THE MIDDLE SCHOOL SURVIVAL GUIDE

Here’s a manual for middle-aged kids—those children no longer little kids, but not yet teenagers. They’re in grades five through eight, depending on how the school defines its middle school, and they face a variety of special problems: group showers, cliques, extracurricular activities, puberty, a new interest in the opposite sex, drugs, and peer pressure. Somehow in all of this, students are expected to be part of things while staying true to themselves. This manual is here to help. Though a bit cutesy, with its “dorky” and “awesome” and advice to people who would “rather eat worms than shower,” the honest, direct tone of the guide will appeal to middle-school students. Humorous, cartoon-like illustrations and italicized words of advice from fellow students keep the tone light even as the subject matter gets serious, with discussions of sexual intercourse, oral sex, drugs, and peer pressure. Leave this lying around; curious preteens will pick it up and, perhaps, find information they need. (Nonfiction. 10-14)