Book Review: The Best Man

The Best Man by Richard Peck

This book was one of School Library Journal's Best Books of 2016, and it lives up to the honor. Awesome, touching, and so, so funny. I read it in one sitting.

Archer Magill narrates his own story framed by two weddings. In the first, Archer is an bewildered ring-bearer at the age of six. Pressed unwillingly into the role, he has an incident with his too-tight-to-wear-underwear white velvet shorts involving mud and a split seam from which he is rescued by new friend Lynette, also six. In the second, Archer is the best man in the wedding of two of Archer's beloved role models.

Archer covers grades 1-6 in short bursts of narration, through which the reader sees his priceless friendship with Lynette and and the three amazing role models Archer is blessed to have: his father, his grandfather, and his uncle. All of the characters are so well drawn and so rich that you're all in, even when you meet the fairly ridiculous new classmate Hilary Evelyn Calthorpe toward the end of the book. Lynette, in particular, is a gem. Her friendship never falters, but throughout the book she is always seemingly years ahead of Archer in a familiar and super-funny characterization of boys and girls.

We race pretty quickly through grades 1-4, because the story centers around 5th and 6th grades. In 6th grade, Archer unexpectedly finds himself in middle school, as his school district re-aligns grade levels to maximize capacity in buildings -- something that is happening in my district right now. As Archer is a little boy for much of the story, we see his bewilderment at the changes middle school brings. Among other things, Lynette becomes Lynn, wears eyeliner, and clothes that deliberately show bra straps. But the big change comes in 5th grade with a student teacher whose mixed-up introduction to the school causes a lockdown and results in a world-wide media frenzy. The student teacher, Mr. McLeod, joins the pantheon of Archer's role models, teaching him about advocacy, identity, and acceptance. I LOVED this book!