 7th grader Holling Hoodhood throughout the
1967-68 school year. This story is set in the suburbs of Long Island, New York in
a predominantly Hebrew and Catholic community. As the only Presbyterian in his
class, Holling finds himself with free time on Wednesday afternoons. This is
when his teacher Mrs. Baker assigns him extra work, including everything from cleaning
the classroom to memorizing Shakespearean plays. Through this special
one-on-one relationship, the boy learns to deal with his feelings about his “perfect”
parents, the pressure of inheriting the family business, his rebellious older
sister, and his new-found theater and running activities.
Using the
Vietnam War as the backdrop, Schmidt quietly weaves the hippie era into the
narrative without it taking over the story or becoming too dark or depressing. Holling’s
sister’s transformation into a flower child and his teacher's MIA husband is the closest he gets to experience
any fallout from the war. The characters
are completely believable and identifiable to anyone who's ever been a student. The strong character of Mrs Baker is especially influential who does everything in her power from coaching Holling how to train
for track meets to driving him all the way to Yankee Stadium to meet his
favorite players. The setting is
vividly described from the point of view of a thirteen year-old boy of the
time. The landmarks and buildings are also pointed out in detail as would be
expected from the son of an architect.
As the
theme of the story does revolve around the turbulent 1960’s, it reflects
universal ideas that can be identified by anyone at any time with its nostalgic, awkward look at family life, the junior high school years, and coming of age. The story
of Holling reminds one of the television drama series "The Wonder Years" set in the same era where Kevin Arnold found himself growing up in similar traumatic times. Booklist praises Schmidt’s writing: “[S]eamlessly, he knits together the
story's themes: the cultural uproar of the '60s, the internal uproar of early
adolescence, and the timeless wisdom of Shakespeare's words.”
Schmidt hilarious
style of using hyperbole to describe small details of events and exaggerating
them into monumental fears just as a 13-year-old would is effective. This
allows the reader to laugh out loud at the absurd situations and predicaments
of Holling as if they were there to witness it in junior high. VOYA aptly
summarizes, “this novel is funny, warm, sad, and touching all at the same time.”
The
Wednesday Wars is a 2008 Newbery Honor winner.
Readers who
enjoyed this title can find similar themes expressed in Schmidt’s companion
novel Okay For Now.
Books in Print. TWU Library. Accessed November 10, 2013 http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2125/
No comments:
Post a Comment