Laura Park

Jamie Grimm is a middle schooler on a mission: he wants to become the world's greatest standup comedian, even if he doesn't have a lot to laugh about these days. He's new in town and stuck living with his aunt, uncle, and their evil son Stevie, a bully who doesn't let Jamie's wheelchair stop him from giving Jamie a good pounding every once in awhile.

After surviving sixth grade, Rafe expects seventh grade to be a fun zone because he has been accepted to art school in the big city, but when he discovers it is more competitive than he expected, he sets out to turn his boring life into the inspiration for a work of art.

When a bird and a crab team up to combine the advantages of flight and claws, it gives them an idea: why not expand the team to include other animals who have a special trait--and soon they all set out to rescue their lake from development, because united together they are unstoppable.

Rafe Khatchadorian's new year at middle school is starting to look depressingly like the old one, except that art class is going well--and when he joins the flag-football team and demonstrates some talent as a running-back, he discovers a way of dealing with his bullying nemesis and teammate, Miller the Killer.