I Funny: A Middle School Story

Jamie Grimm sits on the stage in his wheelchair, waving awkwardly at the reader (his audience). After a devastating car accident about a year ago, Jamie lost the use of his legs and will need to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Upon his recovery, he decided to study comedy in order to learn how to make people laugh. Despite his nervousness, he is determined to put his full effort into the contest, and his second joke, which features his wheelchair, gets more laughs than his first one. Jamie soon realizes that he may have a chance of winning the contest after all, and the crowd transforms from peering eyes into smiling faces.

Jamie believes that most people who live in his suburb of Long Beach, New York are “brain-numb” (15) zombies who do nothing but work and shuffle around. The illustrations depict Jamie whizzing through a world of zombified humans, as if he is the fastest person and the only one who is really living.

Jamie feels out of place in Long Beach after moving there from the countryside. He gets bullied at his middle school despite the school’s efforts to discourage it, and he handles his bullies by telling jokes to make them laugh. He notes that it is difficult for someone to throw a punch when they are busy laughing. Jamie is depicted in the midst of telling a joke as a child four times his size laughs hysterically.

Jamie’s cousin, Stevie Kosgrov, is the school’s biggest bully, and one day, Jamie finds him shaking change out of another student’s pockets. Jamie approaches and tries to tell jokes to loosen Stevie up, but Stevie doesn’t understand the humor and doesn’t laugh. The student that Stevie is holding does laugh, and Stevie lets go in confusion, giving the boy a chance to run away. Stevie looks at Jamie, filled with anger, and punches him.

Jamie lands on the floor, and the illustrations depict a bird coaching him to get back up (although he cannot rise again on his own). Jamie feels proud and relieved to have been bullied by Stevie, calling him an “equal-opportunity tormentor” (26). Far from being shaken, Jamie is just glad to feel normal for once. Jamie’s two best friends, Pierce and Gaynor, help him up into his chair, and the three head into the school together. Jamie is grateful for his two best friends, who only help him as much as he needs and otherwise just treat him like a normal person.

Although Jamie’s middle school has its problems, he tries to look on the bright side. He likes the daily supply of chocolate milk, the view of the beach from the science lab window, and a “frizzy-haired girl” (32) who attends some of his classes. He worries, however, that she does not even know he exists and that no girl ever will.

Jamie often visits the diner of his Uncle Frankie after school. It is the oldest in New York. Uncle Frankie is the owner, a chef, and a yo-yo champion; the illustrations depict him grilling and doing yo-yo tricks at the same time. When Jamie tells his uncle about how he stood up for a kid at school and rolled over some “zombies” on the street, his uncle suggests that he write down his stories and jokes and tell them on stage.

Jamie lives with his aunt, uncle, and three cousins in a home that he calls “Smileyville” (40) because none of his family members ever smile. They barely notice that he exists. His “Aunt Smiley” (40), along with her husband and three children, are the perfect test audience for Jamie’s jokes because it is so difficult to make them laugh. Pictured are Jamie’s aunt and uncle and their two younger children.

Jamie’s oldest cousin turns out to be Stevie Kosgrov, the bully at school. Jamie compares his situation to that of the titular character in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, for Harry was always tormented by his cousin, Dudley.

Jamie’s bedroom is in the garage, and the lawnmower and weed whacker are still there. The illustration shows him working feverishly at his jokes while a group of raccoons plays cards on the floor nearby. Jamie retreats to his room whenever he observes something worth using as material. Once there, he brainstorms everything he can think of about the subject. On one such occasion, he sits thinking about the possibility of being a comedian when Stevie knocks on the door.

Jamie loves going to the Long Beach boardwalk. He enjoys seeing the different types of people as they all get along and enjoy the same thing. He calls it “United Nations Beach” (52). Jamie believes that if everyone lived near a beach, there would be world peace. A double-splash page illustrates the many types of people who come to enjoy Long Beach, including some penguins in bathing suits.

Jamie’s beach-related fear is of getting trapped in the sand and sinking into it, becoming helpless. An illustration shows him trapped in the sand, grappling at empty space in a futile attempt to escape.

Jamie often goes to his uncle’s diner on Saturdays and helps at the cash register. He uses these sessions as opportunities to tell jokes to the customers and test his material. One Saturday, Jamie starts with some classic Rodney Dangerfield jokes but then throws in a joke of his own, and the customer laughs and gives him a tip. Jamie’s uncle, believing his nephew to have a gift, urges him to seriously consider entering the upcoming contest for young comedians. Jamie does not believe that he is funny enough and worries that once he gets on stage, he will freeze.

A regular at Uncle Frankie’s diner named Mr. Burdzecki comes in the same day, and Jamie tries some more of his jokes on him. Mr. Burdzecki laughs hysterically and says, “You funny boy” (61), leading Jamie to think, “I funny!” (61).

Jamie no longer feels as though he genuinely has a home. When he did, it was in Cornwall, New York: a town with beautiful landscapes and enough space to run around. A retrospective illustration shows Jamie running through the grass with a grin on his face. His present-day self states that he has no desire to talk about what happened to him.

When Jamie gets home, the garage door will not open. After trying it several times, he looks inside to find Stevie laughing at him through the window. None of the rest of the family is home; Stevie has purposely locked Jamie out. Jamie sits outside in the cold and waits for the others to come home and let him in.

On Monday, Jamie meets up with Pierce and Gaynor before school. They tell jokes and talk about girls. Jamie considers asking them what they think about his desire to join the comedy contest, but he refrains.

Gaynor and Pierce nominate Jamie for student council, which both embarrasses and flatters him. When he only gets three votes (his two friends and an unknown third person), Jamie goes back to feeling embarrassed.

Stevie calls Cornwall “Cornball,” inspiring the offensive nickname that he throws at Jamie. Stevie follows Jamie around all the time, harassing and threatening him. Jamie notes that Stevie will bully anything and anyone; he even claims to have bullied a goldfish when he was a baby.

Gaynor and Pierce invite Jamie’s crush, Gilda, to sit with them at lunch, surprising Jamie. When he arrives at the table, he starts sweating and his heart races. He stammers, which makes Gilda laugh, and before long, the two are throwing jokes back and forth. Jamie starts to feel more comfortable, and they spend the whole lunch period laughing and bonding over their love of old-time comedy. When Stevie appears and notices that Gilda is wearing a Red Sox hat, he tells her, “You better watch yourself” (81). Gilda pulls out a mirror, replying that she is doing just that. Stevie stomps away, and Jamie knows that he has found a new friend.