The Awful Years (originally aired on May 7, 2020)

Published: Jan. 1, 2021, 8 p.m.

b'Middle School Misery
Guest: Judith Warner, author, "And Then They Stopped Talking to Me: Making Sense of Middle School"
Most people would like to forget the often traumatizing years of middle school, and that can lead to parents getting more involved than they maybe should be. You can best help your middle schooler by understanding that things may not be as bad as you think in those tweenage years.\\xa0
\\xa0
New Kid
Guest: Jerry Craft, author and illustrator, \\u201cNew Kid,\\u201d winner of the 2020 Newbery Medal
"New Kid" is a graphic novel, the first to win the Newbery Medal; it tells the story of Jordan Banks, an African-American student who transfers to a new school and has to confront racial bias, on top of all the other miseries of middle school. The book tackles tough subjects but it does so with a sense of humor.'