Sixth grade is the worst... and also the best, as Jordan rides the ups and downs of middle-school life in hilarious fashion.

Funny, outrageous things didn’t stop for Jordan Sonnenblick after he left fourth grade. No, in many ways the events detailed to hilarious effect in The Boy Who Failed Show and Tell were but a prelude to sixth grade, a time when Jordan would have to deal with…

-- A rival named Jiminy (his real name is Jimmy -- but, hey, he looks like a cricket)

-- A stickler English teacher who doesn’t care that all the old, worn copies of Great Expectations smell like puke

-- An Evel Knievel obsession

-- A first crush on a girl from band

-- An assistant principal who brands Jordan a repeat offender… on his first day (If you want to know why, you have to read the book. A tooth is involved.)

-- A continued reckoning with both anxiety and asthma

-- And more!

Jesse Dienstag's favorite sweatshirt says, "The real world isn't real." That's the slogan of the vacation-home community in Pennsylvania where his family has always spent every vacation and weekend for as long as he can remember. In the summer of 2019, as Jesse is about to enter his junior year of high school in New York City, he desperately wants to believe the slogan is true. For one thing, the two girls he loves -- equally and desperately -- are in Pennsylvania, and all the stresses and pressures of his daily life and school are in New York.

But when his parents stop talking to each other, it gets harder and harder for Jesse to maintain his dream life in Pennsylvania. And when Covid shuts New York City down in March 2020, just days after Jesse’s mother leaves his father, Jesse's worlds collide.

Jeffrey isn''t a little boy with cancer anymore. He''s a teen who''s in remission, but life still feels fragile. The aftereffects of treatment have left Jeffrey with an inability to be a great student or to walk without limping. His parents still worry about him. His older brother, Steven, lost it and took off to Africa to be in a drumming circle and "find himself." Jeffrey has a little soul searching to do, too, which begins with his escalating anger at Steven, an old friend who is keeping something secret, and a girl who is way out of his league but who thinks he''s cute.

There’s nothing All Star pitcher Peter Friedman loves more than baseball. It’s his life. He breathes baseball, dreams about it, and works his tail off to be great. Most kids are nervous about starting high school, but Pete’s amazing arm is going to make his life pretty easy. When you’re the star, girls, popularity, and all-around stud status are sure to follow.

But Pete’s freshman year doesn’t turn out as planned. A pitching accident over the summer ruins his arm. If he can’t play baseball, what is he supposed to do? If he isn’t the star pitcher, then who is he? Pete’s best friend and pitching partner, AJ, doesn’t believe Pete—he tells him he’ll be back to his normal self by spring training. To make matters more complicated, there’s something going on with Pete’s grampa—he’s acting weird and keeps forgetting important things, and Pete’s mother doesn’t want to talk about it.

The only person Pete can confide in is Angelika, the amazingly cute girl in his photography class who might like Pete as much as he likes her…only Angie doesn’t know if she can date someone who can’t be honest with himself, or with the people he’s closest to.

Just when you thought you had it all figured out . . .

"Alex Peter Gregory, you are a moron!" Laurie slammed her palms down on my desk and stomped her foot. I get a lot of that.One car crash. One measly little car crash. And suddenly, I''m some kind of convicted felon.My parents are getting divorced, my dad is shacking up with my third-grade teacher, I might be in love with a girl who could kill me with one finger, and now I''m sentenced to babysit some insane old guy.What else could possibly go wrong? This is the story of Alex Gregory, his guitar, his best gal pal Laurie, and the friendship of a lifetime that he never would have expected.

Sixth grade is the worst... and also the best, as Jordan rides the ups and downs of middle-school life in hilarious fashion.

Funny, outrageous things didn’t stop for Jordan Sonnenblick after he left fourth grade. No, in many ways the events detailed to hilarious effect in The Boy Who Failed Show and Tell were but a prelude to sixth grade, a time when Jordan would have to deal with…

-- A rival named Jiminy (his real name is Jimmy -- but, hey, he looks like a cricket)

-- A stickler English teacher who doesn’t care that all the old, worn copies of Great Expectations smell like puke

-- An Evel Knievel obsession

-- A first crush on a girl from band

-- An assistant principal who brands Jordan a repeat offender… on his first day (If you want to know why, you have to read the book. A tooth is involved.)

-- A continued reckoning with both anxiety and asthma

-- And more!

Jesse Dienstag's favorite sweatshirt says, "The real world isn't real." That's the slogan of the vacation-home community in Pennsylvania where his family has always spent every vacation and weekend for as long as he can remember. In the summer of 2019, as Jesse is about to enter his junior year of high school in New York City, he desperately wants to believe the slogan is true. For one thing, the two girls he loves -- equally and desperately -- are in Pennsylvania, and all the stresses and pressures of his daily life and school are in New York.

But when his parents stop talking to each other, it gets harder and harder for Jesse to maintain his dream life in Pennsylvania. And when Covid shuts New York City down in March 2020, just days after Jesse’s mother leaves his father, Jesse's worlds collide.

Jeffrey isn''t a little boy with cancer anymore. He''s a teen who''s in remission, but life still feels fragile. The aftereffects of treatment have left Jeffrey with an inability to be a great student or to walk without limping. His parents still worry about him. His older brother, Steven, lost it and took off to Africa to be in a drumming circle and "find himself." Jeffrey has a little soul searching to do, too, which begins with his escalating anger at Steven, an old friend who is keeping something secret, and a girl who is way out of his league but who thinks he''s cute.

There’s nothing All Star pitcher Peter Friedman loves more than baseball. It’s his life. He breathes baseball, dreams about it, and works his tail off to be great. Most kids are nervous about starting high school, but Pete’s amazing arm is going to make his life pretty easy. When you’re the star, girls, popularity, and all-around stud status are sure to follow.

But Pete’s freshman year doesn’t turn out as planned. A pitching accident over the summer ruins his arm. If he can’t play baseball, what is he supposed to do? If he isn’t the star pitcher, then who is he? Pete’s best friend and pitching partner, AJ, doesn’t believe Pete—he tells him he’ll be back to his normal self by spring training. To make matters more complicated, there’s something going on with Pete’s grampa—he’s acting weird and keeps forgetting important things, and Pete’s mother doesn’t want to talk about it.

The only person Pete can confide in is Angelika, the amazingly cute girl in his photography class who might like Pete as much as he likes her…only Angie doesn’t know if she can date someone who can’t be honest with himself, or with the people he’s closest to.

Just when you thought you had it all figured out . . .

"Alex Peter Gregory, you are a moron!" Laurie slammed her palms down on my desk and stomped her foot. I get a lot of that.One car crash. One measly little car crash. And suddenly, I''m some kind of convicted felon.My parents are getting divorced, my dad is shacking up with my third-grade teacher, I might be in love with a girl who could kill me with one finger, and now I''m sentenced to babysit some insane old guy.What else could possibly go wrong? This is the story of Alex Gregory, his guitar, his best gal pal Laurie, and the friendship of a lifetime that he never would have expected.