Book Description

Worm Tarnauer has spent most of eighth grade living down to his nickname. He prefers to be out of sight, underground. He walked the world unseen. He’s happy to let his best friend, Eddie, lead the way and rule the day.

And this day–Dead Wednesday–is going to be awesome. The school thinks assigning each eighth grader the name of a teenager who died in the past year and having them don black shirts and become invisible will make them contemplate their own mortality. Yeah, sure. The kids know that being invisible to teachers really means you can get away with anything. It’s a day to go wild!

But Worm didn’t count on Becca Finch (17, car crash). Letting this girl into his head is about to change everything.

Review

Thoughts and Themes: When I read the description of this book I thought that this was an interesting way to try to teach children the importance of responsibility. I think the idea of dead Wednesday is great but not to instill fear in these students but to teach them why they need to be precautious and think twice about the dangerous things they may engage in while in high school.

Something that I liked about this book was the moment in which Becca shares her story of how she died. I thought Worm’s reaction to that was well-done and the build-up before she dies creates a lot of emotions for the reader. I think Worm getting to spend time with Becca and hear her story beyond what the card he got for Dead Wednesday made a big different in how that event impacted him. I think that this also shows the flaws in Dead Wednesday as the other kids are seeing it as a get away with everything day vs seeing that the “Wrappers” were actual people who had loved ones.

Characters: Throughout this book you get introduced to several characters through their interactions with the main character, Worm. You get to meet his best friend, several of his classmates, the girl that he is assigned for Dead Wednesday, Becca, and his family.

I really liked reading as the friendship between Becca and Worm develop even as we know that this couldn’t possibly last. I liked that Becca thought that she was there for him but then realizes that she’s there because she needs his help. I think that Becca was there for both of them, they needed each other’s permission to just be.

I also liked the friendship between Worm and his best friend, Eddie, and then when we get to see the contrast of that friendship to Worm and Becca, and even Worn and Monica. I think it was great to see how he considered Eddie his best friend but he was never really himself around him, and was always considering this kid’s interests and not his own.

Writing Style: This story is told with a third person narrator through Worm’s perspective. I liked that the whole story was through Worm’s perspective because of how young and innocent he is. There is a lot that the reader sees and knows before Worm comes to those realizations, and I love that aspect of this book. I love this aspect because it is meant for a younger audience so I think younger children will realize things when Worm does but adults will see further ahead.

Author Information

When Jerry Spinelli was a kid, he wanted to grow up to be either a cowboy or a baseball player. Lucky for us he became a writer instead.

He grew up in rural Pennsylvania and went to college at Gettysburg College and Johns Hopkins University. He has published more than 25 books and has six children and 16 grandchildren.
Jerry Spinelli began writing when he was 16 — not much older than the hero of his book Maniac Magee. After his high school football team won a big game, his classmates ran cheering through the streets — all except Spinelli, who went home and wrote a poem about the victory. When his poem was published in the local paper, Spinelli decided to become a writer instead of a major-league shortstop.

In most of his books, Spinelli writes about events and feelings from his own childhood. He also gets a lot of material from his seven adventurous kids! Spinelli and his wife, Eileen, also a children’s book author, live in Pennsylvania.