Philip Malloy's position on the track team is in jeopardy due to a low grade in English with Miss Narwin. He doesn't really care about great literature, and it's obvious that he'd rather be a clown. When he's transferred to Miss Narwin's homeroom, he's unaccustomed to the way she follows the rules. His previous homeroom teacher hadn't enforced the rule that kids stand in respectful silence as the Star Spangled Banner is played at the beginning of the day. Miss Narwin reports him for being a disturbance. He did hum rather than observe respectful silence, but the whole incident is blown out of proportion and even ends up in the news. Told with no narration, through journal entries, memos, letters and dialogues, it is easy to see how the truth can be distorted. An understanding of school hierarchy will help readers to understand the pressure that prompts principal, superintendent, school board members and others to find a scapegoat for the bad press. This is an excellent read that is more complex than it seems. There's a reason why Avi chose to avoid narration. Without having the story distorted through one person's eyes, we ought to get nothing but the truth!

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