The Wednesday Wars

A 2008 Newbery Honor Book

In this Newbery Honor-winning novel, Gary D. Schmidt offers an unforgettable antihero. The Wednesday Wars is a wonderfully witty and compelling story about a teenage boy's mishaps and adventures over the course of the 1967-68 school year in Long Island, New York.

Meet Holling Hoodhood, a seventh-grader at Camillo Junior High, who must spend Wednesday afternoons with his teacher, Mrs. Baker, while the rest of the class has religious instruction. Mrs. Baker doesn't like Holling--he's sure of it. Why else would she make him read the plays of William Shakespeare outside class? But everyone has bigger things to worry about, like Vietnam. His father wants Holling and his sister to be on their best behavior: the success of his business depends on it. But how can Holling stay out of trouble when he has so much to contend with? A bully demanding cream puffs; angry rats; and a baseball hero signing autographs the very same night Holling has to appear in a play in yellow tights As fate sneaks up on him again and again, Holling finds Motivation--the Big M--in the most unexpected places and musters up the courage to embrace his destiny, in spite of himself.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Clarion Books
Published: 05/21/2007
ISBN: 9780618724833
Pages: 264
Weight: 1.01lbs
Size: 9.16h x 6.36w x 0.93d
Award: Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award - Nominee
Award: Georgia Children's Book Award - Nominee
Award: Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award - Nominee
Award: Virginia Readers Choice Award - Nominee
Award: Golden Sower Award - Nominee
Award: Nutmeg Book Award - Nominee
Award: Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award - Nominee
Award: Texas Lone Star Reading List - Commended
Award: Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens - Recommended
Award: Grand Canyon Reader Award - Nominee
Award: Volunteer State Book Awards - Nominee
Award: Land of Enchantment Book Award - Nominee
Award: Sequoyah Book Awards - Nominee
Award: Beehive Awards - Nominee
Award: Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award - Nominee
Award: Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award - Nominee
Award: Newbery Medal - Honor Book
Award: Society of Midland Authors Award - Winner
Award: California Young Reader Medal - Nominee
Award: Cybils - Finalist

Review Citations: Kirkus Best Books 01/15/2007 pg. 17
Publishers Weekly 04/16/2007 pg. 49
Kirkus Review - Children 05/15/2007 pg. 508
Voice of Youth Advocates 06/01/2007 pg. 152 - Recommended - Better Than Most
Kliatt 05/01/2007 pg. 19
Booklist 06/01/2007 pg. 71
School Library Journal 07/01/2007 pg. 110
Horn Book Magazine 07/01/2007 pg. 403
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 09/01/2007 pg. 52 - Recommended
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2007 pg. 355 - Outstanding, Noteworthy In Style
Publishers Weekly Best Books 11/05/2007 pg. 37
Kirkus Best Young-Adult Books 12/01/2007 pg. 18
New York Times Book Review 12/16/2007 pg. 23
Booklist Ed Choice Youth 01/01/2008 pg. 13
People Weekly 11/10/2008 pg. 102
ALA Best Books Young Adults 01/01/2008 pg. 1
Shelf Awareness 01/01/0001

Accelerated Reader Quiz #/Name: 114653 / Wednesday Wars
Reading Level: 5.9 / Interest Level: Middle Grade / Point Value: 12