Bluefish

Author: Pat Schmatz  

Genre: Realistic

Setting: Small town Wisconsin, USA  

Themes/Subject Matter: Bullying, Learning Disabilities, Alcoholism, Family, Death, Grief, Friendship  

AR BL: 4.0    AR Points: 6.0  

Alerts: Adolescent/middle school themes and speech, rare instances of cursing, one instance of an inappropriate gesture. middle school teasing and bullying  

Highly Recommended: 5th Grade and Up
  
Awards:

• 2010 PEN/Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellowship
• Josette Frank Award (Bank Street College of Education)
• ALA Notable Children's Book
• Junior Library Guild Selection
• Notable Children's Book in the Language Arts (National Council of Teachers of English)
• The Horn Book - Best of 2011
• Crystal Kite Award (SCBWI Midwest)
• Elizabeth Burr/Worzalla Award (Wisc Library Association)
• Top 10 Indie NEXT List

The style of this book reminds me a lot of S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders and while many of the issues are not the same, Travis is just as much an "outsider" as Ponyboy. Travis and his grandfather have just moved to town, and Travis is having a lot of trouble fitting into eighth grade at his new school. First, he's lost his best friend, an old hound named Rosco. Secondly, Travis has trouble in school and has just about given up hope. Travis continues to play the hiding game at school, hoping to just slide on through without being labeled the dumb kid again.

That's not going to be so easy, though. Mr. McQueen, Travis's fourth period teacher, isn't going to let Travis slip through the cracks any longer. Then there's Vida, Velveeta to her friends, who is as vivacious as Travis is quiet and unassuming. Smart, laugh out loud funny, and often the center of attention, Velveeta is hiding some serious secrets of her own. When Velveeta witnesses Travis committing a small act of kindness, she decides to get the know the new boy a bit better, and thus a tenuous friendship develops between the two seemingly opposite personalities. I don't want to give away too much of the story, but as Travis and Velveeta begin to trust one another with their secrets, they discover that facing and working their way through life's ups and downs becomes a bit easier when you have a friend.

I loved the Bluefish and was sad to see it end. While the reviewer in the video below thinks Travis was a weaker character, I admired his quiet strength and will and felt he balanced Velveeta's vivacious personality extremely well. If you give Bluefish a try, I would love to hear what you think.

True Legend

Author: Mike Lupica
  
Genre: Realistic, Sports, Basketball  

Setting: Southern California

Themes: identity, being true to yourself, personal gifts, jealousy/envy, friendship, teamwork  

AR BL: 5.2   AR Points: 10.0  

Alerts: Very mild boy-girl friendship; True does make a mistake that brings him in contact with law enforcement (with appropriate consequences for his actions).  

Highly Recommended: 5th Grade and Up ; 4th graders who like more meaty / mature sports stories may enjoy this one also, but parents should be aware that the protagonist is in high school and that means more mature issues.

Wow! What can I say? I really liked this story and I am not a huge basketball fan. Baseball -- Yes! Football -- sometimes. Basketball -- not so much, but this book was good, very good. I read it in one sitting.

Drew Robinson is a player. He was born to play basketball. Even as a youngster he could dish the ball so well, he played point with guys much bigger and older. He's been featured on All-American teams and has even owned the top two spots on ESPN's top plays of the day. No doubt about Drew Robinson is a "True" player, a natural, may even have the possibility of becoming a legend, but Drew has begun to believe the hype surrounding him. "Lebron Junior," indeed. Drew is surrounded by people who are willing to do anything to get Drew to the pros. Nothing else matters. Or does it? Will Drew fall victim to the hype, or will he discover what it takes to be a True Legend?

One night, while practicing his game at a local park, Drew sees a ghost practicing on the old court, a player that strikes awe in Drew. Ghost or man? Which is he? Who is he? Whatever or whoever, he has the skills to have played with the pros. So what is he doing here on a rundown court? Drew needs to find out more about the "ghost" and wants to learn more about his game. Can the ghost "school" Drew in what really matters in the game, before it is too late for Drew?

This book is about so much more than basketball. It is about discovering what matters in life and being true to the gifts God has given each and everyone. The basketball scenes are extremely well-done and hold your breath exciting. After all, Lupica is a renown award-winning sports writer. He knows his stuff, but the real story in True Legend, the story that kept me reading half the night, is not about the team's season and attempt for a state championship but the story that developed Drew's character.

