The 47 People You'll Meet in Middle School

June 1, 2019
Augusta is starting middle school--and dealing with her parents' recent divorce as well. Gus tells the story as a letter for her younger sister, Louisa, to read later. This useful narrative tool also enables her to gradually discover and reveal that Lou is having lots of trouble coping with the parental breakup too even though Gus is initially too wrapped up in herself to notice. Gus encounters lots of new people in middle school, as well as some whom she previously knew but who have remade themselves in not-always-pleasant ways. Among these are her former BFF, Layla, who's attending a different school, and the previously annoyingly clingy Marcy, who has now attached herself to a couple of unkind and remarkably condescending other girls. From the Binaca breath spray-addicted Mr. Smeed to Nick, whom Gus has known for years but who is now becoming interesting in a novel, unexpected way, characters are believably well drawn, as are the humiliations and the ultimate redemption that Gus discovers. Some of the episodes, like Gus' Binaca-based gambling pool, are laugh-out-loud funny. While Mahoney's road map to middle school won't become required reading, it's a fine and highly recommended travelogue for those just entering that uncharted territory. Gus presents white on the cover; though she's surrounded by a multiracial cast there, descriptors within are few. Amusing, enlightening, and ideal for a final read just before middle school. (Fiction. 9-12)

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Starred review from June 10, 2019
On the last day of school before Thanksgiving break, sixth-grader Augusta begins a letter to her younger sister, Louisa, whose curiosity about middle school life usually receives an “it’s fine, whatever.” The missive tells Lou what to expect (“Lockers are not as exciting as everyone thinks they’ll be”), and subsequent chapters detail the people one meets in middle school via Gus’s experience during her first months. (Entries include “the huggers,” “the scary teacher,” and “the friend you don’t recognize because she turned into a whole new person over the summer.”) Gus’s best friend is loving life at a different school, but Gus struggles to find pals who truly get her, deal with a group of bullying girls, and adjust to her parents’ divorce. The narrative reveals Gus to be a sympathetically flawed character whose growth is realistically wrought as she seeks to find herself and her village, and secondary characters are fully fleshed out as well. Mahoney authentically captures the universal indignities of middle school, the challenges of self-discovery, and the joy of making true friends. Ages 8–12.

August 1, 2019

Gr 4-6-An insightful and humorous tale of transitioning from elementary to middle school. Gus, short for Augusta, is a brand-new sixth grader at Meridian Middle School. Not only does she have to start her new school with glasses even though her parents promised she could have contacts, but her BFF has to go to a completely different school. The book is written as a letter to Gus's fourth grader sister who keeps asking about middle school but is ignored while Gus deals with her own issues. As readers follow Gus in her journey navigating the ins and outs of middle school and her parents' divorce, they are introduced to people, both friends and enemies, she meets along the way. Old acquaintances turn into good friends, bad and good teachers' classrooms are navigated, and Mahoney explores physical assault and consent through the inclusion of an older student who likes to "goose" girls' behinds. The book never really mentions any character's physical traits beyond their hair color and style. VERDICT Smart, funny, and well paced, this is a solid purchase for any older elementary or middle school collection.-Sara Brunkhorst, Glenview Public Library, IL

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