''I Funny: A Middle School Story'', also known as ''I Funny'', is a

realistic fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with fact, history, or plausibility. In a traditio ...

novel by

James Patterson James Brendan Patterson (born March 22, 1947) is an American author. Among his works are the '' Alex Cross'', '' Michael Bennett'', '' Women's Murder Club'', '' Maximum Ride'', '' Daniel X'', '' NYPD Red'', '' Witch & Wizard'', '' Private'' and ...

and

Chris Grabenstein Christopher Grabenstein is an American author. He published his first novel in 2005. Since then he has written novels for both adults and children, the latter often with frequent collaborator James Patterson. He graduated from the University of Te ...

. It was published by

Little, Brown and Company Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries, it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emil ...

in 2012. It was followed by ''I Even Funnier'' (2013), ''I Totally Funniest'' (2015), ''I Funny TV'' (2016), ''I Funny: School of Laughs'' (2017) and ''The Nerdiest, Wimpiest, Dorkiest I Funny Ever'' (2018).'

Summary

Wheelchair-using middle-schooler Jamie Grimm has recently moved in with his aunt’s cheerless family after his own family died in a car crash that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Despite Jamie’s desire to be treated like an ordinary kid and his struggles with grief for his lost family, he is a natural comedian and displays this in his day-to-day life. Much of this is fueled by his friends’ reactions to his one-liners and the encouragement of his warmhearted uncle. He enters a local comedy contest, wins it, and eventually goes on to win the New York state kid comic contest.

Characters

* Jamie Grimm is the

disabled Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

of the story. He enters the Planet's Funniest Kid Comic Contest and wins the Long Island competition, then moves on to the state competition and wins. He was involved in a serious car accident two years prior that killed his parents and his younger sister, Jenny, and left him

paralyzed Paralysis (: paralyses; also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, r ...

from the legs down and put him in a wheelchair. He lives in

Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, with his aunt and uncle and their three children (who he refers to as "the Smileys" because they never smile or laugh). He uses comedy as a way of coping with his emotions and dealing with things in his everyday life. * Suzie Orolvsky (whom Jamie refers to as "Cool Girl") is a popular girl who Jamie has a crush on for a time. * Stevie Kosgrov is Jamie's cousin & adoptive brother, and the middle school bully. He is often cruel to Jamie, picking on him for his disability. * Uncle Frankie is Jamie's other uncle. He owns a diner and is shown to be very talented with yo-yo tricks. He is close with Jamie. * Joey Gaynor is one of Jamie's best friends. He is shown to be obsessed with girls. * Jimmy Pierce is another of Jamie's best friends. He is said to be nerdy and is very smart. * Gilda Gold is another of Jamie's best friends, whom he develops a crush on later in the series. She assists him in creating new jokes, and she uploads his sets to

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. * Shecky is a boy from

Schenectady Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...

who competes in the New York finals against Jamie. He tells distasteful and insulting jokes, and is overconfident and arrogant. * Judy Nazemetz is a girl from Manhattan who competes in the New York finals. She becomes friendly with Jamie during their time backstage.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official James Patterson Middle School web site

Official James Patterson US web site

Reviews
Novels by James Patterson 2012 American novels Little, Brown and Company books