Project X

The Story

'Below the sign welcoming the new eighth-grade class to school is one that promises to Leave No Child Unsuccessful and a handout that offers Eight Ways of Being Smart. For Edwin Hanratty, at times as hilarious as he is miserable, this is part of what makes junior high pretty much a relentless nightmare. And so, with Flake, his only friend, he contends with clique upon clique - the jocks who pummel them, the girls who ignore or taunt them - as well as the dogged and disconcerting attentions of a sixth-grader who's even more ferociously disaffected than they are. And while Edwin's parents work hard to understand him, they face without fully realizing it a demoralization so systematic that he and Flake have no recourse other than their own bitter and smart remarks, until they gradually begin flirting with the most horrible revenge of all.'--BOOK JACKET.