Middle School, The Worst Years of My Life

“But let’s face it: Understanding me—I mean, really understanding me and my nutty life—isn’t so easy. That’s why it’s so hard for me to find people I can trust. The truth is, I don’t know who I can trust. So mostly, I don’t trust anybody. Except my mom, Jules. (Most of the time anyway). […]

Getting back to the story, though, I do trust one other person. That would actually be Leonardo.”

In this passage, Rafe lays out his essential quandary: His life seems too complex to cope with or even understand, and he has no friends or family members he trusts apart from his mother. This occurs as he becomes an adolescent when one’s peer group seems more authoritative than one’s parents. Thus, having no one to lean on for insight and wisdom is even more critical. Leo, his absent, faintly remembered twin, remains Rafe’s sole, reliable support.

“‘I think I’d be a good class representative because I know how to listen,’ Jeanne said. ‘And there’s nothing more important than that.’

I was listening, I was listening.

She was pretty, for sure. She had the kind of face that you just want to stare at for as long as possible. But she also seemed kind of cool, like she didn’t think she was better than anyone else. Even if she was.”

In an all-school assembly on the first day of class, Rafe is smitten by the speaker, Jeanne Galletta. Ironically, the narrative pushes them together at various points, despite Rafe’s recognition that Jeanne is from a different dimension than the one he belongs to. In describing Jeanne’s background, Rafe reveals that he came from a poorer school population and received free lunches. The authors use Jeanne to portray the perfect middle school student: sincere, innocent, beautiful, and possessing real integrity. Thus, when Rafe inadvertently causes Mrs. Stricker to send Jeanne to detention, he feels riddled with guilt.