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Jennifer L. Holm

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Middle School Is Worse Than Meatloaf: A Year Told Through Stuff Paperback – Illustrated, June 28, 2011

by Jennifer L. Holm (Author), Elicia Castaldi (Illustrator)

4.2 84 ratings

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Ginny has ten items on her big to-do list for seventh grade. None of them, however, include accidentally turning her hair pink. Or getting sent to detention for throwing frogs in class. Or losing the lead role in the ballet recital to her ex-best friend. Or the thousand other things that can go wrong between September and June. But it looks like it’s shaping up to be that kind of a year!

As readers follow Ginny throughout the story of her year, told entirely through her stuff—notes from classmates, school reports, emails, poems, receipts, and cartoons from her perpetually-in-trouble older brother Harry—a portrait emerges of a funny, loveable, thoughtful girl struggling to be herself…whoever that person turns out to be.

About the Author

Jenni Holm is the Newbery Honor-winning author of Our Only May Amelia, Penny from Heaven, Turtle in Paradise, and the BabyMouse graphic novel series. She lives in Northern California with her family.

Reading age

8 - 12 years, from customers
Print length

128 pages
Language

English
Grade level

3 - 7
Lexile measure

720L
Dimensions

6.5 x 0.4 x 8.25 inches
Publisher

Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication date

June 28, 2011
ISBN-10

1442436638
ISBN-13

978-1442436633
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Atheneum Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (June 28, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 128 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1442436638
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1442436633
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 8 - 12 years, from customers
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 720L
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 3 - 7
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.1 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 0.4 x 8.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,350,337 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5,470 in Children's Books on Girls' & Women's Issues
- #16,687 in Children's Humor
- #26,477 in Children's Family Life Books (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.2 84 ratings

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Jennifer L. Holm

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Jennifer L. Holm is the NEW YORK TIMES-bestselling children's author of THE LION OF MARS and THE FOURTEENTH GOLDFISH. She is the recipient of three Newbery Honors for her novels OUR ONLY MAY AMELIA, PENNY FROM HEAVEN, and TURTLE IN PARADISE and a Scott O'Dell Award for her novel FULL OF BEANS.

Jennifer collaborates with her brother, Matthew Holm, on two graphic novel series -- the Eisner Award-winning Babymouse series which has more than 3.4 million books in print (!) and the bestselling Squish series. SQUISH is now an animated tv series on HBO MAX!

For more information, visit her website at www.jenniferholm.com.

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4.2 out of 5

84 global ratings

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Lily X

Good for Middleschoolers!

Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2021

Verified Purchase

Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf is a great book. This book is different from most types of books. It tells a young girls story through things such as report cards, notes, to-do lists, and drawings. It relates to all of the concerns that a middle schooler might have but it also shows what fun things could happen too. The author made a very complicated life for Ginny but also created her with a personality which made this book very interesting to read. The author also makes you piece together the story by drawing conclusions which most books do not do. With all of the things that happen in life for her made this book more than amazing and I would totally read this book more than once.

Helpful

Michelle Anne

I Love Stuff and This Book Has Lots of Stuff In It!

Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2007

Verified Purchase

This is the most incredible way I've seen of telling a story about one year in middle school. The author has used "stuff" -- report cards, notes, pictures, you name it, to tell the story of Ginny and a year in her middle school life. It's a funny book, but it's also very serious and really brings home the message that middle school is hard and that often, parents don't really have a clue as to what is going on until it's almost too late.

This book would make a great gift along with some pencils, markers, pretty folders and lots of colored paper. It will give any student some great ideas about how to write their own story with their "stuff".

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Sue A. Leatherman

What a Treat!

Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2010

Ginny Davis keeps a scrapbook of her 7th-grade year of school as she embarks on the strange new world of Middle School with excitement and expectation. The scrapbook begins with Ginny's school shopping list, her class schedule, and "Ginny's Big To Do List!!!"

