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The Wednesday Wars  By  cover art

The Wednesday Wars

By: Gary D. Schmidt
Narrated by: Joel Johnstone
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Publisher's summary

In this Newbery Honor-winning novel, Gary D. Schmidt offers an unforgettable antihero. The Wednesday Wars is a wonderfully witty and compelling story about a teenage boy’s mishaps and adventures over the course of the 1967-68 school year in Long Island, New York.

Meet Holling Hoodhood, a seventh-grader at Camillo Junior High who must spend Wednesday afternoons with his teacher, Mrs. Baker, while the rest of the class has religious instruction. Mrs. Baker doesn’t like Holling - he’s sure of it. Why else would she make him read the plays of William Shakespeare outside class?

But everyone has bigger things to worry about, like Vietnam. His father wants Holling and his sister to be on their best behavior: The success of his business depends on it. But how can Holling stay out of trouble when he has so much with which to contend? A bully demanding cream puffs; angry rats; and a baseball hero signing autographs the very same night Holling has to appear in a play in yellow tights!

As fate sneaks up on him again and again, Holling finds Motivation - the Big M - in the most unexpected places and musters up the courage to embrace his destiny, in spite of himself.

©2007 Gary D. Schmidt (P)2018 Recorded Books

What listeners say about The Wednesday Wars

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Great family listen

We listened to this on a road trip with our kids and we all enjoyed the story. Especially the performance of the reader!

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1 person found this helpful

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SUPA

SSSSSSSSSSSSSUUUUUUUUUUUUUPPPPPPPPPPPPPPAAAAAAAAA.dis book is da most epic fing on earf. You should toad-ally listen to it right now.🐴🐴🐴🐴🐴🐴🐴

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Wonderful entertainment

What a fun read! It takes you back to the junior high school years. All the angst we felt back then. It’s funny and very entertaining.

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Fun story

Great narrator choice. Fun story to listen to. Light story referencing heavy history in background.

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Beautiful, Sweet, Full of Heart and even funny

I wasn't sure I would like this story. The title didn't grab me and it started kinda slow. But quickly it became a journey I joined the author on . The story is beautifully written, laugh out loud funny at times and by the end, a deep awakening of things I haven't quite grasped about life yet, even at 58. This is a story to listen to over and over. Loved it!!

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There isn’t a better YA novel.

There just isn’t. This one deserves to be read and reread again and again. Narration is great.

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Fantastic narrating of an excellent book for families!

My family of six, kids ages 11-17, enjoyed this audiobook very much! Joel Johnston brought the story to life and had us all laughing out loud! It was good, clean fun. I love that it included Vietnam war era historical and political aspects, mixed with Shakespeare literature content, and lots of good moral lessons intertwined into a fun-loving story with characters you really get to know. Highly recommend this book for middle grade readers and families!

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Refreshing!

A delightful book with indelible characters. Sends you back in time searching for your Mrs Baker, the teacher who opened your eyes. Only the character of the father suffered from the woodeness that afflicts villains and clueless fathers. The narration was worthy of the spirited text. I could have kept listening!

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The Best YA Realistic Fiction I’ve Read in a Long Time

Holling is a charming main character, and his humor and character arc are worth the read. I was pleasantly surprised with the depth in the development of a variety of themes as the story progressed.

Joel Johnstone’s performance does Holling justice and keeps the meaning in his repetitions and exclamations (from “Swell” to “Toads, beetles, bats!”), making it sound like you’re listening to a real person. This was a delightful book to listen to!

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Excellent!

I chose this book because my 6th grader has it on her reading list for the year. I laughed, even cried at some places. It was an excellent book!

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