Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of bullying.

The narrator and protagonist of the novel, Marc is very much in the mold of middle grade characters such as Greg Heffley from Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, or Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III from Cressida Cowell’s How to Train Your Dragon series. Like these other examples, he is an insecure boy subject to mockery from his peers due to perceived weakness: Before starting his uncle’s program, Marc shows acute vulnerability, putting himself down as “dumb” and “a dork” (6). Such archetypes are popular in part because they serve as both relatable figures and (via their character arcs) role models to children who feel that they are falling behind in some way and dream about how they might improve. 

Marc’s character development begins when he becomes the beneficiary of a training regimen designed by his uncle, Jake, who promises to turn him into a “warrior kid” over the course of the summer. From that point forward, Marc assumes the role of the (mostly) willing pupil, who either takes Jake’s advice and benefits by doing so or pushes back until pressure from Jake induces him to do the right thing, at which point the benefits become apparent.