Jason Reynolds conjures ten tales (one per block) about what happens after the dismissal bell rings, and weaves them into one funny, poignant look at the detours we face on the walk home, and in life.

Jamie Kelly writes in her diary about the thrilling news that students from Wodehouse Middle School will be taught at various nearby schools, including Mackerel Middle School, due to a ventilation problem.

Middle-schooler Greg Heffley nimbly sidesteps his father's attempts to change Greg's wimpy ways until his father threatens to send him to military school.

Thirteen-year-old Sully Stringfellow, his arch-nemesis Izzy Cisco, friend Moleman, and a league of long-forgotten plumber heroes team up to save Nitro City from mutant creatures in the sewers.

"Twelve-year-old Tad navigates a year filled with girl problems, school antics, and the worst summer job in history, all told in the form of hilarious, illustrated blog entries"--

The Dunwiddle Magic School (fifth to eighth grade) is intended for children whose magic is "upside-down" like Dory (who turns into a combination of a kitten and dragon) and Pepper (whose uncontrollable "fiercing" terrifies everyone around her)--so the Show Off, where fifth grade students are supposed to showcase their skills, does not really seem like a good idea.

Twelve-year-old Meg is anxious about growing apart from her best friend Beatrix, but she is also interested in learning about the quirky new student Hazel and her backyard beehive.

McQuarrie Middle School's students miss Origami Yoda when Dwight leaves for Tippett Academy, but he sends Sara a paper Fortune Wookiee that seems to give advice just as good as Yoda's--even if, in the hands of girls, it seems preoccupied with romance.

Opinionated siblings Rafe and Georgia Khatchadorian debate a variety of topics relating to the ups and downs of middle school life and encourage readers to add their own contributions through write-in games and activities.

When eighth-grader Cameron Boxer creates the Positive Action Group at school he intends it as a diversion to fool his parents, teachers, and sister into letting him continue to concentrate on his video-gaming--but before he knows it other kids are taking it seriously, and soon he finds himself president of the P.A.G., and involved in community service, so the boy who never cared about anything is now the center of everything, whether he likes it or...