Murder School

A memoir of British middle school bullying and one precocious comic nerd’s fight to make it through while remaining as invisible as possible.

Paul B. Rainey takes a look back at his middle school education and the indignities suffered—a mix of stalled friendships, pitched battles with martinets, and exasperated pleading with intractable parents. Playground games take on outsized importance as Paul and his friends seek respite from a particularly abusive science teacher. Paul jockeys to hold his place in the complicated hierarchy of school bullying.

Rainey takes a classic “school daze” tale—both wistful and hilarious—and manages to turn it on its head with a couple of his now famous twists. Find out the truth behind The Murder School and the effect it’s had on Rainey well into middle-age.