Their eighth grade was the best, and the worst. Then, on the last day of school, a high school student showed up with a gun."Mark Binder's THE WORST is a captivating young adult novel that treats the triumphs and tribulations of middle school with complete respect.... Overall, the book captures a beautiful sense of community that keeps the reader smiling through the lighter chapters and leaning in close during the intense final moments." ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Readers Favorite
"...eighth-grade misadventures with some ripped-from-the-headlines drama... THE WORST excels at portraying the dynamics of this group of friends. Young readers will enjoy spending time with these characters and seeing how they support each other... For lovers of fun but honest storytelling for kids..." - Publishers Weekly
Fast-paced, funny, and unforgettable, THE WORST explores the moments that define who we become when things fall apart. For the boys and girl in "Team Bomb Shelter," their final year at Jerome Marco K-8 was packed with disasters, inside jokes and a talent show. They called the daily chaos of middle school "the worst" - and somehow meant it as a compliment.
It should have ended with a celebration.Instead, everything changed.
"Nobody and nothing prepared us to deal with what happened when our middle school was attacked by a school shooter. We never saw it coming."
THE WORST spins stories of friendship, joy, courage, and choosing hope when fear takes over. Fast-paced, funny, and unforgettable, it explores the moments that define who we become when things fall apart.
"Binder is a skilled writer and performer..." -USA TODAY NETWORKTHE WORST is the thrilling stand-alone conclusion to the Team Bomb Shelter Series. New readers can jump right in.
Mark Binder is the Audie Award nominated author and storyteller of more than two dozen books. He tours the world telling stories to readers and listeners of all ages.
About the Author :
Mark Binder is the Audie Award nominated storytelling author of more than two dozen books and audiobooks. He believes that now, more than ever, "We Need Good Stories."His latest book is THE WORST, a light yet challenging novel for young readers and adults with a sense of humor.For the past twenty years, he has toured the world transmitting joy with books, audio and spoken word stories for diverse audiences of all ages. He has performed in parking lots and basements, in theaters, at festivals, pubs, churches, synagogues, nightclubs and schools around the world.
Review :
Fun, surprising novel of New England middle schoolers thwarting a tragedy.- Publishers Weekly -
The lively third entry in Binder's Team Bomb Shelter series for older middle-grade or early YA readers blends fun eighth-grade misadventures with some ripped-from-the-headlines drama. In this episodic novel's comic first half, the unnamed narrator, a middle school student in the fictional New England town of Groston, dishes about the clever hijinks of his diverse group of friends, ranging from an elaborate prank on their science teacher to a massive snowball in the school's gymnasium. But things take a darker turn when an active shooter takes a classroom hostage on the last day of school, and the motley friend group must find a way to take him down.
The Worst excels at portraying the dynamics of this group of friends, and young readers will enjoy spending time with these characters and seeing how they support each other, even when playfully ribbing one another with nicknames like "Fat Charlie." Pickup baseball games, summer camp, and a school talent show all provide entertaining forums for youthful joys and anxieties. Binder's penchant for booger blobs and other just-gross-enough gags will delight snot connoisseurs, though spirited descriptions of a phlegm collection or a swarm of cockroaches are resolutely not for everyone. (Despite being part of a series, and revisiting characters from Binder's YA novel The Groston Rules, this entry stands alone.)
Binder opens by foreshadowing the more harrowing material to come, so the joyous first half is dampened somewhat by readers' awareness that these kids' carefree days are numbered. Nobody is killed during the eventual shooting, but Binder never plays down the gravity of such situations; some violent imagery and the subject matter itself may disturb younger readers. Still, Binder makes an admirable attempt to address mature themes in a way that's accessible and fun, trusting young readers to understand and relate to the material rather than talking down to them. For lovers of fun but honest storytelling for kids, The Worst admirably does not live up to its title.
Great for fans of: James Howe's The Misfits, E.L. Konigsberg's The View from Saturday.
Very highly recommended- Readers' Favorite -
Mark Binder's The Worst centers on an ordinary eighth-grader who navigates the awkward world of a small New England middle school along with his tight-knit group of friends. Calling themselves Team Bomb Shelter, these clever middle schoolers use an ironic scale to rank their daily misadventures, from a disastrous camp dance to the winter's epic snowball fights. Our narrator considers himself just a regular kid who is surrounded by geniuses, but his group's wild antics always keep him right in the middle of the action. Their routine of dodging the science teacher's bad temper and planning a talent show act gets upended when a huge winter storm extends the school year. On that strange day, an armed high schooler enters the building and suddenly derails their academic schedule. Will the collective bravery of this unique group of friends be enough to save their school from a major crisis?
Mark Binder's The Worst is a captivating young adult novel that treats the triumphs and tribulations of middle school with complete respect. Right from the beginning,
