I cried on my first day of kindergarten. 😥🤣 I was so excited to be starting school, and I waited patiently at the bus stop with my dad—and the bus didn’t come. I was devastated, as devastated as a five-year-old can be anyway. Obviously, Dad drove me to school and life continued as normal, and despite the tragedy of my first day, I fell in love with learning.

Our daughter was just as excited about starting school. She used to love seeing the school buses go by and looked forward to starting (even though we explained to her that she wouldn’t be taking the bus). When we arrived for her first day of preschool, parents were allowed to explore the classroom and take pictures before class started.

My husband kept pointing out different items in the classroom and asking our daughter to pose for a picture. She tolerated that for about five minutes and then finally just looked at us and asked, “Can I go play now?” I think that’s when she fell in love with learning too.

When schools in the U.S. closed in the spring because of COVID-19, our daughter continued doing schoolwork even though it wouldn’t count against her to just take her extended spring break. She misses her teachers and her friends. When I had a videoconference with one of her teachers from this past year and staff for next year, she was genuinely excited when I asked her if she wanted to say hello.

This is a kid who studied for weeks to qualify to take a specific course in summer school in order to be a step ahead for the fall semester. COVID has played a number on all of us, and our daughter is no exception. She is desperate to go back to school in person, not only for the classroom learning but also for the extracurriculars—band, drama, speech, dances, sports.

The 2020/21 school year will be unusual for everyone—students, teachers, staff, parents. We could all use a laugh right now, something to take our minds off how crazy the world is, something to help us escape even for a little while.

Last year, I read a book that made me think of Greg Heffley from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Our daughter has read all of the books, and as a result, I also have seen the movies. Greg’s school experience is always unusual, so it was easy to make the leap with this book. Hopefully, it will give you a laugh too.

Book Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5 Stars for 46% Better Than Dave by Alastair Puddick

247 pages
Publisher: Raven Crest Books
Publication Date: October 15, 2019
I received an advance copy of this title from NetGalley and Raven Crest Books.

Publisher’s Description

Dave Brookman’s new next-door neighbor is ruining his life. Because in a bizarre coincidence, he’s also called Dave Brookman, he’s the same age and he even grew up in the same town. There is one big difference, though—this new Dave is vastly more successful in every way.

As Dave starts questioning everything about himself, suddenly his perfect life seems a lot less than perfect. And what starts as friendly rivalry soon turns into obsessive jealousy and crazy behaviour that could see Dave lose it all.

Can he get a grip before it’s too late?

************

The best way for me to describe Alastair Puddick’s 46% Better Than Dave is that it’s the adult version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. When Greg Heffley grows up, he’s going to be Dave Brookman. The hilariously sad and pathetic turn of events that is Dave’s life after the new Dave Brookman moves in is all because of his own idiocy. Just as Greg Heffley has grandiose plans and ideas that end up with him failing 10 times worse than he could ever have anticipated, Dave makes one bad decision after the next, and even though WE can absolutely see what’s coming, Dave doesn’t seem to have a clue.

I loved this! It was such a quick read, kept me laughing, and I just couldn’t help but feel sorry for Dave. What a fantastically fun read!

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