Who is the narrator, can she or he read minds, and, more importantly, can we trust her or him?
First Person (Central)
Our main man is thirteen-year-old Bart Rangely, and over the course of the book he tells us about the "worst year of [his] life" (1.1) in harrowing detail. Poor Bart is going through a bit of a rough patch, so hearing about it firsthand gives us special insight into his many complicated feelings. He experiences a lot of conflicting emotions about his father's death, his tormenter, Tyro, and his sick friend, Nola. Seeing the world through Bart's eyes helps us better understand all that complicated stuff.
Only trouble is, Bart can be a little melodramatic. Don't get us wrong; he's having a bad year—a really bad year—but sometimes he seems to lose perspective. Being a student at Baileywell isn't as bad as, say, being a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp, which is one of the things Bart compares his experience to (4.1-4.2). Similarly, having your lunch drowned in ketchup or even getting stuffed into a locker isn't as bad as the attacks on September 11, despite Bart's claims (8.18).
In other words, we're along for Bart's ride—and we should remember to take his story with a grain of salt.