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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
Checked this out for my kids, ended up reading it myself one evening. A lovely weaving of stories.
Loved this book! So true that we're all wrapped up in our own little worlds. This would make a great summer reading book.
Jason has done it again. Buy multiple copies for your libraries. And... Oh, that last chapter... it would be perfect for teaching writer’s craft, and would make an excellent writing prompt.
This book slightly reminded me of Sideways Stories from Wayside School just nowhere near as silly (or 90s) but each chapter is a student. Not all from the same school, but their lives are all connected and most of it happens in that hour after school lets out. Each chapter is a moment in a student's more complex life. I really enjoyed the lightness of this book. Not that it doesn't deal with some heavier subjects like parents with cancer and bullying and very minor theft, but besides stupid Marcus, the kids we learn about don't really have a mean bone in their body. It was refreshing.
Mock Printz review:
Augh, I can't ever deny Jason Reynolds, the man is a fantastic writer. I knew Long Way Down was going to win all the awards the other year but this one I'm not so sure. The characters are it's strongest point, because while there are many, each one is written with a back story in mind, creatively, they have their own tics and quirks to make each one memorable. Setting is second strongest and a very close contender. Heck, the whole book is based on the ten blocks around the school (most of the) characters go to. And we get to know so much about this neighborhood in just ten chapters. Third strength was the layout. The chapter beginnings with a horizontal blue line illustrating the character we were about to be introduced to (just their waist and lower though, never any faces), and put them all together and you get a whole street of the characters you meet within this book, and it holds so much action! Like a film-strip. It's wonderful.
But put it all together, and I am left with the feeling that this isn't his strongest writing. Would I recommend it to readers age 5th grade and up? In a heartbeat! Would I nominate it as a Printz winner....ehhhhhh. I'm not as confident about this one as Long Way Down. Sorry Mr. Reynolds!
Mock Printz review:
Augh, I can't ever deny Jason Reynolds, the man is a fantastic writer. I knew Long Way Down was going to win all the awards the other year but this one I'm not so sure. The characters are it's strongest point, because while there are many, each one is written with a back story in mind, creatively, they have their own tics and quirks to make each one memorable. Setting is second strongest and a very close contender. Heck, the whole book is based on the ten blocks around the school (most of the) characters go to. And we get to know so much about this neighborhood in just ten chapters. Third strength was the layout. The chapter beginnings with a horizontal blue line illustrating the character we were about to be introduced to (just their waist and lower though, never any faces), and put them all together and you get a whole street of the characters you meet within this book, and it holds so much action! Like a film-strip. It's wonderful.
But put it all together, and I am left with the feeling that this isn't his strongest writing. Would I recommend it to readers age 5th grade and up? In a heartbeat! Would I nominate it as a Printz winner....ehhhhhh. I'm not as confident about this one as Long Way Down. Sorry Mr. Reynolds!
I loved this book. All of the characters are relatable for young readers. My favorites are the Low Cuts and what they did with their hustle money. It will be a big hit!
I prefer his novel-novels (track series) to the short-storyish collections like this and Long Way Down, but still such heartwarming/breaking stories that stick with you long after you've finished the book.
Deu ser perquè a Catalunya tenim probablement una tradició d’excel·lentíssima qualitat en quant a relats curts. Però el fet és que veig amb preocupació com surten al mercat llibres de relats curts per a joves, gens recomables per a aquests: La cabra, La casa de Mango Street o ara aquest. No m’han agradat cap d’aquests tres llibres i al contrari del que es pot pensar, no crec pas que afavoreixen introduir el plaer per la lectura en joves, uns relats que no apel·len a la seva realitat, complexos d’entendre de vegades, de poca qualitat o buits. No per ser contes curts, seran idonis per llegir per a aquells que els hi fa mandra o tenen dificultats per llegir. Cal alguna cosa més i en aquest llibre aquesta cosa més, no hi és.
Especial menció al relat dels pelats, que destaca molt per sobre dels altres en molts aspectes.
NO recomanable per a una biblioteca juvenil.
Especial menció al relat dels pelats, que destaca molt per sobre dels altres en molts aspectes.
NO recomanable per a una biblioteca juvenil.
Tried a bit too hard, but the kids enjoyed what was a new direction for them
Jason Reynolds has an incredible gift of crystallizing “kid logic” and capturing kid-communication with all the anxiety, goofiness, swagger, child-like wonder and adult-like wisdom from childhood voices…. this collection is a wonderful set of examples, with vignettes from various kids’ POVs exiting their middle-school day with their middle school concerns— that are, by turns, heart-breaking and hilarious. I particularly enjoyed listening to the audiobook version, with lots of voice-artists, — including Reynolds himself— and ending with the tying-it-all-together story. Reynolds is a gift to YA readers of all ages. Magnificent!
This book is so good. I love all the different stories and how they subtly weave together. A collection of small moment stories in the lives of the middle school characters, all walking home.