Readers will find themselves cheering for Drew, his best friend Lee (who might have been my personal favorite character), and others in the book, not only as they play the game of basketball but as they learn to play the game of life. This was my first Mike Lupica book, but I don't think it will be my last, especially if he goes beyond the sports hook in all of his books.

Former University of Memphis basketball coach John Calipari said about True Legend, "Mike Lupica captures the passion of basketball, the allure of NBA stardom, and the risks kids will take to get it. True Legend gets it right." I agree, True Legend is a game winner of a read.

Mike Lupica talks with Matt Lauer of the the Today Show about True Legend:

 

The Liberation of Gabriel King

Author:  K. L. Going

Genre:  Historical Fiction

Setting:  1976, Georgia

Themes:  Prejudice, Tolerance, Confronting and Resolving Fears, Friendship, Racism

Recommended:  4th Grade and Up

Accelerated Reader Book Level:  4.5

Mrs. Carter says:

It’s the summer of 1976. Former Georgia governor, Jimmy Carter, is running for president. Gas prices are high and the country is in a recession where money is tight. It’s also the year of the nation’s bicentennial, and the year Gabe has determined that he will not go to fifth grade next fall. You see, Gabriel King is afraid of almost everything — spiders, cows, centipedes, and almost anything to do with fifth grade. Everything except his best friend, Frita Wilson, that is.

Nobody can make Gabe move up to fifth grade, well, except possibly Frita. Frita has determined that while some people were “born chicken,” Gabe is not one of those people. According to Frita, all Gabe needs is a little “liberating”, and she is just the one to help free him from his fears.  Frita has a plan. She has Gabe make a list of all of his fears (all 38 of them), and they will attack those fears one by one throughout the summer. Once Gabe has faced all of his fears, he will have the courage to face fifth grade.

Things don’t go quite as planned, however. Gabe learns that Frita is not fearless as he had once thought, and Frita’s fears involve people who hate her for the color of her skin. How can Gabe ever help Frita when he is so afraid of everything himself?

The Liberation of Gabriel King by K. L. Going is a terrific read. It’s a thin little book (only 151 pages) and moves at a fast pace. Told in first person from Gabe’s point of view, the story is at times laugh out loud funny as Gabe desperately tries to overcome his own fears. When he becomes afraid for Frita, however, Gabe’s voice becomes much more serious . Will Gabe find the courage to help Frita?

Wonder

Author: R. J. Palacio

Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Setting:  Present Day New York City

Themes/Topics: Identity, Friendship, Bullying, Kindness, Overcoming disabilities, Middle School

Alerts: None — everyone in grade 4 our up should read this book!

AR BL:  4.8     AR Points:  11

Highly Recommended: Grades 4 and up.  Some of the themes and content may make Wonder a more difficult read with 3rd grade students, but it could make a great read aloud or read with a caring adult book for younger students.

Wow! I will be thinking of Wonder by R. J. Palacio for a very long time.  In fact, it may make it onto my favorite books of all time list.  August Pullman, Auggie to his family and friends, was born with severe facial deformities as a result of a very rare genetic condition.  Auggie himself tells us, "I won't describe what I look like.  Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse."

Auggie has been homeschooled all his life due to the many surgeries he has had to undergo in order to survive and because his parents feared the reactions of other children.  But, Auggie is now about to enter the fifth grade and his mom feels it is time for him to go to a traditional school.

Wonder is the story of Auggie's fifth grade year, and is told from multiple perspectives.  Each narrator has a distinct voice and his or her own burdens to bear, even though none of those burdens are as obvious as Auggie's.  It is Auggie's voice that truly makes this novel shine and that let's the reader know that, yes, indeed, we all are created in the image of God.

Gandhi once said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world."  Wonder is a novel about being that change no matter who you are or what obstacles are in your way.  It is a novel about being kind, being a friend, and loving others, and the courage it takes to live life to its fullest.  It is a novel about how one person can make a huge difference.  Read this book and be challenged to be the person, God created you to be.

Interview with R. J. Palacio about her book, Wonder, and presenting the Choose Kind Campaign: