Classroom (The Epic Documentary of a Not-Yet-Epic Kid)

There's so much to love about this laugh-out-loud-funny story of what happens to Trevor Jones, who is just starting the seventh grade at Westside Middle School. All in one day, Trevor starts school, loses his best friend and has to deal with a film crew documenting the life of a "typical middle school student." The story is told a bit in the style of a movie; the chapters are short, and there are cute drawings and doodles on the pages. Total fun for the end of the summer and the start of school.
-The Washington Post (Kids Post)

"This documentary set out to show the real story of Trevor, along with his normal, everyday, average classmates.... Westside is their middle school. And these are their stories." With an introduction like that (and the subtitle), readers may expect more of a documentary-style novel than what Mellom (Ditched: A Love Story) actually delivers in her first middle-grade novel. Most of her story unfolds through good old third-person omniscient narration, interspersed with occasional "interviews" with seventh-grader Trevor Jones and his classmates. Fortunately, Mellom has a gift for school-days humor, and her novel is very entertaining. Trevor, a consummate worrier, and Libby, a consummate planner, have been best friends for years, but as they begin the school year, Libby, tired of covering for Trevor's (many) gaffes, believes it is time for them to make new friends. Gilpin's spot art (not all seen by PW) is a mix of notes, cartoons, and other "found materials" that add to the book's sense of fun as romantic entanglements and misunderstandings proliferate in the days leading up to the school dance. Ages 9-12.
-Publishers Weekly