Summary

Chapter 1 is titled “The Worst Year.” Marc is looking forward to the following day, which will be the final day of “the worst year EVER” (1). He fears the next year, sixth grade, will be worse. Marc pledges to explain why the year has been so terrible, but he stops to include an illustration of himself. He is an ordinary boy but the illustration includes a hot dog and the note that he is the “hot dog-eating champion” (1) of his home and a turtle with a note that Marc cannot even beat a turtle. Marc then offers a list of the reasons fifth grade was bad. The list includes that he sits at his desk all day, that he still has not learned his multiplication tables, that the pizza from the lunchroom is just a slice of bread with toppings, that he cannot do...