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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-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
fast-paced
challenging
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Twelve-year-old Calliope June must navigate 7th grade and Tourette's Syndrome with a neglectful, downright abusive mother who ping-pongs from boyfriend to boyfriend, one breakup after another, and moves Calliope from town to town whenever her mother's heart is broken (which is a lot).
When her mom cuts off her beautiful mane of long hair to keep her from twirling it and pulling out clumps at the root, I wanted to shout at Calliope to run, run, run or at least tell someone at the middle school. But it wouldn't make any difference.
Calliope is as powerless as the reader to change anything in her life, like a lot of kids her age, until, with a little help from a friend and neighbor, Jinsong, she finally accepts who and how she is and announces that she's not weird, she has Tourette's and people should just accept her for who she is.
The book is told in dual points of view. Callie's POV is in verse while regular prose is reserved for Jinsong's POV. The juxtaposition of the two POVs and formats for presenting them make for great compare / contrast writing opportunities.
On one level this book resonated with us, as we went through similar struggles with a teacher who didn't understand one of my children's eye-rolling was not disrespectful; it was entirely involuntary.
The ending was especially powerful.
Teacher's Note:
It's a longer book in verse, and it's been out a while now (2017) so it has a free Discussion Guide, with eight (8) questions and mooncake activities offered by the publisher. There's also a fairly low priced Teachers Pay Teachers set of questions for the book.
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
When her mom cuts off her beautiful mane of long hair to keep her from twirling it and pulling out clumps at the root, I wanted to shout at Calliope to run, run, run or at least tell someone at the middle school. But it wouldn't make any difference.
Calliope is as powerless as the reader to change anything in her life, like a lot of kids her age, until, with a little help from a friend and neighbor, Jinsong, she finally accepts who and how she is and announces that she's not weird, she has Tourette's and people should just accept her for who she is.
The book is told in dual points of view. Callie's POV is in verse while regular prose is reserved for Jinsong's POV. The juxtaposition of the two POVs and formats for presenting them make for great compare / contrast writing opportunities.
On one level this book resonated with us, as we went through similar struggles with a teacher who didn't understand one of my children's eye-rolling was not disrespectful; it was entirely involuntary.
The ending was especially powerful.
Teacher's Note:
It's a longer book in verse, and it's been out a while now (2017) so it has a free Discussion Guide, with eight (8) questions and mooncake activities offered by the publisher. There's also a fairly low priced Teachers Pay Teachers set of questions for the book.
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
It was okay. Pretty cliche. Everything was kinda fast and a bit juvenile which may have been what the author was going for anyways. It was cute. Something simple to listen to on my way to work.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I listened to the audiobook of this book. I enjoyed it so much. It was an interesting take on tourette's syndrome. I loved the two narrators. I rated the book a 5 of out 5 stars.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes