Surviving Middle School: Navigating the Halls, Riding the Social Roller Coaster, and Unmasking the Real You

by Luke Reynolds

In this hilarious guide full of honest, real-life experiences, veteran teacher Luke Reynolds skillfully and humorously shows kids how to not only survive, but thrive and even enjoy the wild adventure that is middle school.

Middle grade series like The Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries bring an authentic voice and vision to fiction about middle schoolers. Now, for the first time a nonfiction guide to middle school offers that same funny and relatable voice, while skillfully teaching life lessons to not just help kids find their footing during the tough years between elementary and high school, but to find the joy in their new adventures and challenges.

Author and teacher Luke Reynolds uses irreverent humor, genuine affection for middle schoolers, and authenticity that bubbles over as he ties real-life experiences from his own time in middle school to the experiences he has from his many years as a teacher.

Covering topics like bullying, peer pressure, grades, dealing with difficult parents, and love and romance, this rare book reaches kids at a deeper level during an age when they are often considered too young to appreciate it. Readers will learn to find their own voice, begin to explore their genuine identity, and definitely laugh out loud along the way.

Genres: Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published July 5, 2016

Reviews

[Laurie Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I'd had this book when I was entering middle school... or high school, or college, or my 20s and 30s. There are a lot of valuable life lessons crammed into this little volume, and you can call me a slow learner, but I didn't figure most of this stuff out until I was well into adulthood. Even though it's filled with excellent advice, it's also got humor, relatable anecdotes, and interesting exercises, so it doesn't come off as dry or preachy. I bought the Kindle version to read for myself, then a paperback for my kids, and finally a hardcover to donate to their school. This book should be required reading for tweens everywhere (and their teachers and parents!), and it would make an excellent gift, too!

[Dyllan Getz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! The advice is so good! I feel like I learned a lot, and Luke Reynolds’s is hilarious. I hope I can put into play what he stressed, and make sure no space knows steal my garlic bread because that would be horrible. (You’ll need to read the book to find out what the heck I just said :)

5/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ And age rating 10-15 (anyone could read this, but its obviously for middle schoolers.)

Happy reading! 📖🍞

[Hannah Mashek · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish there was a 4.5 star option. Overall a good book, a couple things I had to omit or change the phrasing of while reading to my students

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Challenge 2018 - Bookish: book you picked up based on the title. A fascinating book that is written for both teachers and middle schoolers. It provides suggestions to middle schools on how to be successful. I definitely will use it in a new class I am teaching this fall. I love the space gnomes and garlic bread references.

[Kellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great book!

With interesting ideas on thinking about this and drawings to go along with them plus steps on having the best middle school life, this book is is AMAZING!! It has great humor and wonderful ways of looking at things, so its perfect for me, a person who likes humorous books and interesting ideas. I loved this book! Beginning to end this book had me hooked, plus it wasn't very long at all. Pretty quick read, actually! A must read for anyone. Perfect, absolutely perfect.

[Salma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. When I read the title I assumed it would be for middle schoolers, but after reading it I realized that it's very nice for all teenagers in general. Luke Reynolds, former middle schooler had a terrible experience in seventh grade and the following years. When he turned into an adult, he decided to go back to his school, only this time as a teacher. From talking about how we compare ourselves, and why that's very bad, to how to deal with strict parents, to how to enjoy and make the most out of your school experience, this book is very easy to enjoy. I feel like anyone from the age 12 - 19 will feel like they can relate to what's being said. The way Luke Reynolds wrote uses so many metaphors and refers to the bullies or people who take away the happiness as space gnomes. I definitely recommend this book to everyone who feels like they deal with stress, loss of motivation, bad grades, friends, etc.

[Luca B · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was very interesting hearing the point of view of a middle school teacher that was once a middle school students. He talks about very good things that happen in middle school to both students and teachers. He also talks about bad things that may happen to students, teachers, and even administration. He talks about how some students may have problems with family or economically and they struggle in school. He talks about how teachers have problems with their personal life as well and they may struggle with teaching. He talks about the good things with middle school, the not so good things with middle school, but he always has a good tone and sounds very cool with the audience. Overall, a very good book to read about middle school.

[Betina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surviving Middle School by Luke Reynolds.
it interest because it have very good message that we don't need to buy friends and that we need to do heathy friendship and to love our own self. This book it's a little bit confusing because it have a lot of words that don't understand but if you are in middle school and you suffer bulling or something else it good for you. I recommend because it have a good menssage.

[Sierra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surviving middle school is a book about everything you need to know when going to middle school and stories of all types of people in middle school. Read surviving middle school to learn everything you need to know about middle school.

[Chelsea Shotts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quirky and cute, full of life lessons and insights, this book is applicable to a far wider audience than just middle schoolers.
(I read it in advance of gifting it to my young sister. Hopefully she takes some of the lessons to heart and survives middle school a little better than I did).

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like this book! The author is very humorous! I wish there was more information about organization and school work and less on his favorite food and stories. I would recommend this book to students heading into middle school.

[Samiun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I've read in summer. I wish if I had this before,his words have magic that created a great reading experience.

[Reesa M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like it because it was crazy

[Makenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is amzing i loved reading it to my kids i just wish i had this book when i was younger.

[Holly]

Good middle school summer read or text for guidance counselor lessons

[Kendra Wisenbaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this, but did think parts were a little cheesy. I think I may have students read chapters once a week for the first few weeks of school.

[Kenna Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. Not exactly what I was thinking it would be about. Written by a middle school English teacher. If students read it I think they would walk away with some things they should learn.

[Almira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful and well-written, really fun and easy read.

[Cassidy Saunders · Rating 3 out of 5]

The novel Surviving Middle School by,Luke Reynolds is a very sometimes helpful book. My novel was about a boy named Luke and how Luke went thru middle school. As my book goes on Luke gives good tips on "Navigating the Halls,,Riding the Social Roller Coaster, and Unmasking the real you." I gave this book the rating i gave it because the book was very helpful sometimes and not so helpful at other times. Really the only reason i gave the novel three out of five stars is because it was almost more of a childrens book instead of and eight-grade level book. I would think that mostly Boys around eight and ten years old would like this book onyl because its like a comic like, silly, cheesy book.

[Riegs · Rating 4 out of 5]

***I won this book as a Giveaway on Goodreads.***

As a middle school teacher, I was pleased by the quality of the advice provided by Luke Reynolds - a fellow 7th grade educator. Reynolds has a great pulse on preteen anxiety, and social behaviors they exhibit as they develop. His warm tone and sense of humor is very reassuring. This is a good one for a parent to pass on to their middle schoolers, or for school libraries.

[Jacqui · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Wendy Gutierrez · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son is enjoying reading this book.