Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life
James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts launched their Middle School series in 2011 with Rafe Khatchadorian, a sixth grader at Hills Village Middle School who decides on day one that the only way to survive a place this bleak is to break every rule in the student handbook. With the encouragement of an imaginary friend named Leo and a thick paper code book, Rafe assigns himself points for stunts ranging from running in the hallway to setting off the fire alarm, and the demerits pile up just as fast as the laughs. Underneath the gags, illustrated throughout by Laura Park, the book quietly tracks a real story about Rafe's struggling single mother, her loutish boyfriend, a missing brother, and the art teacher who notices that this kid might actually have something to say. The hybrid of doodles and prose helped pull a generation of reluctant readers into chapter books.
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Rafe Khatchadorian starts middle school with a plan: to break every rule in the student code of conduct. His best friend keeps score. His mother keeps grounding him. The book runs through one chaotic school year.
James Patterson and various co-writers have written 14 main Middle School novels and several spinoffs. The series follows Rafe Khatchadorian and other middle-school characters. New volumes continue to release.
Yes. A 2016 film adaptation starring Griffin Gluck and Lauren Graham was released. The film follows the basic premise of the novel with significant changes.
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life was written by James Patterson, published in 1976 by Little, Brown and Company.
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life is 320 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life takes most readers 5 to 7 hours to finish.
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life is a standalone novel by James Patterson, not part of a series.
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
