Between burping ringtones, national landmarks and problem-solving kids, Dave Barry’s rollicking Washington, D.C., adventure, The Worst Class Trip Ever, gets full House approval.
Culver Middle School’s eighth-grade class trip begins with friends Wyatt and Matt stealing an electronic device from two men whom they have pegged as terrorists. Matt and Wyatt team up with Suzana, a smart, totally hot, popular girl, and together they attempt to save each other from kidnappers, the White House from attack and the President from assassination. The story makes full use of popular culture, modern communication (complete with dying phone batteries to create believable anxiety) and laugh-out-loud scenarios on this outrageous class trip. The story is told in Wyatt’s first-person voice, which allows readers to see the events from his point of view but at the same time wonder about his judgment regarding the incidents. At times Wyatt speaks directly to the readers, creating a friendly bond that only strengthens as the tale unfolds. Humor and tension combine in this well-plotted story full of ups and downs (literally) that ends in a surprising 12th-round knockout punch.
Pultizer Prize winning-author Barry is right on target by being slightly off target, and readers will get carried away (pun intended—read the book!) with this middle-school story.
