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2.98 AVERAGE
2.98 AVERAGE
This book is about how one act, which wasn't meant to mean anything at the time, can have repurcussions far greater than you could have imagined. And not in a good way.
I really enjoyed this book. Very much like "Telephone," the story gets misconstrued the further it goes.
As a teacher, I empathize with her the most. But as annoying as Phillip is, I did find him quite realistic.
As a teacher, I empathize with her the most. But as annoying as Phillip is, I did find him quite realistic.
At first I was a little disappointed that the main issue here - a conflict over the Star Spangled Banner - wasn't a conflict of sincere belief but an annoyed kid doing something that spiraled out of control, but as the book went on, the story really grew on me. I love that Avi committed to sticking with the way an event like this probably would end rather than tying things up in a neat, happy bow. A group of good, mature readers could have a really good discussion. The book is told in non-narrative ways - journal entries, memos, transcripts - which I've always been a sucker for.
Yes, this book annoyed me. Yes, the characters are the worst. But this is an important, well-written (just like in acting, if you make someone hate you/your character, you know you're doing well) book.
I work in a middle school, and my father is a middle school teacher. We all know that everyday parents are getting more and more involved in their kids educations, school budgets are getting tighter and tighter, and attitudes towards values and discipline are always changing. These are the facts, for better or worse. A situation like Nothing But the Truth could very well happen in the exact same way today, and that's precisely what me me so angry about this book.
I like the "documentary" style, and it was a quick read. The fact that Phillip knew what he was doing was wrong but didn't want to admit it, and his parents believed they were doing the right thing by pushing him is very realistic, as is, unfortunately, the school's preoccupation on getting their budget approved (which they didn't even!) over the integrity of a teacher.
I work in a middle school, and my father is a middle school teacher. We all know that everyday parents are getting more and more involved in their kids educations, school budgets are getting tighter and tighter, and attitudes towards values and discipline are always changing. These are the facts, for better or worse. A situation like Nothing But the Truth could very well happen in the exact same way today, and that's precisely what me me so angry about this book.
I like the "documentary" style, and it was a quick read. The fact that Phillip knew what he was doing was wrong but didn't want to admit it, and his parents believed they were doing the right thing by pushing him is very realistic, as is, unfortunately, the school's preoccupation on getting their budget approved (which they didn't even!) over the integrity of a teacher.
I remember enjoying this as a child. In my second reading, I realized that the dialogue isn't very credible even if the situation is. Specifically, she has different characters repeat the same line. But it is a provocative book and interesting to read now that I could relate both to the student and the teacher perspectives.
This novel is written in a documentary style, which makes it a very easy read. It is the story of Philip Malloy, a freshman who wants to run track and precious little else. In homeroom he causes a disturbance humming "The Star Spangled Banner". When he gets in trouble he blames Miss Narwin, who is also his English teacher - a subject he happens to be failing. He repeats an expanded version of the story to a neighbor who is running for the school board and the snowball rolls downhill from there. Philip is portrayed as a hero and Miss Narwin is in danger of losing her job. This story shows how easily the truth becomes distorted and the consequences of less that complete honesty. A very good book.
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I teach this book to my students this year and it does a lot to show them taking responsibility for their actions, and understanding that its better to accept mistakes and ask for help. It also helped open conversations about disciplinary justice vs restorative justice in schools. We used this to compare the actions of the student to that of current day issues of race in schools, such as higher suspension rates and the school to prison pipeline.
I have loved this book since it first arrived in my Alaskan classroom via a Scholastic Book Order. The year was 1991, and this was hot off the presses. I had to have it. While I was always a reader, Avi made me fall in love with reading. Books such as The Man who was Poe, Blue Heron, and my favorite The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle brought more to my life than just a way to pass the time on a freezing island in the middle of the Bering Sea. It brought adventure, love, laughter. So much so that in 2018, I can still remember my first time cracking this book’s spine and reading it through in one sitting.
This book is about patriotism and the right to sing the national anthem in school. Or at least that is what you think it’s about. It has so much more between the pages. It’s about a boys relationship with his teacher. It’s about miscommunication, and that there is never just one or two sides to any story. It’s how even the smallest thing can get blown out of proportion and become something it was never meant to be.
This is at least my fourth reading of this book. I have read it with my kids book clubs twice. I have also had parents try to ban the reading of this book for being to political for children to handle. But it’s not. Its true and it’s real. Event today 27 years later it is relevant. Now as an adult I can see the sliding of history and the changing way we see things. Both from a childhood to an adulthood read, and a societal change.
There was this cartoon in some newspaper or journal that I wish I would have kept. It’s in two frames. In both frames there is a classroom, a teacher, a student, and a set of parents. In frame one the parents are standing behind the teacher talking to the child about what is going on at school and that things better shape up. In frame two, which is supposed to represent a new generation, the parents are standing behind the child and placing the blame on the teacher for bad grades,discipline problems, or whatever was happening. I was raised this way. Get in trouble in school, get it twice as bad at home. To me Nothing But The Truth shows how far back this switch between ideologies begins. A lot further back then I would have thought.
