Waiting on Wednesday

WoW is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine in which we share the titles whose release we are most anticipating.

Middle School: How I Survived Bullies, Broccoli, and Snake Hill (Middle School series #4) by James Patterson/ Chris Tebbits. Illustrated by Laura Park. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, June 24, 2013.  9780316231756.

Publisher synopsis: Rafe Khatchadorian, the hero of the bestselling Middle School series, is ready for a fun summer at camp—until he finds out it's a summer school camp! Luckily, Rafe easily makes friends with his troublemaking cabin mates and bunkmate, a boy nicknamed Booger-Eater, who puts up with endless teasing from the other kids. Rafe soon realizes there's more to a person than a nickname, though, and Booger-Eater might be the kind of friend you want on your side when the boys from the Cool Cabin attack.

This fourth book in the massively popular Middle School series is an unforgettable summer of hi-jinks, new friends, and surprises, all told with the hilarity and honesty readers have come to expect from blockbuster author James Patterson.

I first learned of this series two Septembers ago when most of the kids in Ms. Frazer's class listed Middle School Worst Years of My Life as one of their favorite books. Apparently, it was Ms. Frazer's first read aloud of the year. I had never heard of it; went out and bought it post-haste and, was highly entertained.

Imagine my surprise when, upon reorganizing TOM, my tbr "pile," I discovered an arc that I picked up at ALA Annual the previous June. Sigh. In my defense, there was no cover art, but still! Geesh!

I didn't enjoy the second book, Middle School Get Me Out of Here, as much. Not so, my fifth graders as neither book sits on the shelf much. I read a spin-off, I Funny, in December of 2012, but didn't get around to reviewing it. Huh. My bad. It was fun.

I recently read the third installment of the Middle School series, My Brother is a Big, Fat Liar (due out March 18), and am reviewing it for School Library Journal.

Okay. I admit it. I'm hooked. Can't wait to read more about Rafe and summer camp. I just hope there are no more manufactured "secrets." The stories are good enough without them, though I must admit that Georgia's surprised me.