How I Survived Middle School is a series of young adult novels by Nancy Krulik, who has written more than 100 books for children and young adults. The series centers around a preteen girl named Jenny McAfee as she enters and goes through middle school. The series has gained popularity among both young adults and librarians for the interactions built into the series for readers, such as self-scored quizzes.
Series
;Can You Get an F in Lunch? 2006 The series begins with eleven-year-old Jenny on to her first day of middle school. She expects support from her best friend Addie, who has instead joined the "popular group" or the "pops". She struggles to find who her real friends are in middle school. ;Madame President 2006 Jenny's friends hear that Addie is running for class president unopposed, so they convince Jenny to run against her former best friend. ;I Heard a Rumor 2007 A new gossip column is appearing the news paper. When a it says a nasty and untrue rumor about Chloe, Jenny tries to find out who Madame X, the column writer, is. She has to work quickly to uncover the mystery before mistrust starts to seep in her middle school. ;The New Girl 2007 The school is doing a carnival for to raise money for charity, and Jenny and Addie have put up a bet to see whose booth is more popular. Whoever makes more money wins, and the loser has to wear embarrassing pajamas to school the next day. A new girl from England named Samantha comes to school, and she is full of ideas, so the Pops use her to help them with her booth. Addie soon becomes jealous of Sam, and the new girl ends up being befriended by Jenny and her friends, and helps them instead. ;Cheat Sheet 2007 ;P.S. I Really Like You Someone's been sending mushy notes to Jenny claiming to be her secret admirer. Felicia and Rachel have a MEGA MEGA fight, and everyone's either in "Team Felicia" or "Team Rachel". Can Jenny find her secret admirer and mend the broken bonds between Rachel and Felicia? ;Who's Got Spirit? It's Spirit Week in Joyce Kilmer Middle School. Addie and her clique capture everyone's attention, but Jenny and the gang decide to change that. For their science experiment, Jenny and Chloe work together and Chloe is upset because the project is about mice. ;It's All Downhill from Here Addie and Jenny are stuck together on a snowy day. ;Caught in the Web Jenny and her friends decide to make a webcast. ;Into the Woods Sam, Jenny and Chloe get stuck in a cabin with Dana and Addie while at a school camping trip. ;Wish Upon a Star Ticket sales for the winter dance soar when Addie boasts that she can get a pop star to attend. ;How the Pops Stole Christmas Jenny's hopes for the winter break are spoiled when she is not invited to Mark's party – and even worse, she learns Sam is going abroad for the holidays. ;I Thought We Were Friends On Career Day, Jenny's aunt comes to give a talk and inadvertently makes Jenny jealous when she takes an interest in Liza's artwork.
Reception
The series has shown to be popular with young teens and librarians alike. Rather than a simple storyline, the books look to engage the reader with self-quizzes, and lets them rate themselves in the "crazy, mixed up jungle called middle school".
