The New Kid

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Author(s)

Maureen Straka

Publisher

Independently Published

Genre(s)

Age Range

Release Date

January 22, 2018

ISBN

978-1976967436

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Middle school can be tough! Especially when Alex's best friend moves away and his dad loses his job. Things get even worse when a new boy moves in next door and a bully starts picking on him. Alex feels caught in the middle. If he defends the new kid, he may become the bully's next target. Alex soon finds out that the bully is hiding a secret that could change everything. Will Alex find the courage to do the right thing and stand up for the new kid? And can he survive middle school on his own? He'll soon learn that friendship can be found in the most unlikely places.

Editor reviews

2 reviews

The Struggles of Middle School Life

June 21, 2018

Overall rating

3.0

Plot

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Alex's best friend and constant supporter, Luke, moves away and Alex has to face the school bully T.J. without him. To make matters worse, another boy his age moves into Luke's house, but Simon is geeky, bespectacled, and wears odd looking shoes. He quickly becomes T.J.'s target as well, and defening him puts Alex in an even worse position. Alex's father has just lost his job selling insurance (which Alex thinks might be his fault!) and has taken a position at a local burger joint, which also causes kids at school to make fun of him. Adding to his problems is the fact that he frequently has to babysit his young brother Dylan, who manages to get into trouble constantly, whether it is dumping powered ice tea mix in the kitchen to use as "sand" or keeping Alex awake because there are monsters in their bedroom. While Alex isn't thrilled to be friends with Simon, their mothers encourage them to spend time together, and Alex learns to appreciate Simon's struggles. When Alex overhears a reason that T.J. might be given to bullying him and his new friend, he tries to figure out a way to help T.J. Life improves slowly but surely.

Good Points

The difficulties faced by both Alex's and Simon's families are realistic and timely, and it's nice that the parents are shown to be concerned and connected to their kids. Alex is not happy with the turn of events, but tries to deal with the situations that arise in the best way possible.

Siblings play a large roll in the life of tween students, so having Alex have to babysit his younger brother, especially while his mother runs a beauty parlor out of the front room of their house, is a nice touch.

Readers who need the kind of reassurance provided by books that cover the struggles of middle school, such as Hasak's 33 Minutes, Gephart's How to Survive Middle School and Peirce's Big Nate will enjoy this short and realistic look at challenges some middle school students face.