What do you think?
Rate this book
Wednesday
Among the young scholars on the first day of seventh grade, Lakshmi Pardeshi — better known as Lash — befriends a fascinating girl named Wednesday, who claims she can control people with her mind. Impressed by Wednesday’s bold demeanor and sharp wit, Lash enlists Wednesday to help with an unpopular friend’s bid for class president amid unstoppable competition. With each passing day, Lash witnesses Wednesday’s manipulation go from innocent pranks to admirable ways of skirting discipline to much darker deeds.
***
In this darkly satiric novel, the allegorical events of a manic student body election collide with the lives of innocent, yet exceptional, middle school students.
***
In this darkly satiric novel, the allegorical events of a manic student body election collide with the lives of innocent, yet exceptional, middle school students.
- GenresFiction
206 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 28, 2017
7 people are currently reading
334 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
March 6, 2017
I revived this book via LT book giveaway.
DNF at 50%
I may or may not come back to this book. Every time I tried to read it, I literally fell asleep. Everything fell flat. There was no character building or any kind of building for that matter. It was just plain monotone.
If the book through the first 50% managed to do anything other than make me sleep, it was annoy the heck out of me.
I am sorry but 12 year old kids do not talk like this. Unless they are somehow a mini Sheldon Cooper
But I doubt it. So while they are running going on about that, apparently the adults are just stupid and let the kids do whatever.
Let me take a second here to say something about the teacher Ms. Jablinske ... She freaked me out to the point I feel like a red danger sign should be posted on her forehead. She offered way way way way to much PERSONAL information. You are not there to teach them about your life. You are there to teach them math, language, ect. They do not need to know you are 20 something and never married with zero kids. It is a classroom. Not a dating profile. They are 12, you pedo.
Wednesday is suppose to have some kind of mind control thing from what I can tell so far but honestly it just seems like a load of hogwash to me. Lash swears up and down that Weds has control to make people do things but all I have seen her do is talk her way out of trouble. So to me, no mind control.... just a skilled con-artist.
I wanted to like this book. No. Correction, I wanted to LOVE this book. The blurb sounded SO amazing. But sadly, It wasn't. From start to me having to stop at 50% all I wanted to do was sleep and beg them to just stop.
DNF at 50%
I may or may not come back to this book. Every time I tried to read it, I literally fell asleep. Everything fell flat. There was no character building or any kind of building for that matter. It was just plain monotone.
If the book through the first 50% managed to do anything other than make me sleep, it was annoy the heck out of me.
I am sorry but 12 year old kids do not talk like this. Unless they are somehow a mini Sheldon Cooper
But I doubt it. So while they are running going on about that, apparently the adults are just stupid and let the kids do whatever.
Let me take a second here to say something about the teacher Ms. Jablinske ... She freaked me out to the point I feel like a red danger sign should be posted on her forehead. She offered way way way way to much PERSONAL information. You are not there to teach them about your life. You are there to teach them math, language, ect. They do not need to know you are 20 something and never married with zero kids. It is a classroom. Not a dating profile. They are 12, you pedo.
Wednesday is suppose to have some kind of mind control thing from what I can tell so far but honestly it just seems like a load of hogwash to me. Lash swears up and down that Weds has control to make people do things but all I have seen her do is talk her way out of trouble. So to me, no mind control.... just a skilled con-artist.
I wanted to like this book. No. Correction, I wanted to LOVE this book. The blurb sounded SO amazing. But sadly, It wasn't. From start to me having to stop at 50% all I wanted to do was sleep and beg them to just stop.
March 24, 2017
This satire could sit nicely on the shelf with such titles as Lord of the Flies and Animal Farm. The combination of real-time situations and the political climate we currently face parallels are undeniable. And again, though this is satirical, the sitting could by any middle school or high school across this country today. Student body election; the school sanctioned popularity contest.
What Didn’t Work: These 12-year-olds will make you feel very uneducated. They have the vocabulary of political and literature scholars. When you have one character of young age with this kind of intelligence you think it's plausible, but in this case, there are 3! Their extra intelligence makes the rest of the students look really ignorant, including a 12-years-old misusing a word my 9 year old knows.
