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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
I came to this book as a result of my library’s 2023 Adult Summer Reading Bingo Game - and I’m really glad I read it so I can recommend this a a great middle school read for kids to teach them the importance of kindness and not always just following the crowd.
My best description of this book: excruciatingly adolescent, which I think is the point. There were so many times I just wanted to shake a couple of the characters. Poor Tom, so lacking in self esteem, and Jeff, his depressed friend saddened by his parents' breakup. I couldn't believe that it took so many chapters before Jessica even appeared. It's almost stream of consciousness inside Tom's brain.
Maybe Tom relates to Jessica better than some because he is a bit of an outcast himself. The story mentions him being overweight, so he may be fairly self-conscious. And even though we might wish he would say or do something else, that would make the story too tidy.
Thus, the book is much more about Tom than it is about Jessica, and her injuries are not really the focal point of the book; it is more about Tom and how meeting her changes him.
Maybe Tom relates to Jessica better than some because he is a bit of an outcast himself. The story mentions him being overweight, so he may be fairly self-conscious. And even though we might wish he would say or do something else, that would make the story too tidy.
Thus, the book is much more about Tom than it is about Jessica, and her injuries are not really the focal point of the book; it is more about Tom and how meeting her changes him.
I’m glad Todd set this in seventh grade because to me, this is exactly what seventh grade is like: solely focused on oneself, but all the potential to have eyes opened and grow from the experiences that come their way.
At first reading this, Tom, Jeff, Rich, and the other boys in the class just irritated me because they reminded me so much of when I was in junior high, and that being how all the boys acted, thinking they were the coolest thing on God’s green Earth, but in reality being obnoxious idiots.
Then Jessica Feeney walks into their lives, and they continue to be obnoxious jerks, but one of them becomes a quiet, obnoxious jerk, and then slowly becomes not an obnoxious jerk because his eyes are opened to the world around him. It doesn’t fully change him, but it rocks his world enough that he starts to rethink pieces of his everyday life.
As a teacher, this is what I wish for students all the time: that their world would be “rocked”, just a tad bit, to make them uncomfortable that they have to rethink the lives that they are living.
At first reading this, Tom, Jeff, Rich, and the other boys in the class just irritated me because they reminded me so much of when I was in junior high, and that being how all the boys acted, thinking they were the coolest thing on God’s green Earth, but in reality being obnoxious idiots.
Then Jessica Feeney walks into their lives, and they continue to be obnoxious jerks, but one of them becomes a quiet, obnoxious jerk, and then slowly becomes not an obnoxious jerk because his eyes are opened to the world around him. It doesn’t fully change him, but it rocks his world enough that he starts to rethink pieces of his everyday life.
As a teacher, this is what I wish for students all the time: that their world would be “rocked”, just a tad bit, to make them uncomfortable that they have to rethink the lives that they are living.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury
i really liked the book all the way through until the end. i don’t feel it ended well and there were many things i was still wondering when it ended.
I would like to give it 3 1/2 stars. It was good and had lots of potential but I wanted more.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Fire/Fire injury
I liked this book a lot. It really reminded me of Wonder. I wish that there had been more of the story.
