Sixth Grade Secrets
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 1st Edition |
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| Author | Louis Sachar |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Children's novel |
| Publisher | Scholastic/Apple |
| Released | 1987 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 201 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-590-46075-7 |
Sixth Grade Secrets is a novel by Louis Sachar.
Contents |
[edit] Plot introduction
Set in a late-twentieth-century middle-class American community, the fictional children's novel Sixth Grade Secrets follows sixth-grader Laura Sibbie and her friends as they create a forbidden secret club and suffer its consequences. Laura aspires to be a leader and learns the three R’s of what leadership can entail – Relationships, Rivalries and Responsibility.
[edit] Plot summary
Laura Sibbie, a sixth-grader, is the most popular girl in her class. She is famous for her brown waist-length hair. When she was four, she told a lie. Her father told her the story of George Washington and the cherry tree and told her that she wouldn't have to get her hair cut unless she told another lie. Laura hopes to become the first female president of the United States and takes pride in having never told a lie. However, she frequently stretches the truth without technically lying, and this habit eventually gets her into trouble.
Laura finds a hat at a garage sale. The hat says "Pig City" on the front. When she and her friends decide to form a club, they name it "Pig City" after the hat. Laura is the president of the club. They invent a secret salute, bringing a fist to the nose to resemble a pig's snout. Each person joining the club has to provide "insurance" in the form of an embarrassing item, to ensure that they will keep the club a secret. Laura's insurance is a note she wrote confessing her love for their teacher.
One of Laura's classmates, Gabriel, has a crush on Laura and writes her a note asking about Pig City. The note is intercepted by Sheila, who is jealous of Laura and changes the note, and Laura receives a note in which Gabriel demands to kiss her. Laura invites Gabriel to her house to decide whether she should kiss him or not. However, they argue and Gabriel storms out. He then forms a competing club, Monkey Town.
As the clubs fight, members of each club sneak into the classroom at the beginning of the day to write insulting messages about each other on the blackboard. They also play pranks on each other. Students in their class are punished by having to copy pages out of the dictionary by hand. Their teacher becomes frustrated with the hijinks and threatens the pranksters with one dictionary page for every day that the insults appear on the blackboard.
Laura is finally tricked by another student into revealing her involvement with Pig City. She earns the punishment of copying 17 dictionary pages, but also the admiration of her fellow "citizens" until Gabriel, having raided the Pig City clubhouse, arrives brandishing all the embarrassing items they had left for insurance. They all are very upset with Laura. Sheila, who is now a member of Monkey Town, suggests that they get revenge on Laura by cutting her hair. Most of the Monkey Town club members don't like the idea, but she and a friend, Howard, corner Laura on her way home from school and cut a large chunk out of her hair and leave a note signed by Gabriel, framing him for the crime. It is the worst day of Laura's life.
The next morning before school, Sheila and Howard brag to Gabriel about what they did to Laura, how they framed Gabriel and how Shiela had changed his note that had started the whole club rivalry. Gabriel, suddenly realizing how foolish he has been by not believing Laura, is overcome with anger. He slugs both Howard and Sheila, who are suspended the last week of school for attacking Laura.
Laura has to get a new, short, curly hair style that she says makes her look like a French poodle. Gabriel, arriving with daisies, thinks she looks like a movie star. He apoligizes for everything he has done, for calling Laura a liar and confesses that he really just wanted her to like him. They both agree to no more pranks, and Laura tells Gabriel that he has to eat a raw egg as punishment.
Laura is reconciled with Gabriel, and her friends rally around her again. All the friends and former enemies have a big dictionary copying party. Knowing what she has gone through the last few days, Mr Doyle is surprised when Laura turns in all the copied pages on the last day of school, and he honors her by giving her the Pig City salute.
[edit] Characters in Sixth Grade Secrets
- Laura Sibbie - hero, fan of George Washington, natural leader, founder of "Pig City", has a clubhouse nicknamed the "Dog House" in her backyard that becomes club headquarters. She matures a lot the last few weeks of sixth grade. Pig City insurance: Love letter to Mr Doyle.
- Allison - co-founder of Pig City, always clean and neat, fond of Aaron. Pig City insurance: photograph naked in bathtub at age 3.
- Tiffany - co-founder of Pig City, always unkempt, fond of Nathan, first of the trio to be kissed by a boy. Pig City insurance: Prank newspaper article from uncle that claims she is ticklish and that she is sloppy with spaghetti.
- Gabriel - has copied more dictionary pages than anyone else in class; always in trouble but never tells on anyone; has crush on Laura, plan to get Laura to tell him about Pig City backfires, forms rival club "Monkey Town." Planned Pig City insurance: to be photographed wearing a dress.
- Kristin - has a small face but wears big glasses that make her look cute and everyone thinks she is studious. Pig City insurance: underpants.
- Debbie - hangs upside down to get blood flowing to her brain. Pig City insurance: recorded phone call professing love to Howard.
- Nathan - uses amusing speech expressions ("okee-doke-do!"), first to kiss Tiffany. Pig City insurance: Hate letter to Mr. Doyle.
- Aaron - always well dressed because his grandmother picks his clothes, good singing voice. Pig City insurance: recorded singing "I am such a stupid jerk..."
- Karen - easy going and very talkative, Yolanda's best friend. Never invited to join Pig City, joins "Monkey Town" instead.
- Yolanda - very pretty but shy, never talks much, fond of Jonathan, Karen's best friend. Only Pig City member to be removed because of breaking the secrecy rule, joins "Monkey Town" then leaves for Jonathan's club "Eagle's Nest" after club splits. Pig City insurance: Love note to Jonathan.
- Jonathan - smart, athletic, handsome, conceited, begins relationship with Yolanda after discovering the love note. Joins "Monkey Town" but splits with Gabriel after Laura's successful division ploy, forms "Eagle's Nest" with Yolanda.
- Sheila - has frizzy hair, extremely jealous of Laura and her long hair, motivated by revenge and capable of vicious pranks, joins "Monkey Town."
- Howard - seeks friendship by agreeing with everyone, but ends up alienating everyone. Kicked out of "Monkey Town" club, rejected by both "Eagle's Nest" and "Pig City" as unworthy. Becomes pawn of Sheila to help with attack on Laura.
- Linzy - teacher's pet. Never joins a club.
- Mr. Doyle - Laura's sixth grade teacher, well-respected by most, especially Laura; admonitions to his class usually include the phrase "a word to the wise."
- Mr. and Mrs. Sibbie - Laura's parents
- Dan, Sue, and Rebecca - Laura's eldest brother, his wife and five year old daughter.
[edit] Trivia
The writer teases the reader by hinting about Laura and Gabriel's first kiss. Ironically, the idea is planted in Laura's mind by the note doctored by jealous Shiela, who knows that Gabriel is secretly fond of Laura. In the chapter entitled "The Kiss", it never happens because they argue over the contents of the note. During the reconciliation of Laura and Gabriel, the reader is set up by the chapter title ("Kiss Me"), only to be left hanging once again. We can only assume it does take place because they are "together" afterward.