Quote: “. . . Said he didn’t want me to feel as if I owed him something, and the speech came from his desire to see me succeed. So it came to me anomaly.”
“Anonymously,” Lash said, shaking her head at the thought of this boy making any legitimate decisions for the school.”
There are two serious injuries events here that never gets wrapped up and for as much stuff that happens around these events you want to know the outcome and the author doesn’t give that info up. For just over 200 pages I wanted just a little more to tie up a few more loose ends of the story. Lastly, Lash resolve about the events and the revelation about Wednesday change a few times. Lash makes a declaration that she has to kill Wednesday; this line is out of character. Her attitude about her end of the book achievements move back and forth between wanting it and not wanting the responsibility. For a moment she is just like every other East Ender; almost corrupted in the way she eats up the new attention. The final moment of Wednesday and Lash’s encounter doesn't answer the question if the girls are friends again or if Lash understands why Wednesday did what she did. And that statement with the conclusion of the book leaves the story very open.
Quote: “She knew this power posed a threat to her and to the city’s and school’s very way of life. She knew what needed to be done.She knew she had to kill Wednesday.”
What Did Work: This book does a great job showing you how different classes and economic groups read each other and their prejudice that even they may not realize they have. We are supposed to agree with Lash but even she, being an East Ender, passes judgment on the Middle and West enders as almost a slip of the tongue.
Quote: “The meddling middlers,” Lash said. “That’s what my father calls those kids who are always found vandalizing the school. . . . You’d think those vandals would come from the west—”
Wednesday looked over at Lash, who could only look on at Wednesday for any sign of a reply.
“It’s ok, Lash. I understand,” Wednesday finally spoke.
“I didn’t mean it like that, honest,” Lash said. “I just—I spoke out of turn. I shouldn’t have placed a cognitive bias on your area of the city. It was wrong of me.”
Though this is a political book it's a simple read and adults and older teenagers will enjoy it. I can see this as a literature class reading for 9th to 12th graders. There is plenty to compare and contrast, but it's interesting enough to hold a student or adults attention.
Wednesday by Steven Evans is rated 3.75 / 5 open books.
What Didn’t Work: These 12-year-olds will make you feel very uneducated. They have the vocabulary of political and literature scholars. When you have one character of young age with this kind of intelligence you think it's plausible, but in this case, there are 3! Their extra intelligence makes the rest of the students look really ignorant, including a 12-years-old misusing a word my 9 year old knows.
Quote: “. . . Said he didn’t want me to feel as if I owed him something, and the speech came from his desire to see me succeed. So it came to me anomaly.”
“Anonymously,” Lash said, shaking her head at the thought of this boy making any legitimate decisions for the school.”
There are two serious injuries events here that never gets wrapped up and for as much stuff that happens around these events you want to know the outcome and the author doesn’t give that info up. For just over 200 pages I wanted just a little more to tie up a few more loose ends of the story. Lastly, Lash resolve about the events and the revelation about Wednesday change a few times. Lash makes a declaration that she has to kill Wednesday; this line is out of character. Her attitude about her end of the book achievements move back and forth between wanting it and not wanting the responsibility. For a moment she is just like every other East Ender; almost corrupted in the way she eats up the new attention. The final moment of Wednesday and Lash’s encounter doesn't answer the question if the girls are friends again or if Lash understands why Wednesday did what she did. And that statement with the conclusion of the book leaves the story very open.
Quote: “She knew this power posed a threat to her and to the city’s and school’s very way of life. She knew what needed to be done.She knew she had to kill Wednesday.”
What Did Work: This book does a great job showing you how different classes and economic groups read each other and their prejudice that even they may not realize they have. We are supposed to agree with Lash but even she, being an East Ender, passes judgment on the Middle and West enders as almost a slip of the tongue.
Quote: “The meddling middlers,” Lash said. “That’s what my father calls those kids who are always found vandalizing the school. . . . You’d think those vandals would come from the west—”
Wednesday looked over at Lash, who could only look on at Wednesday for any sign of a reply.
“It’s ok, Lash. I understand,” Wednesday finally spoke.
