Happy Kid! by Gail Gauthier
SUMMARY: To Kyle, Bert P. Trotts Middle School is "the gateway to hell.'' All he wants is to get through seventh grade unnoticed. Since he's infamous for an incident with a screwdriver on the bus in sixth grade that was blown way out of proportion by the administration, and he has been placed in accelerated classes, he has lost all of his friends. On the night before school starts, his mother gives him a book to help him counteract his negativity, claiming that Happy Kid: A Young Person's Guide to Satisfying Relationships and a Happy and Meaning-filled Life just screamed his name when she saw it. But the book seems to have a plan of its own, falling open to the parts that are pertinent to the zany situations that Kyle finds himself in, although sometimes offering advice that makes his life more complicated. (excerpted from the SLJ review)
OPINION: Middle school is a time when most people are focused on themselves, while at the same time attaching supreme importance to socializing. People are selfish, yet clique-ish. Basically everyone wants relationships, but few people are mature enought to have really good ones! This book does a great job of reflecting this reality of middle school in a humorous way. It is not a depressing teen issue book. Kyle attaches a mystical power to the revelations from the Happy Kid! book and actually tries to do what is says. But only if it will get Chelsea to like him...
RANDOM INFORMATION: This book has one of the best character names ever: "Moo" Kowsz.
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