A Week in the Woods

Mark Chelmsley has a life that many kids would envy. His family has houses in New Mexico, New York, and Paris. He has always attended fancy private schools. He and his parents are moving into a huge house in New Hampshire complete with a home theater. But everything in Mark’s life is not as wonderful as it may seem. First of all his parents are owners of a large company. They often move to new places to begin new business ventures. The longest Mark has ever been at one school is three years. His parents’ high powered jobs also mean that they are always traveling leaving Mark alone with Anya and Leon (the housekeeper and the handyman). When Mark makes the move to New Hampshire in the middle of the school year, he knows he is only going to be attending the local school for a few months before summer. After summer is over, he will be moving off to a fancy boarding school. He doesn’t feel like he needs to pay attention in class or participate in any school activities. He doesn’t even feel like it’s worth it to make friends at Hardy Elementary. Why bother? He’s only going to be there for a few months. But something happens when Mark discovers that he has two things he’s never had before: time to himself (no lessons, no sports, no tutoring) and a beautiful wilderness that is all his to explore. Mark’s New Hampshire house is situated far from town in a wooded area. The more time Mark spends exploring the old barn and the land around his house, the more he begins to change. Pretty soon it’s clear to Mark that he has been being a real jerk at school.

For Mark’s science teacher, Mr. Maxwell, the change comes too late. Mr. Maxwell has already decided that Mark is a stuck up rich kid and a slacker. Even when he notices that Mark is starting to participate at school and trying to make friends, he still won’t give Mark a second chance. Why bother? He’ll be gone in a few months anyway. Mr. Maxwell’s pet project is a field trip called “A Week in the Woods”. Every year Mr. Maxwell and the other fifth grade teachers take the entire fifth grade class to a state park, and for one whole week the wilderness becomes their school. When Mark discovers his love for the outdoors, he begins to get excited about the trip. He goes online and buys every camping gadget and supply he thinks he thinks he could possibly need. He packs a huge frame backpack and shows up the day of the field trip ready to prove to Mr. Maxwell that he is totally invested in this trip, a slacker no more. Mr. Maxwell, however, is not impressed. Things go from bad to worse shortly after everyone arrives at the park. It looks like Mark’s dreams of a week full of fun and learning in the woods will be crushed for good unless he finds a way to prove himself worthy of a second chance.

This book was a nice relaxing read. I think the author has a real talent for conveying the inner thoughts of his main characters and making them come to life. He writes from the point of view of both Mark and Mr. Maxwell. How often is a kids’ book written from the point of view of a teacher? I think it’s a pretty unique event. This novel would be a nice jumping off point for a discussion about how teachers are people too. How you act in class does affect how you are treated by your teachers. You can’t give zero effort and expect your teachers to keep giving you their all every day. It’s also a great way to remind teachers that the slacker kids in their classes are people too. Those kids very likely have some very good reasons why they think it’s not worth giving any effort at school.

Being a fan of old buildings myself, I particularly loved the part of the book where Mark explores the old barn on his parents’ land. He really appreciates the history of the place and thinks a lot about what the barn must have been like when it was in use. The real action of this story doesn’t come until very late in the book. Most of the suspense in the first three fourths of the book comes from the conflict between Mark and Mr. Maxwell. Though it is entertaining to travel along with Mark as he learns to be more independent and appreciate the great outdoors, the most excitement happens after Mark arrives at the state park with his class. I think the last part of the story is the part that many middle school readers would really like. I don’t want to give anything away so let’s just say Mark gets a chance to use some survival skills (and some of the cool gadgets he purchased online). I’d recommend this book to kids and teachers who love hiking and camping. Like Flipped, this book also has something to say about getting to know people well before you judge them, always a good lesson for all of us (adults and kids alike). The book’s cover makes this seem like it might be a ghost story or a scary story in some other way, but the book is definitely not very scary. Except for the tiny bit of suspense at the end of the book, A Week in the Woods is mostly a story about a boy who supposedly has everything finally discovering something he can be passionate about.