The Misfits by James Howe

The Misfits, by James Howe, is a powerful story that touches on a darker side of childhood, bullying and name-calling.  Everyone at some point or another has been called a hurtful name and probably called someone else some hurtful name as well.  This book tackles this issue head on from the perspective of realistic characters who tell all about experiencing this bullying first hand.  The word choice and word positioning in this book is incredibly clever and helps the reader fall in love with the characters.  For instance, Bobby begins to see Killer Man in a different light and describes this as “I can’t see him as 100% cranky anymore, or 100% terrible, or 100% anything except maybe 100% human and I’m not so sure I like that.  Because when you get down to it, thinking of somebody as 100% human seriously gets in the way of hating them” (Howe, 46).  For the most part I found the plot engaging and well thought out.  I really liked how the subplots played into the main theme, such as Killer Man being a victim of name calling as a child and it having long term consequences on his adult life.  What I didn’t like about the plot was how a lot of the rising action consisted of road blocks from the teacher and principal.  I found the teacher and principal very annoying characters and feel it would’ve been better if the Gang of Five experienced more obstacles from peers since that was the theme of the book.  Every page contained amazing character descriptions making it easy to see their development throughout the book.  We get some many amazing details about each character, so much so that I truly feel that, as a reader, I know these fictional people very well.  Even though the book touches on heavy topics, the characters are extremely resilient and they have each other, thus, the mood of the book is not down-hearted at all, rather it is very uplifting and hopeful. 
            Now for the tough part.  Would I use this book in my classroom?  And if so, how would I use it?  As hard as this is to say because it is such a phenomenal book, I honestly don’t think I would teach this book in my classroom.  I base this decision on my belief that if a teacher uses this book in his or her middle school classroom, parent’s should be informed due some of the words.  And, if parents are notified, it is very possible that a few would be uncomfortable with the book and it could spark quite a bit of controversy.  I think there are other books and ways to teach about bullying that aren’t as controversial.  I am all for using controversial books in high school, but I believe parents need to be notified if they are being used with younger students.  That being, as much as I liked this book I’m not sure if high schoolers would appreciate it because the writing itself is geared toward middle schoolers.  If a teacher does think his or her high school class would like it, I hope that this book would be considered as an option for topics such as bullying, issues relating to homosexuality and other minorities, and the long term consequences of stigmatizing labels.  If I end up teaching middle schoolers someday, I wouldn’t hesitate recommending this book to certain students that I feel are mature, would enjoy it, and take something positive and meaningful away from it but I just wouldn’t use it for the whole class.     
            I do, however, think the No-Name week is an excellent idea and I feel that all schools can benefit from an anti-bullying campaign.  I believe teachers need to have a zero tolerance policy for bullying and name calling.  I also think teachers need to model for their students and encourage their students to value diversity and their own personal uniqueness.  One activity I would use to develop a sense of community involves having every student tape a blank sheet of paper to their backs.  Then, everyone walks around and their peers write messages about that person’s strengths on their back.  Once a climate of acceptance and understanding has been created in the classroom over time, activities in which students share their work, particularly their writing and art, are great ways for students to get to know each other r and learn to value each others’ differences.  
Year Published: 2001          Awards: