Rubber Band Wars
by Angela A. Pitenis
Category: Juvenile Fiction

The Rubber Band Wars by Angela A. Pitenis There is a more complex society in middle school than one would ever believe. This story delves into the experiences of elementary school students from kindergarten to grade 8. The Rubber Band Wars is targeted for ages 10, 11 and 12, but appeals to all. The characters have been developed to reflect the various personalities found at school. There are six main characters that walk the readers through one month near the end of a school year. The book opens up with an accusation, as the opening line to the introduction states, “Korter started it.” Conflicts develop right from that moment as the reader is puzzled as to what sort of events had taken place. Meeker, the antagonist, starts the conflict as he relentlessly pesters Korter, the main character, and the conflict escalates from here. Tension develops between these two and the story deals with how Meeker and Korter recruit students to support their side, trying to prove the more support for either Meeker or Korter represents a win. Korter thought that by recruiting more people to support his efforts, Meeker would leave him alone. As tensions mounted, Meeker and Korter found a harmless method of annoying each other’s team members. The choice of tools used to provoke each other was rubber bands, hence the title of this fast-paced story, The Rubber Band Wars. As the story unfolds, these characters create clubhouses to hold secret meetings during recess, safe from any spies sent from the other side. As the conflict progresses well into the story, there arises more twists in the story as the members in Korter’s elite group separate and new members join and Meeker has his own share of troubles when the only information of Korter’s next move is drenched in lemon juice and is nothing more than heaps of pulp on the floor. To make the story even more interesting, Korter despises substitute teachers and everyone knows it, and he will do anything to keep them away from his class, including his most famous pranks. As the month comes to a close, the conflict starts to resolve itself. Teachers finally get involved, and resolutions begin to diffuse the conflict. The story doesn’t leave the reader hanging on to last words, however. The story offers how the characters end up in their lives and what they become as adults, and it proves that just because someone seems to be a particular type of person at the moment, it doesn’t necessarily mean that is the way that person will be their entire life. This is a highly recommended story for young adults who have the same sense of adventure as the characters in this book. Angela Pitenis gives us an astoundingly original story that will change nearly everything you ever thought about middle school with a timeless tale, appealing to all young readers, this is a book that readers of children’s fiction will treasure. It is a story that one can read over and over again.