Walter Thompson, Patterson published his first novel, The Thomas Berryman Number, with Little, Brown and Company. Walter Thompson, eventually becoming CEO of its North American company. Instead, he moved to New York to become a junior copywriter for the advertising agency J. He left Vanderbilt before getting his PhD due to complications involving the Vietnam War. He was given a full-ride scholarship to Vanderbilt University’s graduate program in English. In 1969, he graduated from Manhattan College. The son of an insurance salesman and a schoolteacher, Patterson grew up in Newburgh, New York, and began casually writing at the age of nineteen. He is also the first author to have #1 new titles simultaneously on the New York Times adult and children’s bestseller lists. In addition to writing the thriller novels for which he is best known, among them The President Is Missing with President Bill Clinton, Patterson also writes fiction for young readers of all ages, including the Max Einstein series, produced in partnership with the Albert Einstein Estate. He has sold over 380 million books worldwide and currently holds the Guinness World Record for the most #1 New York Times bestsellers. He has created more enduring fictional characters than any other novelist writing today, with his Alex Cross, Michael Bennett, Women’s Murder Club, Private, NYPD Red, Daniel X, Maximum Ride, and Middle School series. James Patterson is the world’s bestselling author and most trusted storyteller. James Patterson's debut middle-grade novel addresses some of middle schoolers' biggest issues: bullies, first crushes, and finding out what makes each of us special, all with a hilarious main character and fantastic in-text illustrations that are sure to have young readers begging for more! Chewing gum in class-5,000 points! Running in the hallway-10,000 points! Pulling the fire alarm-50,000 points! But when Rafe's game starts to catch up with him, he'll have to decide if winning is all that matters, or if he's finally ready to face the rules, bullies, and truths he's been avoiding.
Luckily, he's got an ace plan for the best year ever, if only he can pull it off: With his best friend Leonardo the Silent awarding him points, Rafe tries to break every rule in his school's oppressive Code of Conduct. Rafe Khatchadorian has enough problems at home without throwing his first year of middle school into the mix.
In his acclaimed and #1 bestselling middle-grade comic debut, Children's Choice Award Author of the Year James Patterson has never been more hilarious-or heartwarming.