Trust me, I'm a troublemaker by Pete Johnson

The book "Trust me, I'm a Troublemaker" by Pete Johnson is about Archie Swift and his friend Miranda Jones. In the book they are complete opposites, but they learn to be friends even though it takes a lot of work.

     Archie and Miranda have completely different lives, which form their personalities. Archie lives with his Dad ( and occasionally his dad's girlfriend and her daughter). But overall they have a very quiet, organized life. Sometimes, Archie has to act like a parent to his dad, making him become much more mature than other children his age. For example: in the book it says" Dad was late tonight. Another audition. But I had a very proper cooked meal ready: chips, fish fingers, and beans . There's always something hot waiting for him when he gets home." This shows that he has to behave like an adult or else things just wouldn't get done around his house. Archie basically has to be his dad's dad because of the fact that his dad can't always be there so that Archie can be a kid and his dad can be a father to him. Archie is kind of similar to me in that way. Sometimes, I have to do things for my brothers (like making food and helping them get ready) because my parents are busy. So I understand what Archie has to go through.


    Miranda's home life is much more chaotic. She lives her mom, dad, sister, and 3 dogs. Miranda has much less responsibilities than Archie, and she sometimes is very ungrateful to her mom even though she completely takes care of her. Even though they are completely different people, there are some ways in which they are alike. One way they are alike is that they both seem to not have many friends in school. Kids think Archie is too "grown-up" so they do things like call him names like 'teacher's pet' and 'suck-up'. In my opinion, I think he just happens to get along older people because they are interested in the same topics and issues he is. Miranda is very "intense" and she doesn't like the bands or tv shows or movies most kids her age like. Also, Miranda loves animals. To get away from school and pressure she would go help out at the animal shelter or volunteer at a vet's office. Even though Miranda and Archie are really different, they learn to sort of respect what the other likes so that it's possible for them to be friends. I think we would all benefit from being like them.