Summary

In the opening line of Chapter 1, in the narration, Greg Gaines introduces the central premise of the story he is about to recount: high school sucks. Greg uses Chapter 1 to introduce the reader to Benson High School in inner-city Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the various groups of students who go there. He explains that no single clique has managed to assert control over his high school and suggests that this is because the school borders one very affluent neighborhood and one poorer neighborhood, meaning there is a big mixture of students from different backgrounds. Greg explains his plan for coping with how much high school sucks: he will avoid becoming a part of any group or making any friends and will therefore be able to avoid being shunned or bullied by any of the groups.

In Chapter 2, Greg described what happened to him on the...