My Big Mouth

Hannan, Peter. (2011). My big mouth. New York: Scholastic. Ninth grader Davis Delaware moves to a new school with only a few months left in the academic year. This is a chance for a fresh start. He and his father are still mourning the loss of his mother who died earlier, and in some respects, Davis is relieved to leave behind his old school where he accidentally peed on a girl while heading down the slide, prompting him much teasing and earning him the honor of having a sign posted on his back that reads "Urine Trouble." Maybe he can find a way to blend in and escape notice in his new school. He gains a bit of attention when his lyrics are read aloud in English class, and he becomes known as a budding poet. But when Molly, one of the school's popular ninth graders, catches his eye, he invites her to join a band he is starting with Edwin, a geeky motormouth, things start looking up. Anyone can form a band and play instruments, but not everyone can write song lyrics, after all. The Amazing Dweebs may not make beautiful music together, but they have lots of fun, and Davis and Molly seem to have some chemistry going between them. However, Molly is the girlfriend of the school bully Gerald (the Butcher) Boggs, and Gerald is a jealous boyfriend who is relentless in his torturing of Davis. Everything works out, but there are some surprises along the way, and it turns out that Gerald and Davis have more in common than their affection for Molly. Middle grade readers who enjoyed Diary of a Wimpy Kid in the past will gravitate to this one and enjoy the cartoons of Davis's enemies as well as revenge-fueled and somewhat mean-spirited song lyrics. Just as the first Wimpy Kid had a cheese touch that was to be avoided at all costs, so does this one have a canal filled with all sorts of horrible gunk.

Favorite Lines:

“The rest of the day was more of the same. Lunch: blah. History: ancient blah. Spanish: el blah, la blah, los blahs” (p. 25).

“The sadness was like a bully that got right up in your face” (p. 62).