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Surviving Middle School

Reviewed by Matt Rowe.

This book falls foul of the English education system. There are very few schools and areas that have a Junior, Middle and High School system in operation in this country and therefore this book struggles to be relevant in the UK today. I assume that the target audience for this book is the British equivalent of years 10-13 (GCSE and A-levels). Certainly in my experience, I wasn’t so interested in surviving school at this age, rather I was already well into the thick of it and had worked out the pattern of school life for myself. Therefore I would not give this book to any young people of this age range simply because it isn’t necessary in our context.

I also have another issue with this book. Whereas the book, Surviving High School, which is in the same series, was a helpful tool to understanding the pressures of change not only academically but also socially, physically and emotionally, I didn’t find this book anywhere near as helpful. Rather it appeared to me to be an academic self-help book. This is not in itself a bad thing but it is not a resource that I would have an interest in as a minister. I found very few references to scripture or even the Christian faith which I felt could have been included even if not relied upon realising that young people in churches of this age are not necessarily interested in the Christian faith.