Bert Wetwood

Bert was very small for a six grader. His dark hair was always neatly parted to the side. He wore thick glasses with large frames that were always filthy. How he saw through them, no one knew. He was extremely book smart and skipped both the second and fifth grades. Commonly referred to as the nerdiest kid in the sixth grade. Bert did not have any real friends, only acquaintances.

Author’s Note:

Bert’s appearance was modeled after a kid I went to middle school with. This poor kid wore those dirty glasses everyday and was picked on for it. He was the type of kid that fit in with the group for a few minutes, and then someone would notice who he was and he would be ostracized once again.

To me, Bert’s dilemma is the core of the Brandon Sparks Universe. Here is a kid getting picked on by someone larger and more powerful for no good reason other than because the bully knows he can get away with it. Bert is the underdog, and so is Brandon. This seven book story is about standing up in the face of immense opposition. Taking action and trying to push sway the tide in your favor. Sometimes it works, and at other times it does not, but it is about acting.

Bert was named after the character in Sesame Street. Sometimes I just can’t get that muppet’s oblong head out of my mind.

Charlie’s Note:

It’s difficult not to feel bad for Bert. He was probably more pleased to see what I did to Big Luke Sanderson than anyone else. On the other hand, when Brandon returned to school after the fight, Bert looked the other way. I can’t really blame him. The boy was a complete pariah, and he probably thought by publicly distancing himself from the new low man on the totem pole was his way of out of social siberia. He was wrong, and he lost out on what could have been a good friend in Brandon Sparks.