Stuck in the Middle mixes well-known artists (Joe Matt, Daniel Clowes) with less-known artists, to talk about how much middle school stinks. Most but not all of the stories are (or feel) autobiographical. While the subject matter seems rather narrow-focused (though “middle school” can cover lots of agony), the selected artists had a nice array of style, from Clowes’ cold, almost-ugly style to Eric Enright’s blob figures and Cole Johnson’s big heads, and Robyn Chapman’s lack of backgrounds that reminded me of Eisner’s later work. I especially liked Aaron Reiner’s uplifting story “Simple Machines” about how he turned his doodling into stage design, and Jim Hoover’s “A Relationship in Eight Pages” which is a clear example of why dating licenses should be handed out with drivers’ licenses. Editor Ariel Schrag does well by placing her extremely uncomfortable story “Shit” at the very end of the book, so people don’t get too hopeful after reading Reiner’s story. Middle school stories shouldn’t end happily.