Well, by reading this book I discovered that James Howe is gay. I knew he wrote [b:Bunnicula] with his wife, Deborah, so I was surprised. Wikipedia informs me he came out late in life. Better late than never, I say!

Anywise, this book has one out-and-proud 12-year-old, who later gets his own book ([b:Totally Joe]). But the narrator in this story is his "chunky" friend Bobby Goodspeed (What a name! He could be a Starfleet captain!). Bobby and Joe, alongside Addie and Skeezie, make up an unpopular, but relatively happy, group of friends at Paintbrush Falls Middle School. They decide to make a run for the student council based first on Addie's absurdly naive notions about minority politics. Later, when Addie's well-intentioned but ridiculous idea doesn't pass muster with the principal (she convinces one of the school's few black students to run as president just because he's black), Bobby comes up with another platform on which he and his friends can campaign to win the big election. Bobby's idea has to do with getting students to stop calling each other mean names.

Bobby has some great insights into humanity in this book. For example, even though his boss at work is a grump and kind of a jerk, Bobby tries to see the man as a whole person, which is, I think, something more people should strive to do. Bobby also sees his friends and his widowed father very clearly. His journey in the book is about paying more attention to himself and his potential to do great things.

There were more than a few clunky sentences in the book, and the ending was a little too convenient, but its heart was absolutely in the right place. ( )

Inspired national No Name Calling Week. "The Gang of Five wants, basically, to get through seventh grade in Paintbrush Falls, New York. The four of them (there are only four, actually) have been friends forever: Bobby’s fat; Addie’s too tall and too smart; Skeezie has personal hygiene issues; and Joe has known he was gay almost since he was born. It’s Bobby’s sweet, sharp voice that narrates—how Addie’s refusal to say the Pledge of Allegiance in class leads to their all running for school office, how each of them develops their first crush, and how both play out in utterly recognizable 12-year-old ways. Howe (Color of Absence, p. 941, etc.) lets his kids discover how the names we call each other shape our vision of ourselves, and the Gang’s attempt to bring about a no-name-calling day (no Dweeb, Fluff, Twinkie, or Nerdette) rings true and real. Straight narrative alternates with transcripts of the Gang’s meetings at the local ice cream parlor down to every last word, thanks to Addie’s determined style. Bobby may be preternaturally articulate, but he is also winsome and funny about some very painful issues: the loss of a parent; the weirdness of adults, even nice ones; the pressure of hormones; and the importance of friendship. Readers of every stripe will find themselves here and laugh (or cringe) as they catch on. (Fiction. 10+)" From Kirkus Reviews, www.kirkusreviews.com

I read this book when it first came out and managed the young adult section of a bookstore.

More recently, I read this book with my nine year old son. While it endeared to me the first time around, I think as a parent that I like The Misfits even better. I know nine might seem a touch on the young side for this book, but my son was able to process the ideas of bigotry, name-calling, accidental racism, and homophobia without trouble.

I'd suggest this book to any parent who thinks they're kiddo is the right age to learn these concepts, and more broadly to anyone who just wants a good read that covers heavy topics with a few smiles and proud moments along the way.

James Howe does a fantastic job of looking his target audience in the eye without giving them too much to handle, or insulting anyone's intelligence along the way. ( )

Bobby Goodspeed and his three friends--Addie Carle, Joe Bunch, and Skeezie Tookis--are the misfits in their middle school. Bobby is fat and quiet, Addie is both very bright and very idealistic (and outspoken), Skeezie cultivates an image somewhere between Elvis and Fonzie, and Joe Bunch is gay.

But the middle school election for the student body government is coming up, and Addie has an idea. She wants them to participate--and not by joining in on one of the existing parties, Democrat and Republican. She wants to launch a third party, the Freedom Party, with the idea that they will represent minority students.

But the school administration is not impressed by their vague platform and the fact that they've managed to recruit a popular black student as their presidential candidate. Addie is passionate, but they don't really have a platform.

Then Bobby realizes their real platform has been staring them in the face all along--all the mean, belittling names they've been called since kindergarten--and not just them, of course. It's a torture most kids live through, and it's something the four-member Gang of Five can speak about with eloquence and clarity.

This book takes on some tough issues, but it does so with good humor and a light touch. These kids aren't miserable; they're not the popular kids at school, but for the most part they enjoy their lives. They're not the victims of bullying who are at risk of suicide from the abuse--but they still hate being the targets of name-calling, and their big insight is that everyone else hates being the targets of name-calling, too.

James Howe has a gentle sense of humor and treats all his characters with respect, and this is, as you'd expect from Howe, an excellent story. The bonus extra is that this is a Full Cast Audio recording, with all the excellent production values that that entails.

Recommended.

I bought this book. ( )

I swear to god, if I was anything like these kids when I was in high school, I now understand why I was bullied so badly. ( )