“I didn’t mean it like that, honest,” Lash said. “I just—I spoke out of turn. I shouldn’t have placed a cognitive bias on your area of the city. It was wrong of me.”
Though this is a political book it's a simple read and adults and older teenagers will enjoy it. I can see this as a literature class reading for 9th to 12th graders. There is plenty to compare and contrast, but it's interesting enough to hold a student or adults attention.
Wednesday by Steven Evans is rated 3.75 / 5 open books.
December 1, 2017
"Wednesday" is an odd book about the 7th grade elections. We follow Lash (Lakshmi) as she meets and gets to know Wednesday. Wednesday can control other people using her mind. She helps Lash to get elected to student council (with a speech, not by controlling others) and then helps with the campaign to get Elmer (an unpopular but smart boy) elected to the presidency. Wednesday begins to do darker things with her mind control as the book progresses.
It's a difficult book to categorize, as although it follows middle schoolers, the language is much higher level (I doubt any 12 year olds talk like the ones in this book), so it seems targeted to adults. It is pretty short, so it's a very fast read. I found it a little tedious at the beginning and the large words make it a little difficult in terms of flow. It was an ok read (thus the rating), but I probably wouldn't read it again.
Please note that I received this book through a giveaway. All opinions are my own.
It's a difficult book to categorize, as although it follows middle schoolers, the language is much higher level (I doubt any 12 year olds talk like the ones in this book), so it seems targeted to adults. It is pretty short, so it's a very fast read. I found it a little tedious at the beginning and the large words make it a little difficult in terms of flow. It was an ok read (thus the rating), but I probably wouldn't read it again.
Please note that I received this book through a giveaway. All opinions are my own.
July 13, 2017
So I was transitioning from a novel and figured a quick read would help out and this book was just what the doctor ordered. It was playful yet dark enough to be interesting as an adult. The ending was actually pretty perfect..you never know.
February 2, 2018
I received a copy of this for free through Goodreads First Reads
I like the story line, but the dialogue was completely and utterly off the mark. As a parent of a 7th grader, I know first hand that they do not talk like that. Even the super smart ones. That totally took me out of the story.
I like the story line, but the dialogue was completely and utterly off the mark. As a parent of a 7th grader, I know first hand that they do not talk like that. Even the super smart ones. That totally took me out of the story.
March 23, 2017
Book is written for middle schoolers, however I enjoyed the story line very much.
September 16, 2017
Wednesday
The characters in this book are predominantly 7th graders. I may be projecting, but I don't think that 7th graders talk like that. This book is full of big words, and I can understand if the author is trying to appeal to young adults by making these characters mature in ideas and with their choice of words. This book is a quick read, it's not very boring, but the thing that kinda sucks is how they put emphasis on the presidential election (for school) and in the ending chapters it doesn't even matter anymore. It's times like these when I feel like I've wasted time. For some odd reason the book felt like it could turn into a mystery, and then it seemed like the author began to run out of ideas because it just seemed like it was jumping all over he place. It became a mystery, then it fell flat of a mystery and turned into something vague. There were a lot of stereotypes for men and women throughout the book, and I think that it was the fact that the 7th grade kids were the ones stating that "women should..." "men always..." made me cringe a little. I'm not a feminist, but it just felt awkward in the biggest of ways. And then you got Wednesday calling out a teacher for belittling her "girl problems". It just felt hypocritical and fake, and almost as if using gender to justify the actions of people. I loved Wednesdays character until near end, Lashes character grew brighter and to be honest, I didn't like her. She just came off annoying, and it didn't help that the ending was as it was.
