Book Review: Goodbye Stranger

Goodbye Stranger
Rebecca Stead
Wendy Lamb Books, 2015
Genre: Middle School, Friendships, YA, Growing Up, Making Mistakes
Source: purchased for my classroom library
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Bridge, Emily, and Tabitha are starting middle school and everything is different, but they have made a pact to stay friends--and no fighting allowed.  Even though they're different and each has their own niche that they find at school, they still remain true to one another.  Sherm starts to get to know Bridge and knows she's super important to him, but what does that really mean?  And an unknown girl is struggling with what it means to be a friend on Valentine's Day as her world seems to crumble around her.  

I loved this book!  It's about friendship, love ( not the romantic kind), making mistakes, and acceptance.  Bridge is so incredibly lucky to have two best friends who are amazing (and they are lucky to have her as well).  Each of them has their own personality and goes about life in their own way.  When Bridge decides to start wearing cat ears all the time, Emily and Tabitha aren't really getting it, but they don't make her change.  They are honest with her and tell her that they don't really get it and ask when she'll stop wearing them, but it never really feels like they're trying to get her to change.  When she tells them she likes wearing her ears, the friends accept that.

Emily makes some mistakes in this book--some BIG mistakes.  They're in middle school now and boys are a much bigger deal and one keeps texting her.  In fact, he's the boy everybody is in love with.  They start by texting pictures back and forth, innocent pictures, until it's not so innocent anymore and suddenly Emily's world has been turned upside down.  Tabitha and Bridge are the best two friends to help her through this.  I honestly found myself wishing that every person out there--boy or girl--got to have friends as strong and true as this trio.

In middle school there are so many issues kids go through as they are learning how to grow up.  They're no longer little kids, but they're not in high school yet and it's really a confusing and rough time.  This book shows kids from different walks of life, with different family dynamics and skills and experiences who are all coming together.  It shows a positive view of a group of female friends.  No stereotypical bickering, fighting over boys, or being generally mean and demeaning towards each other or other girls.

I was a little confused for the first few sections because in addition to Bridge, Emily, and Tabitha, we also have another female voice who is unnamed until the end.  It was confusing as her story kind of linked up with the others, but it was written in second person.  I think it was supposed to put me in her place and help me enter the story, but it didn't.  I can see how it could really confuse someone who isn't as skilled a reader.

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AudioBook Review: Orbiting Jupiter

Orbiting Jupiter
Gary D. Schmidt
Narrator: Christopher Gebauer
Recorded Books, 2015
Source: purchased
Genre: realistic fiction, young adult, family
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

What It's All About

When fourteen year old Joseph comes to live with Jack and his family, he's angry and scared, and wants nothing more than to see his daughter, Jupiter.  Told through the eyes of Jack, who is in sixth grade and tries to help his foster brother adjust to life in their small town, we get to know Joseph and his story.  All he wants is to love his daughter Jupiter, but he's only fourteen, in the eighth grade, and no one will listen to him, no one will give him a safe place.  Joseph finally begins to feel at home and safe with Jack and his family, but just then his old life comes reeling back at him.

Review

I cried multiple times during this book, which is unfortunate because I only listened to it while I was walking or running and I'm sure I looked strange.  Joseph's story is tragic, which you can infer right off the bat, but when you find out everything he has been through--it will break your heart.

 Gary Schmidt does an excellent job telling Joseph's story.  Because the story is told through the eyes of twelve year old Jack, we don't get to know everything about Joseph, just what he's willing to tell Jack.  Jack has lived a pretty privileged life compared to Joseph, and although he never really seems shocked by anything he learns, it still seems very new to him.  Hanging out with Joseph leads him to being late on a regular basis, finding himself on the assistant principal's radar, and jumping into fights with other boys.  But Jack also knows what it means to be loyal to someone.  He understands that and believes that the acceptable "right thing to do" isn't always the actual right thing to do. And he follows that.

Joseph's story truly is tragic in so many ways.  He is only fourteen, in the 8th grade, and he is a father.  A father who has not been allowed to see his daughter and has lost his first love.  He is a child whose own father treated him poorly, to say the least.  He has spent time juvenile detention centers and jail.  We see how young Joseph is in his actions and his choices and his thoughts, but sometimes it's easy to forget that because he's been through so much and has experienced more in the world than Jack.  In the end, though, Jack is the one who seems to be more mature and older than twelve by many years.

I don't know if I would recommend this to my sixth grade students because there is some pretty heavy stuff that Joseph has been through.  A more mature sixth grader might be able to handle it with guidance, but I would recommend it to older students. If you're a parent looking for some reading suggestions, I would read this first and make the decision on whether your child could handle the subject matter.  There is no sex on the page, but it's obviously understood since he's a father and some of this horrible experiences he has had are alluded to and mentioned as well.

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Ungifted by Gordon Korman

Donovan is NOT a genius.  When he finds himself transferred into the Academy for Scholastic Distinction he has to try and fake it.  This is a little hard for Donovan, as he understands nothing that the kids or the teachers are talking about.  Somehow, though they have taken him into their fold and he’s become one of them, which is good because Donovan is hiding out after he caused major havoc on his old school’s gym, and if they like him, they might let him stay…somehow.

I enjoyed Donovan’s character, and even some of the other students at ASD, but the other students seemed very flat.  Chloe had a little more to her, but she was still your basic stereotype of a type of a “nerd.”  The shenanigans that Donovan brings to the gifted students at his new school do cause them to loosen up quite a bit, and they become more real.  I just assumed that they would be real before Donovan shows up to do this for them.

This is a humorous story, and if you enjoy middle school pranks you’ll probably like Ungifted as well.  Donovan is extremely likeable.  He’s a kid that you’d want to hang out with after school as long as you can divert his attention away from any troubling causing pranks, that is.

Doll Bones by Holly Black

Photo taken from goodreads.com

This book is perfect for my 6th graders!  Zach, Alice, and Poppy have always played games, creating stories for their dolls that involve daring feats and adventures, but they’re growing up.  Shouldn’t they be growing out of the silly make believe games?  When Zach’s dad throws out all of his toys, ending the game for him, a new story begins.  Hoping to entice Zach back into the game, she smuggles a bone china doll from her mother’s cabinet, only to discover a mystery.  Complete with a quest, ghosts, a crazy man, and a library, this adventure will keep readers engaged.

I really enjoyed this and appreciated the author’s attempt to convey the devastation of growing up.  I feel that kids who are entering 5th and 6th grade are starting to hit that period where they realize it’s not all fairy tales and that one day they’ll be too old to play pretend (if they don’t already know that now).  In the story I don’t think we ever know how old they actually are (or it’s so subtly stated that I can’t remember and don’t care to go back and look) and I believe that’s a good choice.  By keeping the kids just somewhere in middle school it will allow more young readers to identify with the characters.

I am glad I can put this in my classroom library this fall.  I hope it gets picked up soon so I can hear what students are thinking about it!