A review by tcbueti
Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time by Lisa Yee

4.0

Stanford Wong is the first almost-7th grader to ever be put on the A-team at his middle school. He doesn't need to worry about grades, right? Until he flunks English, might not get into 7th grade, and has to go to summer school. He lies to his basketball crew/best friends, the Roadrunners, telling them he's working with his dad for the summer, to avoid embarrassment, pretends he's tutoring his tutor, Millicent Min, in order to impress her new friend Emily. (Meanwhile, Millicent is pretending not to be smart so Emily doesn't think she's a nerd.) His grandma has just been moved from their home to a senior residence, his academic sister is away studying at sea, and his parents are fighting whenever his dad is home (rarely).
School is hard for Stanford, but he has sports so he depends on that for status. When he might lose that, he finally puts his mind to school.
Parental expectations (of different generations!) and honesty (almost everyone has a secret) play a big role here--even his name.
Yee NAILS that first crush--"what if she thinks the ice cream I pick is weird?"
Books: (Lottery--read in class) From the Mixed-Up Files, Number the Stars, The Outsiders (extra--given to him by librarian), Holes.