Better Than Weird

In this stand-alone sequel to The Mealworm Diaries , Aaron is anxiously waiting for his father to return for the first time since Aaron's mother's death eight years earlier. Aaron works hard with a counselor at school, but he still has problems getting along with and understanding other kids, and he's worried that his dad will think he's weird. As well as having to confront Tufan, the class bully, Aaron must find ways to cope with the fact that his dad now has a pregnant wife and his beloved Gran needs surgery. In the end, his greatest strength is not his intelligence or his sense of humor, but the openness and warmth of his heart. Aaron sounds like a hyena when he laughs, and he can't sit still, but he has managed to make a couple of friends--and at least one enemy. Now he is anxiously awaiting the arrival of his father, whom he hasn't seen in eight years. Will his dad leave again because he thinks Aaron is too weird? Will the school bully beat him up? And will his dad ever be proud of him?