My favorite question to ask kids to think about as we read this book is “Who is to blame?” Is our main student Phillip to blame? Is it Miss Narwin? Is it the parents? Is it the lack of money at the school. So much to talk about. So much that is still true today. Schools still do not have enough money. People rally around news media stories that may only have one side. People do not always think to look at the other side, or when they do, it isn’t considered important. We live in the era of “fake news”. What is fake news. Is this book full of “fake news”?
There are parts of this book that ages the story. For example I’m not sure you can send an actual telegram anymore. But what would change today. Instead of a teleram, it would play out on social media. Maybe there would be Go Fund Me accounts set up for the parents, or the teacher to fight their side of the fight. The story and the themes found in this book are what make it current today. It’s “Documentary Novel” style seems odd to students, or a new fad if you have picked up Illuminae, or the Emoji stories. Without know how truely futuristic he was, Avi was writing a story of importance that resonates. If I was ever again to run into (literally) Avi in Wash Park (true story), I would love to pick his brain. How would he update his novel. How would he see this story 27 years later. Would he want to think about a modernization, or would it be just too depressing.
Luckily for the current generation of kids, Avi continues to write. He continues to spin tales tall and outrageous. Tales from history, that make you want to know more. And tales that will become classics that you are ecstatic to share and pass on for generations.
#beatthebacklist
#LitsyAtoZ
#AviChallenge
This book is about patriotism and the right to sing the national anthem in school. Or at least that is what you think it’s about. It has so much more between the pages. It’s about a boys relationship with his teacher. It’s about miscommunication, and that there is never just one or two sides to any story. It’s how even the smallest thing can get blown out of proportion and become something it was never meant to be.
This is at least my fourth reading of this book. I have read it with my kids book clubs twice. I have also had parents try to ban the reading of this book for being to political for children to handle. But it’s not. Its true and it’s real. Event today 27 years later it is relevant. Now as an adult I can see the sliding of history and the changing way we see things. Both from a childhood to an adulthood read, and a societal change.
There was this cartoon in some newspaper or journal that I wish I would have kept. It’s in two frames. In both frames there is a classroom, a teacher, a student, and a set of parents. In frame one the parents are standing behind the teacher talking to the child about what is going on at school and that things better shape up. In frame two, which is supposed to represent a new generation, the parents are standing behind the child and placing the blame on the teacher for bad grades,discipline problems, or whatever was happening. I was raised this way. Get in trouble in school, get it twice as bad at home. To me Nothing But The Truth shows how far back this switch between ideologies begins. A lot further back then I would have thought.
My favorite question to ask kids to think about as we read this book is “Who is to blame?” Is our main student Phillip to blame? Is it Miss Narwin? Is it the parents? Is it the lack of money at the school. So much to talk about. So much that is still true today. Schools still do not have enough money. People rally around news media stories that may only have one side. People do not always think to look at the other side, or when they do, it isn’t considered important. We live in the era of “fake news”. What is fake news. Is this book full of “fake news”?
There are parts of this book that ages the story. For example I’m not sure you can send an actual telegram anymore. But what would change today. Instead of a teleram, it would play out on social media. Maybe there would be Go Fund Me accounts set up for the parents, or the teacher to fight their side of the fight. The story and the themes found in this book are what make it current today. It’s “Documentary Novel” style seems odd to students, or a new fad if you have picked up Illuminae, or the Emoji stories. Without know how truely futuristic he was, Avi was writing a story of importance that resonates. If I was ever again to run into (literally) Avi in Wash Park (true story), I would love to pick his brain. How would he update his novel. How would he see this story 27 years later. Would he want to think about a modernization, or would it be just too depressing.
Luckily for the current generation of kids, Avi continues to write. He continues to spin tales tall and outrageous. Tales from history, that make you want to know more. And tales that will become classics that you are ecstatic to share and pass on for generations.
#beatthebacklist
#LitsyAtoZ
#AviChallenge
This book reminded me of Up The Down Staircase because of the way it is written. It's about truth and how we each have our own version of it. Philip Malloy just wants to join the track tream and have a happy ninth grade year. But he receives a less than stellar grade in English and does his "disruptive" best to get transferred to another teacher. That's when things get blown out of proportion and nothing is then quite the same. This was a humorous yet thought-provoking read.
First-I never planned to read this book. It was for school.
Reading it was a waste of time. This book is horrible. Don't read it for fun. The whole conflict was unnecessary in the first place. I don't think it would ever happen in the real world. Just don't read it.
Reading it was a waste of time. This book is horrible. Don't read it for fun. The whole conflict was unnecessary in the first place. I don't think it would ever happen in the real world. Just don't read it.