Max Crumbly has spent the first years of his life being homeschooled by his grandmother, a retired kindergarten teacher.  All she knows is sippy cups, naptimes and storybooks.  Finally this year, his parents agreed to let him go to South Ridge Middle School.  It pretty much saved his life because Max knew he'd probably die if he had to eat another animal cracker.

But this middle school thing isn't quite going as planned. Already today Max missed the bus, had to walk to school, got a tardy pass and now, the final insult of all, has been stuffed into his locker by Thug Thurston, real name, Doug, who has failed the seventh grade three times already.

From inside his locker, after using his asthma inhaler and turning on his keychain flashlight, Max is telling us the story of his life and screaming like crazy to get someone to let him out.

Slightly sarcastic and full-on hilarious, this very sympathetic character, Max,  fights for his life on a daily basis and prays he won't have to return to the land of K-town with this grandmother.  Unfortunately, his superpower of smelling pizza from a block away isn't going to save him.  To be continued......

102 pages          978-1481460019             Ages 9-13

Keywords:  middle school, humor, coming of age, boys' issues, If You Liked Schooled by Gordon Korman, If you Liked Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney, 9 year old, 10 year old, 11 year old, 12 year old, If You Liked Middle School and Other Disasters by James Patterson

Books in the series:  The Misadventures of Max Crumbly, Book 2:  Middle School Mayhem