Alexander Adventure

Thirteen year old Alexander thinks he's got the world figured out. He's entirely wrong. To say his fears of middle school are over the top would be an huge understatement. He's sure that bullies are lurking around every corner. He's certain that wedgies, swirlies and pantsings are just waiting to happen. He lives every day as if he's prey in a sea of predators. Now, he's convinced that an evil bully plot is unfolding – and he has a pretty good idea who's responsible. Alexander's friends think he's crazy, and the bullies pretend to be innocent, but Alexander isn't fooled. It's time to take action and stand up for what's right - but what if he's wrong? He has the idea of avoiding trouble down to a science. In fact, he's even created a smartphone app, BullyTrack, to help other kids avoid bullies, too. He knows just when to pass through the school gate in the morning (7:54 am), how to move through the hallways (fast!) and even how to eat (no condiments!). He can identify bullies anywhere he looks, just from their haircut or how they dress. He can spot "bully swagger" a mile away. When Melvin, a boy in his social studies class, says he wants to talk to him after school, Alexander is convinced that "talk" doesn't mean talk. He puts BullyTrack in crisis mode, and works even harder to keep off the bully radar - evading Melvin at all costs. Then, inspired by a classroom assignment to face his fears, Alexander changes his mind and declares to everyone that he's standing up to Melvin and every suspected bully in school. He transforms from being nearly invisible to unavoidable. He believes he's heading for an inspiring victory. He's totally wrong.

It's bad enough doing something stupid, and worse in front of the entire school, horrible if it's posted online, and a complete disaster if it goes viral-but it's the comments that might just send you over the edge... Alexander's the target of online trolls-thanks to one viral video, people everywhere have something bad to say about what he looks like, what he wears, and how he acts. With so many people calling him a loser, a mutant and a moron, he starts to wonder if they might be right. Alexander's sure of just one thing: he's got to prove them wrong. In this follow-up to "My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain," Alexander discovers that even if it seems like the entire world is against him, he still can count on his friends.

Alexander can't help but wonder: are his friends going crazy-or is he? Fights, rivalries, girlfriends and jealousy are everywhere. Everything in his life is turning upside down and backwards. If that wasn't enough to drive him over the edge, Alexander discovers that it's not just everyone else that's changing: he is, too. If you've ever gotten the jitters about a test that didn't turn out so bad after all, or stayed up terrified all night before the first day of school only to discover that it wasn't so bad, then you know Alexander. Despite all evidence to the contrary, he lives in a constant state of anxiety that everything in his life is about to go bad. My Epic Life is the third volume in Rich Samuels' Alexander Adventures, a coming-of-age comedy about one boy's self-conscious stumble into his teens.