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After his attempts to practice his martial arts skills go awry, Matt is told to go outside. He joins his next-door neighbor and friend, Eric, but unfortunately they're also joined by Matt's annoying little brother, Elliott, and Eric's equally annoying younger siblings, Kyle and Jenna. Jenna persists in chasing Matt everywhere and he is not comforted by his mom's assurance that she has a crush on him. So when she corners him and is about to TOUCH him, he panics, uses a "karate" move, and accidentally breaks her collarbone.
Thus begins... THE CURSE. Matt feels miserable and upset about Jenna, but doesn't know what to say or how to apologize. He tries to go on with his summer, playing soccer with the raging Coach Cup, hanging out with Eric, and getting ready for middle school. Of course, there's less-pleasant things, working in the hot sun for their weird new neighbors, a strange encounter with an old lady in purple, and walking and cleaning up after their untrained dog, Nala. In fact, this is how Matt breaks his first toe, with a great "plan" for avoiding work that backfires on him (as does the fact that he and Elliott lied about training Nala and just played with her instead.)
Broken toes - and bad luck - dog Matt all through the summer and into the school year. His annoying classmate Grace insists on being his girlfriend, no matter what he does to try and shake her off, and his friend Eric is refusing to talk to him. More broken toes means skipping soccer, and the weird purple lady returns as... his substitute teacher?? And the unseen wife of their neighbor, Mr. Klinkle. Matt and Elliott have a run-in with their dad, when he loses his temper and yells at them, and then apologizes. This, and the succession of broken toes that end with him in a wheelchair, an unsuccessful attempt at breaking the "curse" by playing (and winning) a big soccer tournament with broken toes, and a little self-reflection, finally inspire Matt to realize that he needs to show, not just say, he's sorry to Jenna. Matt also resolves his friendship issues with Eric, sees the abusive Coach Cup removed, and realizes that he actually likes Grace as his girlfriend. It's been a wild and crazy year, but Matt has learned quite a bit and is ready to move on to 7th grade - and the next adventure.
Black and white cartoons are sprinkled throughout the book, but the ratio of cartoons to 300 pages of text definitely leans towards the text, so this can't really be categorized as a notebook novel. It's obviously pushing for the Wimpy Kid market, while trying to show a little more maturity and growth in the characters. However, there were several, to me, significant problems with the book. First, consent doesn't just go one way. It's just as bad for girls harassing boys to be excused by the "they have a crush" thing as it is for using it to excuse boys' behavior! Why do Matt's parents, who spend a certain amount of time trying to build character into their kids, never have a talk about using words or talking to an adult about someone harassing you, whatever their gender? Both Jenna and Grace are bothering Matt and he responds by trying to avoid them and then, instead of talking it out, asking them to leave him alone, or talking to an adult, he resorts to childish and sometimes nasty behavior to try to avoid them. There's the stereotypical bully who's been "held back three grades," and, although she's seen through Matt's prejudiced eyes, the very strange Mrs. Klinkle, who seems to pick on students and is hardly the person most schools, no matter how desperate, would pick as a long-term sub, let alone a permanent teacher. There's also a sequence where Matt's mom uses the boys to model costumes for her ballet school where the boys make it clear that wearing a dress is the Worst Thing Ever while she actively ignores their protests. That whole section felt completely unnecessary to me.
Verdict: This is pretty typical of this genre of Wimpy Kid-style fiction, which rarely seems able to completely escape from stereotypes. At least Matt's parents do make an effort to teach him the importance of kindness and he does learn some lessons, while breaking toes along the way. I will may end up purchasing this because it will be popular and it's not the worst of the genre, but I wish someone would write something funny that didn't depend on stereotypes - and that Eicheldinger had given Matt better tools for dealing with social-emotional challenges. I recommend purchasing it in paperback and seeing if it's popular before buying a heavier binding or ordering the sequel.
ISBN: 9781524888695; Published March 2024 by Andrews McMeel; Galley provided by publisher; Paperback edition purchased for the library
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