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mary00's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars.
Gary D. Schmidt is an auto-read author for me. He had me crying in the first two pages of this book, and I wasn't sure if I could forgive him. I did, of course. This is another beautiful book by Schmidt. Even with a few plot points that felt a tad out of place, I absolutely loved every minute of this and will continue to read everything this author writes.
I would start with The Wednesday Wars and Okay For Now (my personal favorite) before reading this companion book. This series reminds me why I love reading.
Gary D. Schmidt is an auto-read author for me. He had me crying in the first two pages of this book, and I wasn't sure if I could forgive him. I did, of course. This is another beautiful book by Schmidt. Even with a few plot points that felt a tad out of place, I absolutely loved every minute of this and will continue to read everything this author writes.
I would start with The Wednesday Wars and Okay For Now (my personal favorite) before reading this companion book. This series reminds me why I love reading.
bickie's review against another edition
On the surface, this was an engaging book with mostly endearing characters. Even the ones who didn't seem endearing at first. There is great discussion of gentle activism, and Matt's storyline provides very creepy suspense.
At the same time, I did not appreciate the gratuitous mentions of Dr. MacKnockater's "substantial rump" (p. 8) etc. I also found it perplexing that when she was introduced by the omniscient narrator, it was as "Mrs. Nora MacKnockater" rather than Dr., as she was referred to at school. I also didn't understand what was meant by, "...portly Mrs. Kellogg, who was the dorm matron and looked exactly like what a dorm matron should look like..." (p. 17).
I was confused by the lack of mention of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination in April of 1968 and that of Robert Kennedy in June of the same year. Chapter 23 begins, "In 1968, the year before Meryl Lee Kowalski's second semester at St. Elene's Preparatory Academy for Girls, sixteen thousand five hundred and ninety-two American soldiers died in Vietnam...they had had their whole lives in front of them: meeting the girl they loved, sundaes at Woolworth's lunch counter, opening Coke bottles, dancing, getting married, having children. Everything." The book definitely has white perspective.
I as also confused about the identity of Leonidas Shug.
At the same time, I did not appreciate the gratuitous mentions of Dr. MacKnockater's "substantial rump" (p. 8) etc. I also found it perplexing that when she was introduced by the omniscient narrator, it was as "Mrs. Nora MacKnockater" rather than Dr., as she was referred to at school. I also didn't understand what was meant by, "...portly Mrs. Kellogg, who was the dorm matron and looked exactly like what a dorm matron should look like..." (p. 17).
I was confused by the lack of mention of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination in April of 1968 and that of Robert Kennedy in June of the same year. Chapter 23 begins, "In 1968, the year before Meryl Lee Kowalski's second semester at St. Elene's Preparatory Academy for Girls, sixteen thousand five hundred and ninety-two American soldiers died in Vietnam...they had had their whole lives in front of them: meeting the girl they loved, sundaes at Woolworth's lunch counter, opening Coke bottles, dancing, getting married, having children. Everything." The book definitely has white perspective.
I as also confused about the identity of Leonidas Shug.
Spoiler
Was he Ashley's father? They both say "Bingo" when they find Matt, and Ashley leaves school after the showdown on the roof. However, if he was her father, how did he go from NYC crime boss to Secret Service agent guarding the vice president so quickly? Even if he had connections, that doesn't make a lot of sense. If he was not, then Ashley's absence from school doesn't make sense without explanation.savbag's review against another edition
4.0
It took me longer to get into this one than the rest of Gary D Schmidt’s work, but I’m glad I stuck with it! (Also classic example of don’t judge a book by its cover— please some get this a better cover!)
missnatcat's review
5.0
This is my first Gary Schmidt book, and I love it. I did not want to put it down!
shirleytupperfreeman's review against another edition
Gary Schmidt's books are so unique and wonderful and this is no exception. I'll admit, I read The Wednesday Wars long ago so didn't initially catch the tie-in to that book, but that's okay. Eighth grader Meryl Lee's best friend has died in an accident and she simply cannot go back to their shared middle school. Her parents decide to send her to a boarding school in Maine for a fresh start. The prep school is way outside of Meryl Lee's comfort zone but she remains refreshingly herself in spite of her initial loneliness. In a parallel story, young teen Matt Coffin, who has been living by his wits since he was 4 or 5 years old, is on the run from a really bad guy. Schmidt's unique style, and remarkable vocabulary, shine through this Viet Nam era story about some human beings with beautiful hearts.
ameserole's review against another edition
4.0
Just Like That definitely made me feel emotions that I wasn't planning on actually feeling. I will also admit that I was a little confused to some of the references mentioned but after reading some of the reviews it all makes sense. My confusion that is. So, I will need to quickly redeem myself and jump into a certain book to hopefully make everything right in my world again.
Other than that, I really enjoyed getting to know the characters throughout this. Meryl just continued to tug my heart strings. I felt so bad for her at times because of what she was going through. It's one thing to be shipped off to boarding school and it's a whole other thing to deal with your parents divorcing. Now I've never been to boarding school bug my parents did divorce when I was pretty young.
I think that's why I really enjoyed her story and felt certain things. Well, certain emotions. That being said, I will need to jump into another one of Gary's books stat!
Other than that, I really enjoyed getting to know the characters throughout this. Meryl just continued to tug my heart strings. I felt so bad for her at times because of what she was going through. It's one thing to be shipped off to boarding school and it's a whole other thing to deal with your parents divorcing. Now I've never been to boarding school bug my parents did divorce when I was pretty young.
I think that's why I really enjoyed her story and felt certain things. Well, certain emotions. That being said, I will need to jump into another one of Gary's books stat!
stephc's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars.
If you haven’t read The Wednesday Wars - please read that first.
I’ll admit…I’m still kind of ticked off at Mr. Schmidt, if you know what I mean. That was hard to get over - in fact, I don’t think I am. (No spoilers…)
But - - the story, the PEOPLE!
Some of Matt’s story felt a bit far fetched to me. But, still loved the book.
If you haven’t read The Wednesday Wars - please read that first.
I’ll admit…I’m still kind of ticked off at Mr. Schmidt, if you know what I mean. That was hard to get over - in fact, I don’t think I am. (No spoilers…)
But - - the story, the PEOPLE!
Some of Matt’s story felt a bit far fetched to me. But, still loved the book.
thenextgenlibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
“Friendships start in different ways, Meryl Lee thought. Sometimes they start right away. Sometimes they start slowly. And sometimes, maybe sometimes they don’t have any chance at all.”