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3.38 AVERAGE
3.38 AVERAGE
Clearly I was not the target audience for this book. I just didn't get it at all. The main protagonists are all adults; their stories stand front and center. Kid and Will are kind of on the edges of their orbits, never fully developed. They both have a briefly mentioned and briefly exhibited personal issue with which they must deal, Will's being the more serious. They both have a coming-of-age experience, but we really don't know much about them, and so it felt very false to me. We do however, know a lot about Jonathan, Joff, Kenneth, the goat, and even Kid's parents. Why would kids care that much about a bunch of grownups? It felt to me like the whole thing got flipped somehow.
And what's the deal with the goat? Was it an amazing metaphor for something? Or just a quirky thing about Kenneth and his dad? I have no idea, and I don't think many kids will figure it out, too.
The end was not satisfying in the least, although Fleming tried to make it so.
And what's the deal with the goat? Was it an amazing metaphor for something? Or just a quirky thing about Kenneth and his dad? I have no idea, and I don't think many kids will figure it out, too.
The end was not satisfying in the least, although Fleming tried to make it so.
This was entirely delightful. It felt like one of those French animated films that always lose best animated picture to a Disney movie.
What a lovely book - it walks the line between heavy topics (growing up in the aftermath of 9/11, Social Anxiety, and more), and being a sweet and light-hearted tale. That's a hard line to walk, and this book does it, plus it does it is a very slim volume. Don't let the slim volume fool you - this tale packs a wallop (and I mean that in a good way). Crisp, clear writing, memorable characters, and a charming tale. I enjoyed it very much, and I think you will, too.
What an unusual book. There are different story lines that all converge beautifully, several humans who do not meet the average kid lit mold, and the viewpoint of a goat living on top of a NYC apartment building. I will recommend this to a friend who has a child with a reading difficulty, and to one of my star readers with a different point of view.
A rumoured goat on the roof of a New York apartment and girl named Kid determined to find it lead a cast of characters, residents of the apartment building, atypical to those I usually find in juvenile novels.
Deftly balanced between touching scenes, like a mourning son fulfilling his father's wishes and others clever and charming and even slapstick comedy involving the goat, a dog named Cat (Catherine the Great) and a fire escape.
A mystery yes, but more than that, a story about facing fears and accepting change.
Deftly balanced between touching scenes, like a mourning son fulfilling his father's wishes and others clever and charming and even slapstick comedy involving the goat, a dog named Cat (Catherine the Great) and a fire escape.
A mystery yes, but more than that, a story about facing fears and accepting change.
This is one of those titles that adults love and I will probably never get a student to read. So many characters in such a short book means we get a glimpse of someone who never figures in the book. And that ending? Oy. Great writing, but I just can't see my younger middle schoolers reading it.
Cute read! This book is set in NYC in your not so typical apartment building where there may or may not be a mountain goat living on the roof.
Some say seeing the goat will bring you seven years of good luck and Kid could use some good luck right about now.
Some say seeing the goat will bring you seven years of good luck and Kid could use some good luck right about now.