Kids who get called the worst names oftentimes find each other. That's how it was with us. Skeezie Tookis and Addie Carle and Joe Bunch and me. We call ourselves the Gang of Five, but there are only four of us. We do it to keep people on their toes. Make 'em wonder. Or maybe we do it because we figure that there's one more kid out there who's going to need a gang to be a part of. A misfit, like us. Skeezie, Addie, Joe, and Bobby—they've been friends forever. They laugh together, have lunch together, and get together once a week at the Candy Kitchen to eat ice cream and talk about important issues. Life isn't always fair, but at least they have each other—and all they really want to do is survive the seventh grade. That turns out to be more of a challenge than any of them had anticipated. Starting with Addie's refusal to say the Pledge of Allegiance and her insistence on creating a new political party to run for student council, the Gang of Five is in for the ride of their lives. Along the way they will learn about politics and popularity, love and loss, and what it means to be a misfit. After years of getting by, they are given the chance to stand up and be seen—not as the one-word jokes their classmates have tried to reduce them to, but as the full, complicated human beings they are just beginning to discover they truly are.

Joe Bunch breaks down his life—and his secrets—for a school assignment in this second book of the funny, heartfelt, and beloved Misfits series by Bunnicula author James Howe. What can I say? I’m a total original. Joe may only be twelve-going-on-thirteen, but he’s known who he is from the time he was a little kid tottering around in his mother’s high heels. Now in the seventh grade, he wears green high tops with pink trim, has a (secret) boyfriend, and tells it all from A to Z in the alphabiography assigned by his favorite teacher. The thing is, some of it is seriously private. It’s one thing for Mr. Daly to read it, but what if it falls into the wrong hands? Will he be teased forever about those high heels…and even worse, what will happen if his secret boyfriend is no longer a secret?

The Gang of Five is back in this much-anticipated follow-up to The Misfits and Totally Joe . Addie Carle, the only girl in the group of friends, is outspoken, opinionated, and sometimes…just a bit obnoxious. But as seventh grade progresses, Addie’s not so sure anymore about who she is. It seems her tough exterior is just a little too tough, and that doesn’t help her deal with the turmoil she feels on the inside as she faces the pains of growing up. Told in accessible verse, Addie on the Inside gives readers a look at a strong, smart, and sensitive girl struggling with the box that society wants to put her in. Addie confronts experiences many readers will relate to: loss, heartbreak, teasing…but also, friendship, love, and a growing confidence in one’s self.

Skeezie Tookis has a life-changing summer in this fourth book of the funny, heartfelt, and beloved Misfits series by Bunnicula author James Howe. I started wearing my dad’s leather jacket that he left hanging in the closet. I nabbed it right before my mom was going to toss it in the trash. She hated that I wore that jacket, but it’s what I have left of my dad. Skeezie—also known as Elvis for the black leather jacket that he never takes off—isn’t looking forward to the summer after seventh grade. While his best friends Bobby, Joe, and Addie have exciting adventures, he’s stuck babysitting his sisters and working at the Candy Kitchen. True, he gets to hang out with the awesome Steffi, but he still has to contend with his maybe-crush on hot-and-cold Becca and Kevin Hennessey’s never-ending bullying. When his dad suddenly reappears, it’s another sign that this will be the worst summer ever.