Rafe Khatchadorian is a 6th grader at Hills Village Prison-I mean Middle School. Rafe loathes school and has enough problems to deal with at home including a stepdad that acts like a bear. Luckily, he has the perfect plan to have the best school year possible. Rafe and Leo, his imaginary friend, devise a plan to break every rule in the book. Can Rafe overcome a school bully, a teacher called the dragon lady, a strict principal, a school bully, a bust soda business, pass his classes, and can Rafe get Jeanne Galleta to like him while trying to have the best school year ever? I guess you’ll have to read to find out?
I found this book to be an interesting read and it is well-suited for readers ages 9-12. This book does include some illustrations and the vocabulary is not that difficult to understand. I believe this book is great if you want a book that has got humor. An easy read and fun plot. The most compelling aspect of this book was the way the author ends the story. He ends it in a way that is unpredictable for readers. This book gave me many laughs and was my go-to bedtime read when I was 10. My only concern with the book is that I wish Rafe had overcome his imaginary friend and made actual friends, but he doesn’t make any new friends. The cover of this book is spot-on in portraying the way Rafe views middle school. This book has been produced as a movie and is the first book of a series by James Patterson.