Title: The MisfitsAuthor: James Howe
Publication date: 2001
Number of pages: 274
Genre: Young Adult fiction
Geographical Setting: Upstate New York
Time Period: 2000s
Series: sequel is Totally Joe
Plot Summary: Four best friends are misfits in their Upstate New York town for various reasons: being overweight, being a too-tall know-it-all, being a hooligan and being gay. They decide to create a third party for their middle school election to represent everyone who has ever been called a name.
Subject Headings: best friends, bullying, name-calling, middle school, student council elections
Appeal: Howe wrote novel in response to his own daughter’s difficult time in seventh grade, shows that mean names are not just words to many kids, heroes of the book are unconventional but still relatable by many readers, middle school expereince including first crushes, death of parent by cancer
Series: sequel is Totally Joe
Plot Summary: Four best friends are misfits in their Upstate New York town for various reasons: being overweight, being a too-tall know-it-all, being a hooligan and being gay. They decide to create a third party for their middle school election to represent everyone who has ever been called a name.
Subject Headings: best friends, bullying, name-calling, middle school, student council elections
Appeal: Howe wrote novel in response to his own daughter’s difficult time in seventh grade, shows that mean names are not just words to many kids, heroes of the book are unconventional but still relatable by many readers, middle school expereince including first crushes, death of parent by cancer
If you liked The Misfits, you might enjoy: 13: Thirteen Stories that Capture the Agony and Ecstasy of Being Thirteen, edited by Howe. Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower. S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders. Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
