Friends you can count on in a crisis

Their eighth grade was the best, and the worst. Then, on the last day of school, a high school student showed up with a gun.

Coming September 2026 · Light Publications · also available wherever you get your ebooks and audiobooks

• Read Chapter One
• Where to buy THE WORST

THE WORST by Mark Binder - Chapter One (excerpt)

Is there any order?

Nobody and nothing prepared us to deal with what happened when our middle school was attacked by a school shooter.We never saw it coming.At the beginning of the school year, way back in September, my eighth grade English teacher, Mrs. Martin, told us that, “Great works of literature foreshadow momentous events. If you show a gun in the first act, it’s got to go off by the end of the play.”Setting aside any possibility that this is a great work of literature, my life doesn’t work that way.Does yours?I for one never want my life to be defined by one random and horrific event.I want to remember the good times with my friends. We’d hang out in Rover’s basement bomb shelter, get into trouble, and then we’d get ourselves out of it.

That final year at Jerome Marco K-8 was a swirl of episodes that were foolish, fun, or just plain foul. None of them were foreshadowed.Later on, some people said we were heroes, or that we were prepared, but a lot more said we were idiots. None of these groups were correct. We were smart, and we were terrified, and we were lucky. Incredibly lucky. Like flipping a coin fifty times and having it land on the edge all fifty times.Whenever I try to get to what really happened, it makes it seem like there was cause and effect. One thing led to another, right?I don’t know. Most of “the worst” incidents in my life came out of left field, like the blizzard, the barn dance, that new kid on the baseball field, and of course Billy Kinty.Did we see Billy Kinty coming? No. Naw. No way.We had no clues before, and none after.

• Where to buy THE WORST

The author

• More books by Mark

Mark Binder is the Audie Award nominated storytelling author of more than two dozen books and audiobooks. He believes that now, more than ever, “We Need Good Stories.”His latest book is THE WORST, a light yet challenging novel for young readers and adults with a sense of humor.

For the past twenty years, he has toured the world transmitting joy with books, audio and spoken word stories for diverse audiences of all ages. He has performed in parking lots and basements, in theaters, at festivals, pubs, churches, synagogues, nightclubs and schools around the world.

He crafts books, audiobooks and live performances of original and traditional tales, stories from Izzy Abrahmson’s Village Life, and the Team Bomb Shelter series of “autobiographical lies.”

fun factsMark calls THE WORST a novel of stories – chapters in the first half are stories, while the second half, "Stopping the Shooter" is a novella.The "Team Bomb Shelter" series can be read in any order.

The Storyteller

Awesome Performances for Diverse Audiences

“I believe that now – more than ever – we need good stories. So, I create books, audiobooks and live performances for you to enjoy.”
– Mark Binder

For the past twenty years, Mark Binder has toured the world transmitting joy with books, audio and spoken word stories for diverse audiences of all ages. He has performed in parking lots and basements, in theaters, at festivals, pubs, churches, synagogues, nightclubs and schools around the world.

Mark's tales bridge communities and bring generations together
LIVE STORYTELLING AND WORKSHOPS FOR…
Adults • Families • Young PeopleMark has performed for hundreds of thousands of listeners in Theaters and Festivals • Schools • Libraries • Camps• Community Centers and even Parking Lots

Contact and Booking
Beth Hellman
[email protected]Teachers Guides
Click here for Teacher's Guides

Early praise for THE WORST

A handful of the notes revieweres and readers have left in the margins so far.

"Fun, surprising novel of New England middle schoolers thwarting a tragedy.… For lovers of fun but honest storytelling for kids"
— Publishers Weekly

"a captivating young adult novel that treats the triumphs and tribulations of middle school with complete respect."
— Readers Favorite

"Binder skillfully balances humor with darker subject matter."
— Kelly P.

"The Worst is an incredibly entertaining and realistic book about how wild middle school can be."
— Yahya S

More Books by Mark Binder

"I create books, audiobooks and live performances of original and traditional tales, stories from Izzy Abrahmson’s Village Life, and the Team Bomb Shelter series of “autobiographical lies.” –Mark Binder

Is there any order?

Nobody and nothing prepared us to deal with what happened when our middle school was attacked by a school shooter.We never saw it coming.At the beginning of the school year, way back in September, my eighth grade English teacher, Mrs. Martin, told us that, “Great works of literature foreshadow momentous events. If you show a gun in the first act, it’s got to go off by the end of the play.”Setting aside any possibility that this is a great work of literature, my life doesn’t work that way.Does yours?I for one never want my life to be defined by one random and horrific event.I want to remember the good times with my friends. We’d hang out in Rover’s basement bomb shelter, get into trouble, and then we’d get ourselves out of it.

• Where to buy THE WORST

Literary Contact • Storytelling Bookings

Beth Hellman

[email protected]
+1.401.272.8707

For appearances, interviews, rights, media, and business inquiries.

for readers

Mark reads everything

He can't always reply, but every message gets read – usually with coffee, somtimes out loud to the cats.

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