History Literature / NothingsFairInFifthGrade

* MostWritersAreAdults: ''Excellently'' averted. The dialogue, characterizations, and concerns of the children are actually very realistic. The fact that the author is both a former teacher and former school psychologist likely has a lot to do with that.

* {{Misblamed}}: Elsie's mother blames Elsie for the hitchhiking incident, even though Elsie was probably the ''least'' to blame for what happened; Elsie was the one who tried to tell everyone else it was a bad idea and specifically tried to prevent Robyn from getting on the truck, but Robyn had clearly made up her mind to get on no matter what Elsie said or did. If anything, Elsie deserves credit for choosing put herself into a situation she ''knew'' was risky rather than let her sister go into potential danger alone[[note]]and you just ''know'' that if Elsie had let Robyn go without her, her mother would have blamed her for that too[[/note]].

* MyNaymeIs: Unusually, Jenifer's name is only spelled with one "n".

** Also applies with Elsie, as she mentions that both she and her mother gained weight after Elsie's parents' divorce due to stress eating. The difference was that her mother at some point swung back the opposite way and became obsessed with dieting[[note]]Jenny notes that she is "very skinny"[[/note]], while Elsie continued to overeat.

* HiddenDepths: Elsie turns out to be quite the talented singer. Jenny is stunned when Elsie is over at her house one day and breaks into the Music/TheRollingStones classic "As Tears Go By," and afterward marvels at how professional Elsie sounds.

It's a story set in an elementary school in the Seattle, Washington, suburbs, involving a student, Jenny, who is initially repulsed by a new transfer: morbidly obese classmate Elsie Edwards. At first, Jenny can't stand Elsie any more than the other kids, especially after Elsie - who is on a diet - is caught stealing her classmates' lunch money from their desks so she can buy junk food. However, one day, she runs into Elsie crying in the girl's bathroom. Inconsolable, Elsie spills out her life story to Jenny, along with the details on her cold, unloving mother. Jenny, beginning to see her as human for the first time, vows to stick up for her - and she does. Despite resistance from other kids, she eventually brings her friends over to her side.

Over time, Jenny tries to deal with her own personal problems (having a hard time with math, her parents' occasional arguments), as well as help Elsie with her own. Unfortunately, Jenny's attempts to right things sometimes cause more trouble - or trouble just arises through other means - but things gradually get better over time.

* TheSeventies / TheEighties: Although the book was published in 1981, a few of the cultural references seem to suggest that it takes place circa 1979 - for example, Jenny and her friends hang out listening to Music/TheBeeGees, who were no longer consistent hitmakers by 1981. The sequels are also [[TheEighties similarly dated]] by the mentioning of popular musical acts of the era, such as Music/TheGoGos (''How Do You Lose Those Ninth Grade Blues?'', 1983) and Music/VanHalen (''Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You'', 1985).

* NiceMeanAndInBetween: Jenny (nice), Sharon (mean), and Diane (in-between)

* TheSeventies / TheEighties: Although the book was published in 1981, a few of the cultural references seem to suggest that it takes place circa 1979 - for example, Jenny and her friends hang out listening to ''Music/TheBeeGees'', who were no longer consistent hitmakers by 1981. The sequels are also [[TheEighties similarly dated]] by the mentioning of popular musical acts of the era, such as Music/TheGoGos (''How Do You Lose Those Ninth Grade Blues?'', 1983) and Music/VanHalen (''Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You'', 1985).

* OnlyChildSyndrome: Invoked but subverted in the introductory chapter in ''Fifth Grade''; when Jenny describes Diane and Sharon, she notes that even though Sharon has siblings and Diane doesn't, Sharon is the one who exhibits the traits usually associated with only children due to how self-centered she can be.

* NiceMeanAndInbetween: Jenny (nice), Sharon (mean), and Diane (in-between)

* {{Misblamed}}: Elsie's mother blames Elsie for the hitchhiking incident, even though Elsie was probably the ''least'' to blame for what happened; Elsie was the one who tried to tell everyone else it was a bad idea and specifically tried to prevent Robyn from getting on the truck, but Robyn had clearly made up her mind to get on no matter what Elsie said or did. If anything, Elsie deserves credit for choosing put herself into a situation she ''knew'' was risky rather than let her sister go into potential danger alone.