The Worst Class Trip Ever by Dave Barry

I'm struggling to get through a major slump in my middle grade reading, so this took me two or three tries to get into it, but once I'd fairly started it was funny and spot-on perfect.

Wyatt, awkward eighth grader, is on his way to Washington D. C. for a class trip. He's not really interested in history, he's more worried about not embarrassing himself in front of his crush, Suzana. Unfortunately, this is not as easy at it sounds - not when he's stuck with wacky Matt as his best friend. Especially when Matt suspects the two men in the seat behind them of being terrorists. And things just....get out of control. To Wyatt's surprise, he gets his wish to spend time with Suzana; although he'd pictured something more romantic than being kidnapped, chasing suspicious characters around Washington D. C., and crashing - literally - the White House!

Wyatt and his friends are hilariously true to life, from Wyatt's wish to be cool and tall to his awkward friends. There's a healthy dose of wish-fulfillment, fart humor, wacky adventure, and dodging teachers as well as political intrigue and throwing forks. There's casual references to Wyatt and his friends' diversity and I'm happy to add this to my my store of funny books featuring Hispanic characters.

Verdict: This is a sure hit with middle grade and middle school kids. I recommend it to 5th grade and up and it's a perfect summer read, funny, relaxing, and pokes gentle fun at the foibles and farts of kids and grown-ups alike. It flies off the shelf at our library and the sequel is looking to be equally popular. Highly recommended.

ISBN: 9781484708491; Published 2015 by Disney-Hyperion; Purchased for the library