The characters in this book are predominantly 7th graders. I may be projecting, but I don't think that 7th graders talk like that. This book is full of big words, and I can understand if the author is trying to appeal to young adults by making these characters mature in ideas and with their choice of words. This book is a quick read, it's not very boring, but the thing that kinda sucks is how they put emphasis on the presidential election (for school) and in the ending chapters it doesn't even matter anymore. It's times like these when I feel like I've wasted time. For some odd reason the book felt like it could turn into a mystery, and then it seemed like the author began to run out of ideas because it just seemed like it was jumping all over he place. It became a mystery, then it fell flat of a mystery and turned into something vague. There were a lot of stereotypes for men and women throughout the book, and I think that it was the fact that the 7th grade kids were the ones stating that "women should..." "men always..." made me cringe a little. I'm not a feminist, but it just felt awkward in the biggest of ways. And then you got Wednesday calling out a teacher for belittling her "girl problems". It just felt hypocritical and fake, and almost as if using gender to justify the actions of people. I loved Wednesdays character until near end, Lashes character grew brighter and to be honest, I didn't like her. She just came off annoying, and it didn't help that the ending was as it was.
March 6, 2017
I won a print copy of this book from the author through a giveaway he had on LibraryThing.com and the following is my honest opinion.
Do you remember when you were in middle school and there was the annual election for class president? Back then did you have a best friend who though relatively unpopular wanted to become just that – the class president; and you would do anything to help them to succeed in their quest? If you can, then you can step into Lakshmi Pardeshi’s [Lash to her friends] shoes as she undertakes that quest to help her best friend.
When Wednesday becomes the new girl at school and starts claiming she can control people just by thinking of it in her mind. Fascinated by that, as well as her confident behavior and keen wit, Lash befriends her, and then seeks out Wednesday’s assistance in helping an unpopular friend’s [Elmer] bid for class president against in what can be best described as an almost impossible lost cause.
However, with each passing day, Lash witnesses Wednesday’s mind-controlling actions go from harmless jokes to ones which are bordering on having disciplinary actions taken against the pranksters involved to ones which can be considered to be practically sinister in nature. The more Wednesday uses her powers at Lash’s request, the more Lash begins to realize that her actions to help her friend is instead turning out to be a mistake.
But, on the other hand, you’ve got the rest of the students running for class president trying their best and are resolute in disrupting Elmer’s chances of winning.
Will Elmer win the election after all is said and done? Will everyone’s friendship remain intact at that time? There’s quite a lot of suspense in the pages of this book, which should keep its readers turning pages culminating in the surprising ending. For having given his readers a fast-spaced, page-turning, suspenseful reading experience, I’ve to give the author, Steven Evans, 5 STARS for his endeavor here.
Do you remember when you were in middle school and there was the annual election for class president? Back then did you have a best friend who though relatively unpopular wanted to become just that – the class president; and you would do anything to help them to succeed in their quest? If you can, then you can step into Lakshmi Pardeshi’s [Lash to her friends] shoes as she undertakes that quest to help her best friend.
When Wednesday becomes the new girl at school and starts claiming she can control people just by thinking of it in her mind. Fascinated by that, as well as her confident behavior and keen wit, Lash befriends her, and then seeks out Wednesday’s assistance in helping an unpopular friend’s [Elmer] bid for class president against in what can be best described as an almost impossible lost cause.
However, with each passing day, Lash witnesses Wednesday’s mind-controlling actions go from harmless jokes to ones which are bordering on having disciplinary actions taken against the pranksters involved to ones which can be considered to be practically sinister in nature. The more Wednesday uses her powers at Lash’s request, the more Lash begins to realize that her actions to help her friend is instead turning out to be a mistake.
But, on the other hand, you’ve got the rest of the students running for class president trying their best and are resolute in disrupting Elmer’s chances of winning.
Will Elmer win the election after all is said and done? Will everyone’s friendship remain intact at that time? There’s quite a lot of suspense in the pages of this book, which should keep its readers turning pages culminating in the surprising ending. For having given his readers a fast-spaced, page-turning, suspenseful reading experience, I’ve to give the author, Steven Evans, 5 STARS for his endeavor here.
March 8, 2017
I was given this book from a goodreads giveaway in return for an honest review.
I liked the idea for this book but I had some problems with it as well.
First off i believe that the vocabulary for these 12 year olds was far too advanced for their age and that no 12 year old would ever talk like that.
I did love Wednesday's character, she was interesting and unpredictable and unhinged.
The beginning of the book dragged on to long and the ending where it started to really get interesting and I would have loved more information went to fast for my liking.
I liked the 'insight' to middle school politics.
