The Middle School movie is a fun-filled family comedy based on Number One Bestselling Author James Patterson’s bestselling children book series. Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life film is his first book in this series which is available now to watch on Netflix.
Both of my children had not read the Middle School series before, and last week, it was their first time watching the film. We watched the trailer first before the movie screening and they were instantly hooked. Watch the trailer here if you have not seen it yet:
So far, there are nine book titles of the Middle School series (Book 1: The Worst Years of My Life; Book 2: Get Me Out of Here; Book 3: My Brother is a Big, Fat Liar; Book 4: How I Survived Bullies, Broccoli, and Snake Hill; Book 5: Ultimate Showdown; Book 6: Save Rafe; Book 7: Just My Rotten Luck; Book 8: Dog’s Best Friend and Book 9: Escape to Australia). For more information about the books, please visit https://www.penguin.co.uk/puffin/worlds/middle-school
The books are more popular with older primary school children and sit in the same genre as Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Middle School reflects a different kind of humour in school and it reflects the single parent family troubled child, Rafe’s life.
Following a family bereavement, Rafe had been kicked out of school twice and this is the last school that would take him in his area. On his first day of school, he meets his Principal Dwight who has excessive rules in place. His Principal catches him with his doodle book and destroys it. So Rafe vows to break every rule in his school’s oppressive Code of Conduct, with a little help from his imaginary friend Leo, with hilarious effect. But when Rafe’s game starts to catch up with him and Principal Dwight fights back, he has to decide if winning is all that matters, or if he’s finally ready to face the rules, bullies, and truths he’s been avoiding.
The film is very nicely done with lot of mixed emotions and there is amazing art work, especially with the fish tank filled with trophies. We also love that in between the film, Rafe’s drawings come alive and make the show look even more interesting. We love this blended cartoon effect! Both my children enjoyed watching it. Do note that at the end of the film, there is a kissing scene with Rafe and his overachieving girl of his dreams, Jeanne. Both my children (aged 7 and 9) were slightly uncomfortable when they kissed. They are at that age where watching people kissing makes them uncomfortable!
I feel that the Middle School book series are suitable for older children aged 10 to 13. The story revolves around Rafe and his life. The books are easy to read and understand. Each book is filled with cute cartoon drawings, which makes it fun to read. As this was Mr K’s first time reading the books, it did take him a few days just to read one book as they are quite thick. The story is engaging and imaginative.
Here are some of the books available to buy from Amazon:
- The Worst Years of My Life
- Get Me Out of Here
- My Brother is a Big, Fat Liar
- How I Survived Bullies, Broccoli, and Snake Hill
- Ultimate Showdown
- Save Rafe
- Just My Rotten Luck
- Dog’s Best Friend
- Escape to Australia
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