Skip to main content

THE MISFITS by James Howe



copyright date: 2001
primarily marketed for: grades 4-8

In honor of No Name-Calling Week, the idea for which originated with this book, I thought I would post a review of The Misfits by James Howe.  

This book has one of my favorite leads:
"So here I am, not a half-hour old as a tie salesman and trying to look like I know what I am doing, which have got to be two of the biggest jokes of all time, when who should walk into Awkworth & Ames Department Store but Skeezie Tookis."
I think I like it because it is such an inviting introduction to Bobby and Skeezie, two of the four friends referred to in the book’s title. 

Bobby, Skeezie, Addie, and Joe are seventh graders who decide to create their own political party to run in the student council election.  Their goal is simple: to put an end to name-calling.  Who doesn’t think that is a good idea?

The wonderful things about this book aren’t limited to the positive messages about acceptance and kindness that it communicates, however. 

In fact, one of the best things about this book is the format through which it is told.  Regular prose chapters are interrupted by chapters of dialogue amongst the four friends that is formatted like a play.  The switch in format adds a different sort of energy to the story and brings the characters to life through their realistic conversations. 

Another plus is the humor that James Howe infuses into this story.  I mean, how could it not be humorous with a character named Skeezie Tookis, right?  

One of my favorite parts is when they are first exploring the idea of the No Name Party.  The four friends list all the names they have ever been called.  The result is a heart-breaking list.  However, their conversation left me smiling since the friends end up competing to see who can come up with the longest list!

If you read this story, you will surely reflect on your own experiences with name-calling, you will definitely chuckle, and you are undoubtedly going to find yourself cheering for four misfits who are trying to empower people to be themselves as they discover the kind of people they want to be. 

Labels:

Comments

  1. Deb DayJanuary 23, 2012 at 6:20 AM

    Hmmm, this is not a book I have read, although I know it's been out for awhile. I may have to check this out!

    ReplyDelete
  2. MaryHelenJanuary 23, 2012 at 8:44 PM

    I love the little humor you add in. I love your reviews. So refreshing. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. https://booksthoughtsadventures.comJanuary 23, 2012 at 8:54 PM

    I love books about misfits almost as much as I love books about dysfunction!!!

    Thank you for bringing it to my attention!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. MandyMarch 13, 2012 at 2:33 AM

    This is a great novel! Hilarious AND heartfelt. It is one of our class novels during the school year, and my students love it!

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousMarch 20, 2013 at 2:33 PM

    this book sucks because I have to do a project on it

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ONE FOR THE MURPHYS by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

copyright date: May 2012 primarily marketed for: intermediate readers (5 th grade and up) I sort of expected One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt to be one of those overly sappy books with unrealistic, sickeningly sweet characters.  However, although the storyline might make it sound sappy, the characters are realistic and dynamic.  After a traumatic incident that lands both she and her mother in the hospital, Carley Connors is taken away and placed in foster care with the Murphy family.  The only life Carley has known is one of put-downs, food scraps, and shopping for clothes in Salvation Army drop boxes.  Until she meets the Murphys.  The Murphys are too good to be true: Julia, the mom, happily makes home-cooked meals for her three boys and firefighting, sports-loving husband.  In fact, Julia isn’t even rattled by Carley’s rough around the edges attitude.  At first, Carley despises the Murphys and the way they make he...
4 comments
Read more

ALL THESE THINGS I’VE DONE by Gabrielle Zevin

copyright date: September 2011 primarily marketed for: young adults (8 th grade and up) I wish I would’ve known this was the beginning of a series before I started this book.   Then again, I might never have picked it up if I thought I might be committing to multiple books… At any rate, this is not a story I will be sad to return to this fall when the sequel is released.   Anya’s story takes place in New York City, in the future.   Around the time you will be old enough to be grandparents. This is a sort of post-apocalyptic, dystopian kind of book in a mild way.   Basically, the United States has self-destructed, and yet life seems to go surprisingly similar to the way we live nowadays.   Except that water and paper are costly and hard to come by.   Chocolate is prohibited.   Caffeine is an illegal drug.   Which is all to say that the setting alone is intriguing. Add to that setting, the fact that Anya is the oldest daughter of the ...
3 comments
Read more

NOTHING SPECIAL by Geoff Herbach

copyright date: May 2012 primarily marketed for: young adults (12 and up) This is Geoff Herbach 's sequel to Stupid Fast and continues Felton Reinstein’s story in true Felton fashion.   This is definitely a smart guy book—a book for smart guys, who definitely love a good chuckle. The story opens at the end of summer with Felton typing a letter to his girlfriend Aleah while flying in an airplane on his way to retrieve his younger brother from Florida.   The entire book is written as one giant letter to Aleah explaining how his summer led him to this moment in time.   After Felton and his brother Andrew got some help with their mother’s issues, Felton went right back to throwing himself into football and track—because he is stupid fast.   However, Andrew did not cope quite as well as Felton did.   Felton ignores his brother’s cries for help and continuously lets him down.   His brother ends up cooking up an elaborate plan to run ...
1 comment
Read more