Mistakes Were Made

Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made is a middle grade graphic novel written and illustrated by Stephan Pastis. Originally published in 2013, it is the first book in the Timmy Failure series, which has seven books so far and has also been adapted into a live action Disney movie. Stephan Pastis has been a cartoonist for over 20 years and is best known for the comic strip Pearls Before Swine. Timmy Failure won the BookTrust Best Book Award in 2014 and was listed in the Sunday Times’s 100 Children’s Modern Classics. Through realism, humor, and Timmy’s powerful imagination, Pastis communicates The Destructive Power of Lies and the importance of Being Oneself While Being Open to Improving. While Timmy makes mistakes often, he is unconditionally accepted by his mother, showing The Unbreakable Bond Between Mother and Son.

This guide is based on the 2015 Candlewick Press paperback edition of the book.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of bullying.

Plot Summary

Timmy Failure and his imaginary polar bear, Total, run a detective agency called Total Failure, Inc. Timmy finds that his best friend Rollo, his mother, his school, and Total all act as obstacles to his success. Timmy’s teacher, Mr. Crocus, lacks patience for Timmy’s antics, and Rollo, who is passionate about doing well in school, often feels the same way. Timmy doesn’t have many friends at school besides Rollo and the lunch lady, Dondi Sweetwater. Timmy’s mother doesn’t know that he takes her Segway with him to investigations. She refuses to give Timmy a proper office space; she does, however, read Timmy his own stories each night before bed. Total, on the other hand, just tends to eat things; he also cannot write or use a phone.

One day, Timmy gets a call from a classmate named Gunnar, whose Halloween candy is missing. Timmy investigates and sees Gunnar’s brother covered in chocolate but doesn’t make the connection and leaves wondering who took it. Something similar happens with Timmy’s next call, when he is supposed to determine the cause of a dead hamster and takes one of the hamster tubes as random evidence. While he is investigating, the Segway disappears, and Timmy tries to figure out how he can find it and get it back.

Timmy arrives at a call one morning to find that his sworn enemy, Corrina Corrina, has already taken the case. Corrina Corrina has her own detective agency in a bank downtown, and Timmy thinks she is trying to sabotage his career.

When Timmy’s teacher says that he might need to be held back a grade, Timmy’s mother tells Timmy he will have to give up the detective agency and his imaginary friend, Total. However, while Timmy is supposed to be studying, he’s more worried about the missing Segway. Timmy’s mom is concerned about bills, and losing the Segway doesn’t help the situation. Timmy hopes he can earn some money with his investigations and help out.

Timmy goes to Rollo’s house and finds out that Corrina Corrina is tutoring Rollo. Convinced that Corrina Corrina took the Segway, Timmy feels betrayed. He investigates Corrina Corrina’s office at the bank downtown and sees a Segway parked behind it. Moments later, it is gone, and Timmy is sure it was Corrina Corrina, even though she is at Rollo’s house.

Timmy gets Rollo to infiltrate the bank to investigate, but Rollo ends up locked in the safe overnight and doesn’t find out anything. To give himself more time before being caught, Timmy lies to his mom and says he loaned the Segway to Molly for a school play, which doesn’t really exist. He convinces Molly to make one up, and they decide to hold it in her backyard. Molly has a crush on Timmy and makes up stories about how her shoes are missing to get his attention, but Timmy is already preoccupied.

Timmy and his mother move to a one-bedroom apartment, and Timmy no longer has his office. He decides to go to the library to use the Internet and send Corrina Corrina some misleading emails. He also makes a website for his agency with the help of the librarian, Flo. At school, Timmy intentionally fails a group test, dropping the grade for everyone in his group, including Rollo. Later, he apologizes to Rollo.

Timmy gets his hands on Corrina Corrina’s detective log that she accidentally left at Rollo’s house. He looks through it but can only find entries about Corrina Corrina and her dad. The last entry mentions that Timmy failed the group test but doesn’t mention his name. Later, Molly comes over and starts throwing rocks and dirt at Timmy’s window, angry about his lack of attention to her, eventually breaking it. Timmy’s mother blames him for the damage.

When Timmy’s mother brings home a new boyfriend named Crispin Flavius, Timmy immediately dislikes him and lets him know. Crispin lectures Timmy about growing up and being more responsible, which causes Timmy to withdraw even more. Timmy’s mom tries to tell him that he’s okay just the way he is and invites him out to lunch after the play the following day.

When the day of the play arrives, Timmy and Molly aren’t ready, and they don’t have a Segway, so they end up using an empty box. Timmy’s mom, Flo, Rollo, and Corrina Corrina all show up to the play in Molly’s backyard, but the play only lasts moments before it becomes a disaster. Molly tries to hug Timmy, and they end up rolling down her driveway.

Timmy’s teacher retires and heads to Key West on vacation, and Timmy attempts to study but gets easily distracted. His new teacher finds an approach that helps Timmy want to learn. He tells Timmy that he needs help investigating various topics in the curriculum, and Timmy enthusiastically does so. His grades start to improve, and Timmy’s mother is thrilled. She offers to take Timmy and Total out for lunch the next day.

The next day, Timmy decides he wants to skip lunch and go straight to the park. He is convinced that Corrina Corrina lives in a house nearby that has a strange statue on its lawn. While Crispin and Timmy’s mother are out of sight, Timmy runs to the zoo to fetch Total, and then back to the car. He sits inside revving the engine, and his mother and Crispin hear the noise. They argue over whether Timmy should be playing with the car, and Crispin tells Timmy to rev the engine again.

Crispin tries to put his foot on the brakes but slips and falls out of the car as Timmy zooms down the hill. Timmy crashes the car into the house with the statue, which turns out to belong to his teacher, not Corrina Corrina. Crispin is arrested for reckless endangerment, and Timmy finds his mother’s Segway at the impound lot. It turns out that it was towed after he left it unattended, but Timmy remains convinced that Corrina Corrina stole it. Later, Timmy shows Rollo his new office closet and believes he has solved all of his “criminal” cases. He reunites with Total and celebrates his improving grades over lunch with his mom.