A Week in the Woods by Andrew Clements (a book review)

Every spring at Hardy Elementary School, fifth graders, for the last big event before going to high school, spend a week in the woods. This is the sixteenth year of the program and is run by Mr. Maxwell, the science teacher. But a new kid in town, with super rich parents, looks like he’s going to be a problem. They have to deal with each other in A week in the woods by Andrew Clements.

Mark Chelmsley didn’t want to move to a small town in New Hampshire. But his dad knew that business was business, and a promise is a promise, and Mark would only be at this new school for less than half the school year anyway. So it might as well get over it.

His parents bought Fawcett’s old farm for more than $ 2 million and then spent another $ 2 million to extensively renovate it. And in this small town, a lot of money was great news.

Mr. Maxwell recognized a bum when he saw one in his class. And Mark was definitely lazy. He dressed well, sat at the back of the room, and paid no attention. He didn’t even try.

When Mr. Maxwell discovered that his parents were wealthy, he was not surprised. It can’t stand “rich people of the world who are insensitive to the environment.” But the only people she can’t take anymore are her lazy, spoiled children.

But Mark is not trying to have a bad attitude. He is bored. All his life he has been sent to the best private schools, with few students, and he has learned a lot. In fact, most of what he hears in school is things he has already learned.

But when he realizes he’s acting like a cocky jerk, he decides to try and make friends and be a better student in his classes.

However, Maxwell doesn’t buy it. Mark has already been a braggart, a know-it-all who screwed up one of his classroom activities. So Mr. Maxwell will show Mark that his life can be pretty miserable from now on.

By the time the week in the woods rolls around, Mark has made some friends, but Mr. Maxwell is still not being nice to him. Shortly after coming within sight of the camp, a mistake causes Mark to flee into the woods. Things soon get out of hand and Mark and Mr. Maxwell end up bonding in a very unexpected way.

Children who like nature, hiking, camping, or feel like they don’t fit in at school will enjoy this book. Andrew Clements does an excellent job presenting the views of Mark and Maxwell. A week in the woods by Andrew Clements is an easy read that will keep you wanting to know what’s up.