Reading Skills: Middle School Book 1

In the first book of the Middle School Trilogy by James Patterson I found myself making many connections to the text and making predictions because it is a suspenseful story but is also relatable as it has to do with school, a subject we are all familiar with.

I think this book is very similar to Diary of a Wimpy Kid as both are first person accounts of a middle school story. Also, both of the main characters view themselves as outcasts and neither one thinks they are at the top of the social chain in middle school. The only difference I can clearly see in the two books is that Rafe, the main character of the middle school trilogy is a trouble-maker, whereas Greg from Diary of a Wimpy Kid is more of an introvert and is not always wreaking havoc. Also, the Middle School trilogy is pointed toward an older audience while Diary of a Wimpy Kid is for younger readers as it contains more cartoons and has a lot more pictures

A text to world connection I made is that I think a lot of teenagers in our world today can relate to Rafe since nobody really sees themselves as the coolest kid in school. Rafe knows he is not popular, but he feels desperate to be just like the other kids. Lots of teenagers can also relate to this because we all want to fit in and will do whatever it takes to fit in just like Rafe does.

A text to self connection I made with Rafe is that we both have similar viewpoints towards school. Like Rafe, I do not want to wake up early in the morning and go to school. However, when the time comes, we both know when it is time to have fun and when it is time to learn. I can also relate to Rafe because we are both nervous around new people and are not comfortable when something changes.

A prediction I made that turned out to be true in the story is that I predicted that Rafe's friend Leo was imaginary. I predicted this because we never actually met Leo in the book, he never said anything among the whole story, and finally, he would never be mentioned at school, but at home instead.

I asked several questions over the course of this book. One to be mentioned is: What happened to Rafe's dad? Rafe lives with his mom and his sister Georgia but in the story it is unclear what happened to his dad. We know he is gone, we just do not have the full picture of what happened as readers. Another question I had was: Why does Rafe have an imaginary friend? Usually there is a purpose for having an imaginary friend, and when I found out that Leo is imaginary, I wanted to know why Rafe wanted to have an imaginary friend. This question was answered though when it was revealed that Leo was based off of Rafe's younger brother, Leonardo, who died from illness at age 3.