Are you in middle school? Putting up with drama? This is the book for you. It’s by an author you may have heard of, Nancy Krulik. She has written hundreds of books, just a few of them are:

~Katie Kazoo Switcheroo
~Appleville Elementary
~Don’t Stress!
~Magic School Bus
~Mulan Saves the Day
~My Picture Book of the Planets
~George Brown, Class Clown
~The Case of the Beagle Burglar


The book I’d like to tell you about is of a part series called How I Survived Middle School. One book is especially good, Can You get an ‘F’ In Lunch? It’s a great book about having friends who aren’t there to support you, but to make themselves more popular. The other books are helpful, especially when it comes to friendships.

Nancy Krulik often writes books about friendship. She started writing in the first grade about why she wanted to be Mary Poppins. Krulik knew then she wanted to be writer.

Ian and Amanda, Nancy's children, have a large influence on her books. If you’ve read her books entitled Katie Kazoo, Switcheroo you will notice the names of her children are used often in the books. She says her children are “the reason I choose to write children’s books”.

How I Survived Middle School takes place at Joyce Kilmer Middle School in 2009. Jenny MacAfee and Addie Wilson have been best friends since they met in kindergarten. When Addie and Jenny separate, after Jenny goes to over-night camp during the summer, Addie makes new friends, and cuts off Jenny. Jenny tries hard to fit in with Addie’s friends, called ‘The Pops.” She get’s new clothes, acts different and falls hard. Have you ever heard people say that lunch is their favorite subject? To Jenny, lunch is the most dreadful, exhausting part of the day.


What I think people should take from the story is that it’s better for people to hate the real you, than to like a fake act. Jenny makes friends who love her for who she is, not for a girl caked and hidden by the thick powdery makeup that Addie wears, but for the girl who is not afraid to wear oversized tee shirts, wear jeans ripped at the knees, and simply be herself.

Congrats to Ms. Krulik for succeeding in writing such inspirational books.