I would have loved to read more about Lash coming to terms that Wednesday wasn't who she thought she was and to get more information about it.
I liked the idea for this book but I had some problems with it as well.
First off i believe that the vocabulary for these 12 year olds was far too advanced for their age and that no 12 year old would ever talk like that.
I did love Wednesday's character, she was interesting and unpredictable and unhinged.
The beginning of the book dragged on to long and the ending where it started to really get interesting and I would have loved more information went to fast for my liking.
I liked the 'insight' to middle school politics.
I would have loved to read more about Lash coming to terms that Wednesday wasn't who she thought she was and to get more information about it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 10, 2018
I won this book through Goodreads' giveaways. This was a really interesting look at the darker side of middle school politics. The story moves along at a good pace, and I finished it in one sitting. I liked both Lash and Wednesday. It's nice to read a middle grade novel with smart, realistic characters. I loved how the ending is wrapped up, and everything comes full circle. I would definitely pick up another book by this author!
August 12, 2018
This book was very well done, especially for a middle grade read. The writing took me off guard, but I loved that the characters were well spoken and so different from one another. This book is about Lash and Wednesday. Lash is a sort of popular girl, but when we think of popular we think rich, fabulous, hot, and mean. Lash is popular more so in the friends department. Everyone seems to like her and she's always kind to others. Even when her friends question that kindness. Wednesday is the "new" girl because no one had ever heard of her. She attended one of the lesser known elementary schools. She's simply known as the freak for her blunt and sarcastic behavior. But what others don't know that Wednesday reveals to Lash is that she also has mind control powers. I liked that the powers weren't some big dark secret like some books tend to make them. Wednesday immediately saw Lash as a good person and decided to tell her about her special ability. But when Lash decides to ask Wednesday to use her powers more and more it turns into a mistake. This was a quick and fun read that I did enjoy. I'm hoping this book becomes well known among the middle grade peers because it's definitely a great book and I feel like it will challenge their minds. These are the kind of books I love to see kids reading. And also it's not so dark that it's gonna give someone nightmares. But it is still a dark yet, fun read!
March 6, 2017
I recently won a copy of Steven Evans book, Wednesday. I'm so glad that I did. It was an easy, enjoyable, and fun read! The characters are much more well-spoken than I imagined any seventh grader being. But I found them to be very witty and charming, which made it so hard to put it down. I definitely recommend picking up a copy of this book!!
February 24, 2017
Great book. A must read.
February 16, 2017
Well written and an enjoyable read. I won it in a contest and it was a good read!
September 4, 2022
I don't get it.
The back-of-the-book blurb calls this book "darkly satiric," and the central student body elections "allegorical." First, I need to figure out if this is a middle grades novel or not. The main characters certainly didn't speak like any middle schoolers I was familiar with, and I participated in Quiz Bowl and speech! If this was a book for middle schoolers, then the main characters probably really do represent middle schoolers, in which case I suppose Steven Evans is using exaggeration to criticize middle schoolers' stupidity, particularly in the context of student politics (although I still don't get the hidden meaning the elections are trying to reveal).
If this is a book for adults, then I'm really confused. Is this supposed to be commentary on the Trump, Bush, or Clinton administrations? Either way, I think it makes more sense as a farce.
Regardless, what is up with the ending?
Whatever Steven Evans was trying to convey, I apparently wasn't the right audience.
This book will also satisfy the Watauga County Public Library 2022 Reading Challenge (ending 12/31/2022) categories: One Word Title; A Book by or About a Political Figure. I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways.
The back-of-the-book blurb calls this book "darkly satiric," and the central student body elections "allegorical." First, I need to figure out if this is a middle grades novel or not. The main characters certainly didn't speak like any middle schoolers I was familiar with, and I participated in Quiz Bowl and speech! If this was a book for middle schoolers, then the main characters probably really do represent middle schoolers, in which case I suppose Steven Evans is using exaggeration to criticize middle schoolers' stupidity, particularly in the context of student politics (although I still don't get the hidden meaning the elections are trying to reveal).
If this is a book for adults, then I'm really confused. Is this supposed to be commentary on the Trump, Bush, or Clinton administrations? Either way, I think it makes more sense as a farce.
