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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
A pretty powerful book that views the late 60s from the perspective of a 7th grade boy. Shakespeare is prominent. I will recommend this one to friends.
Recommended on MMD. Purchased at a thrift store in Pasadena.
Recommended on MMD. Purchased at a thrift store in Pasadena.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
3.5 stars. YA book that follows a 7th grader coming of age in the late 60's.
I love Gary's writing style, and I so enjoy the way he gets around characters swearing. He has the characters in his book say "Oh" and later his narrator admits that they didn't exactly say just "oh", or his main character uses great curses from Shakespeare. Love.
We listened to this on the road trip to the Grand Canyon. Everybody loved it.
As the only Protestant in his 7th grade class, a boy must spend Wednesday afternoons at school with the teacher he is sure hates him. The setting is small town PA during the Vietnam War. It's a year when most of Holling's illusions are challenged. It's funny, and sad, and in the end, a pleasure.
As the only Protestant in his 7th grade class, a boy must spend Wednesday afternoons at school with the teacher he is sure hates him. The setting is small town PA during the Vietnam War. It's a year when most of Holling's illusions are challenged. It's funny, and sad, and in the end, a pleasure.
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
I love juvenile fiction and this book is sooo funny and endearing. Kids an adults will love it! Makes me want to eat cream puffs all the time.
I loved Holling's character and the way he endured everything that happened to him. 3.5 stars!
Re-read this wonderful book, and enjoyed it so much again. Schmidt does a masterful job of weaving the plot through the backdrop of 1967-68 and all of the historical upheaval of the time. The story never gets too sweeping, though. Instead it focuses on Holling and his middle school life - a sister who wants to find herself as a flower child, a father obsessed with work and "perfect" and a mom trying to keep the family together. Friends and enemies at school. Teachers with their own worries. And Shakespeare. One of the most engaging middle grade books for adults, but still pitch-perfect for kids.
From School Library Journal, 7/1/2007
Gr 5-8-This entertaining and nuanced novel limns Holling Hoodhood's seventh-grade year in his Long Island community, beginning in the fall of 1967. His classmates, half of whom are Jewish, the other half Catholic, leave early on Wednesdays to attend religious training. As the sole Presbyterian, he finds himself stranded with his teacher, Mrs. Baker, whom he's sure has it in for him. She starts off creating mindless chores for him but then induces him to read Shakespeare-lots of Shakespeare. Chapters titled by month initially seem overlong, relating such diverse elements as two terrifying escaped rats, cream puffs from a local bakery, his dad being a cheapskate/cutthroat architect, and Holling's tentative and sweet relationship with classmate Meryl Lee. The scary Doug Swieteck, and his even more frightening brother, and the Vietnam War are recurring menaces. A subplot involves a classmate who, as a recent Vietnamese refugee, is learning English and suffers taunts and prejudice. Cross-country tryouts, rescuing his older runaway sister, and opening day at Yankee Stadium are highlights. There are laugh-out-loud moments that leaven the many poignant ones as Schmidt explores many important themes, not the least of which is what makes a person a hero. The tone may seem cloying at first and the plot occasionally goes over-the-top, but readers who stick with the story will be rewarded. They will appreciate Holling's gentle, caring ways and will be sad to have the book end.-Joel Shoemaker, Southeast Junior High School, Iowa City, IA Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.
Gr 5-8-This entertaining and nuanced novel limns Holling Hoodhood's seventh-grade year in his Long Island community, beginning in the fall of 1967. His classmates, half of whom are Jewish, the other half Catholic, leave early on Wednesdays to attend religious training. As the sole Presbyterian, he finds himself stranded with his teacher, Mrs. Baker, whom he's sure has it in for him. She starts off creating mindless chores for him but then induces him to read Shakespeare-lots of Shakespeare. Chapters titled by month initially seem overlong, relating such diverse elements as two terrifying escaped rats, cream puffs from a local bakery, his dad being a cheapskate/cutthroat architect, and Holling's tentative and sweet relationship with classmate Meryl Lee. The scary Doug Swieteck, and his even more frightening brother, and the Vietnam War are recurring menaces. A subplot involves a classmate who, as a recent Vietnamese refugee, is learning English and suffers taunts and prejudice. Cross-country tryouts, rescuing his older runaway sister, and opening day at Yankee Stadium are highlights. There are laugh-out-loud moments that leaven the many poignant ones as Schmidt explores many important themes, not the least of which is what makes a person a hero. The tone may seem cloying at first and the plot occasionally goes over-the-top, but readers who stick with the story will be rewarded. They will appreciate Holling's gentle, caring ways and will be sad to have the book end.-Joel Shoemaker, Southeast Junior High School, Iowa City, IA Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.