The Wednesday Wars (2007) Gary D. Schmidt (Author)
Holling Hoodhood, a seventh-grade student, is Presbyterian, which means that on Wednesday afternoons when half the class is released for Catechism and half the class goes to Hebrew School, Holling is left alone with his teacher, Mrs. Baker. Holling's pretty sure Mrs. Baker "hates his guts;" and the jobs she assigns him, such as pounding erasers, cleaning out the rat cage, diagramming impossible sentences, and reading Shakespeare, seem to confirm that fact. Holling's father, a successful and driven architect, demands that Holling follow every one of Mrs. Baker's dictates; she may hold the key to his landing a big contract with a sporting goods chain. As Holling and Mrs. Baker's relationship develops throughout the year, Holling begins to understand that Mrs. Baker is more than an instructor, that she has a life of her own but also respects his attempts to grow up. Set amid the Vietnam war, this novel has a touch of humor and romance, but, most important, a glimpse into a microcosm of American life as it changes during the 1960s.
MAIN CHARACTERS :
Holling Hoodhood, 7th Grader (Presbyterian), Mrs. Baker, Teacher (of Holling), Mr. Hoodhood, Father (of Holling)
SETTING(S) :
Long Island, New York, Atlantic States, East, North America, Northeast, United States
SUBJECT :
Educational environment, Shakespeare, William, Teacher-student relations
TIME PERIOD :
20th century AD, 1960s (Decade) AD
Gale Document Number: GALE|M1300145615
Gale Database: What Do I Read Next?, 2010
SOURCE CITATION : "The Wednesday Wars." 2010. Books & Authors Gale. Gale Internal User. 2 Sep 2010 <http://books.wiseto.com/bna/start.do?p=BNA&u=gale>
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