Each page records a moment in Ginny's life. There is the note about Mary Catherine Kelly, her former "best friend," who conveniently forgets to return Ginny's favorite pink sweater and then spreads a rumor around school about Ginny's older brother Henry. Ginny's babysitting list suggests "people to hit up" for a job and who NOT (!) to take care of, especially Tiffany, the biter. Other pages of her scrapbook share magazine articles like, "5 Ways to Look Pretty Now!" Maybe changing her hair color will make her nose look smaller. The audition announcements from Madame Cecile's Ballet Academy are pasted in her scrapbook. She longs to be the lead dancer in the Nutcracker ballet.

Ginny also saves the notes and scraps of clippings that record events about her family, good and bad. There is the announcement in the newspaper of her mother's marriage to Bob, the insurance salesman, and the cartoon drawings made by her older brother Henry revealing his neighborhood pranks. She even keeps a note from her school counselor asking why her little brother Timmy wears a cape to school? Do other teenage girls have a little brother that thinks he's a super hero?

In every instance Ginny expresses her innermost feelings with "things" plastered in her scrapbook. Is Middle School so bad? Will Ginny survive her first year as a teenage girl?

What a treat! The pictures, by Elicia Castaldi, and the cartoon segments, by the author's brother, Matthew Holm, create the realism of a scrapbook journal! After reading the book, I pulled out old scrapbooks that I kept as a teenager and discovered that they are very much the same as Ginny's scrapbook. I felt like I was one of Ginny's girlfriends sharing her secrets. It's a fun book to read and is definitely a book that I will love sharing with my teenage nieces and maybe even sharing with my sister while sipping chocolate malteds, painting fingernails, and listening to "the Oldies."

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Cassie Cox

Engaging a reluctant Reluctant Reader

Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2008

Verified Purchase

I purchased this book for my 5th grade sister who abhors reading. She fights any book any tries to place in front of her. I first heard about this book at a Young Adult Literature Conference for teachers and librarians. It sounded interesting, so I purchased it from Amazon and had it shipped to my sister. She loved the book! She shared it with her teacher and class, too. I highly recommend this book for middle school reluctant readers. It's full of pictures and graphics to help hold the attention of all readers.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

J. Kraus

This Book is Better than MeatLoaf

Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2011

Verified Purchase

This book was recommended to me by an editor to look at the format of it and I loved it. It is in journal format which is so much fun and so popular for kids today. Geared more toward girls, it is well done with a collage like approach to the illustrations. The text is minimal so it would appeal to even the weakest of readers who still wants to read about middle school kids. Colorful, funny and imbued with pathos. I thoroughly loved it.

One person found this helpful

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Romantic Fool

POINTLESS

Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2016

Verified Purchase

This book was on my kids recommended summer reads for kids entering 6th grade. She is ten. This seemed like a funny enough title. Expecting a funny book. First of all, there is no challenge here. Quick pages with post-it notes and journal entries. Looks like a girls scrapbook. Second of all, it was NOT funny. TWO times the main character mentioned kids getting drunk. One of them trying to kiss their homeroom teacher, the other steeling and crashing a car. Second of all, her father is dead and her mother re-marries. Her little brother is mentally disturbed and the parents ship him off to military school. Then she mentions kissing. Too adult issues for a ten-year old. And frankly none of it funny. I'd say your child should be at least 12 to read this. No real conclusions or a happy ending, just the ramblings of a young girl. That's it.

2 people found this helpful

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Bonnie

Title was better

Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2013

Verified Purchase

It was not really a chapter book that the kids need to read.... Too many cartoons, though my grand daughter loved it....

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Beth

Realistic Middle School story...very age-appropriate

Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2016

Verified Purchase

This book and its companion are fantastic middle school stories. No bad language, focuses on the trials and successes of friendship, family, and boyfriends. With its easy-to-read, colorful format, even a low-level reader could read this and feel successful reading a book at their age-level. Fantastic!!!!
P.S. Read its companion book, too. It's even better!

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