THE WEDNESDAY WARS

THE WEDNESDAY WARS by Gary D. Schmidt

In a perfect house, with the perfect lawn, with the perfect flowers lining the walkway dwells a perfect family, right?

Holling Hoodhood is a seventh grader that lives in the perfect house, and he's convinced his teacher, Mrs. Baker, hates him. After all, he messed up her perfect plans for Wednesday afternoons off each week, and now she is making him suffer through the works of Shakespeare as punishment. But is he really suffering when he reads Shakespeare (he sure seems to know an awful lot about life), and does Mrs. Baker really hate him, or is she actually investing in him? Throw in the Vietnam War (Mrs. Baker's husband is MIA) and a couple of horrid escaped classroom pets, rats, and you have a pretty clear understanding of the circumstances surrounding all of this. Oh wait! I forgot one...the perfect house. Holling 's father is the local architect who is bent on winning every possible bid for his company in their small town and becoming Businessman of the Year, again, at the expense of his family (especially his kids). It really doesn't matter what they think or what they're going through, they must be perfect so they win bids.

Schmidt is a master writer. His ability to craft an amazing story that wrenches you in the guts and pair Shakespeare with it to provide clarity to situations is unmatched. PARTIAL SPOILER ALERT All of this was amazing, but it was his metaphorical picture of when the perfect house's ceiling in the perfect room crashes in due to mold that has obviously been growing there for a while