Regardless, what is up with the ending?
Whatever Steven Evans was trying to convey, I apparently wasn't the right audience.
This book will also satisfy the Watauga County Public Library 2022 Reading Challenge (ending 12/31/2022) categories: One Word Title; A Book by or About a Political Figure. I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways.
May 17, 2017
This book was written by someone who obviously has either never been a child, or has completely forgotten their childhood. Either that or it's badly written satire? I don't even know where to begin with how terrible the dialogue is (like every character has just read both a philosophy textbook AND a dictionary, and they want you to know it). The plot makes no sense and (SPOILER!) goes nowhere at all after you've read page after agonizing page. Just...no.
March 3, 2017
I enjoyed the character development in this book. Watching the rebel, Wednesday twist the plot was fun. I couldn't put this book down!
April 4, 2017
I liked this interesting novel about the politics, power plays, and problems of middle-schoolers, and the lengths that kids are sometimes forced to go to in order to fit in, or survive, in school and in life.
The book describes a 7th grade political contest for student body. The eponymous character is a girl who can control people's actions and uses her powers to manipulate the events described. Her friend and cohort, Lash, watches with increasing unease at the events that unfold around her.
It is a chilling look at the politics of the classroom, and a cautionary tale about the need to fit in, be in control, and be popular in school.
At the same time, it can be read as an allegory of life and politics on the larger scale, raising questions of loyalty to friends, political expedience and "the ends justify the means" thinking.
This has book has been described in other reviews as a middle-school novel, but either that is wrong, and it is intended for adults or older teens, or the author is really overestimating the middle-school mind. The language used both by the narrator and the characters is way over middle-school heads, and I speak as a parent of a middle-schooler. Here is a typical interchange: "'East, west -- you sound so Dickenslike when you use those terms. They are only cardinal directions to ascribe different areas of the town....' "words aren't real. They are only audible representations to thoughts. They don't hold any more of a pejorative connotation than the word pejorative has a denotation.'"
These are some intellectually bad-ass 12-year-olds.
Anyway, the novel is more entertaining to read as an adult, but hard to get past the idea that these are realistic tweens.
Thank you to the author and publisher for a review copy.
The book describes a 7th grade political contest for student body. The eponymous character is a girl who can control people's actions and uses her powers to manipulate the events described. Her friend and cohort, Lash, watches with increasing unease at the events that unfold around her.
It is a chilling look at the politics of the classroom, and a cautionary tale about the need to fit in, be in control, and be popular in school.
At the same time, it can be read as an allegory of life and politics on the larger scale, raising questions of loyalty to friends, political expedience and "the ends justify the means" thinking.
This has book has been described in other reviews as a middle-school novel, but either that is wrong, and it is intended for adults or older teens, or the author is really overestimating the middle-school mind. The language used both by the narrator and the characters is way over middle-school heads, and I speak as a parent of a middle-schooler. Here is a typical interchange: "'East, west -- you sound so Dickenslike when you use those terms. They are only cardinal directions to ascribe different areas of the town....' "words aren't real. They are only audible representations to thoughts. They don't hold any more of a pejorative connotation than the word pejorative has a denotation.'"
These are some intellectually bad-ass 12-year-olds.
Anyway, the novel is more entertaining to read as an adult, but hard to get past the idea that these are realistic tweens.
Thank you to the author and publisher for a review copy.
April 13, 2017
My rating would actually be 3.5 This is the first book I have read by Steven Evans. I enjoyed this cute little story about Wednesday and Lash. It is a very interesting story and characters. The author's writing was very pleasant and easy to read.
This is book may not be best for someone below 7th grade. The vocabulary in this book may be difficult for kids in elementary school. There are also a few discussions/topics in the story that may concern some parents in grades lower than 7th grade. It all depends on how mature the child is and they understand this story is fiction.
This is book may not be best for someone below 7th grade. The vocabulary in this book may be difficult for kids in elementary school. There are also a few discussions/topics in the story that may concern some parents in grades lower than 7th grade. It all depends on how mature the child is and they understand this story is fiction.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews