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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
funny
inspiring
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a re-read for me. I don't remember when I originally read this, but it was sometime back in elementary school, I believe before I got into Bone by Jeff Smith and long before I really got into reading or writing. Even so, it has stayed in my mind for a long time and re-reading it reminded me how much I liked it.
It's writing is very straight forward and clear but in the first-person limited perspective of Max, two things that I imagine helped me to enjoy this book back when I first read it. I can't say if Philbrick gave an "accurate" voice or representation to a teenage boy with a learning disability and/or a personality still severely impacted by the trauma of his mother's death, but I can say that he gave a very human and genuine voice to Max himself. I think he conveyed the anger, sadness, confusion, and other mix of feelings that can come up in the early teenage years for a boy without sugarcoating it or otherwise coating it in a sheet of inauthenticity. He also still has a wide and creative use of metaphors to help young readers learn about abuse, death, and grief, all in their own language, I believe.
It's exploration of Max's and Kevin's friendship was very tender and deep and it reminded me of my own childhood friendships long since past. Re-reading it has just reaffirmed what I liked about it and I think it holds up pretty well after all these years.
It's writing is very straight forward and clear but in the first-person limited perspective of Max, two things that I imagine helped me to enjoy this book back when I first read it. I can't say if Philbrick gave an "accurate" voice or representation to a teenage boy with a learning disability and/or a personality still severely impacted by the trauma of his mother's death, but I can say that he gave a very human and genuine voice to Max himself. I think he conveyed the anger, sadness, confusion, and other mix of feelings that can come up in the early teenage years for a boy without sugarcoating it or otherwise coating it in a sheet of inauthenticity. He also still has a wide and creative use of metaphors to help young readers learn about abuse, death, and grief, all in their own language, I believe.
It's exploration of Max's and Kevin's friendship was very tender and deep and it reminded me of my own childhood friendships long since past. Re-reading it has just reaffirmed what I liked about it and I think it holds up pretty well after all these years.
David was reading this for school, so I decided to read it too.
This book is so sad for no reason, why did the author have to kill him? It was sweet and inspiring and then he had to make it all depressing which was so unnecessary. Like, I get it, but I don't get it.
Another read aloud for my daughter's 6th grade class.
This one took me a couple of chapters to get into, but the story is powerful.
This one took me a couple of chapters to get into, but the story is powerful.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I am rereading this with Noah for his independent novel choice in English. He's enjoying the book, so I have to give props to the book for reaching a hard-to-please reader. The 3 star rating is mine from when I read it years ago. I think my 7th grader would be more generous in his evaluation.
adventurous
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Medical trauma, Murder, Abandonment
Minor: Bullying
sad