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1999
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Holes by Louis Sachar (Farrar Straus & Giroux, $12.80, fifth-grade level). ISBN: 0-439-12845-5. |
The Medalist A boy sent to a boot camp in Texas for bad kids gets involved in a bizarre mystery that unfolds slowly and surprisingly. Sachar has been known for years for his charming sense of humor, but in this novel he reveals a far more sophisticated narrative touch. The threads of the story are as unlikely as they are entangled, but all is made clear in the conclusion. The novel makes a strong statement for how society treats children, especially boys, whom it doesn't know how to handle. Holes is a harsh indictment of juvenile detention camps and by extension the criminal justice system. If you want to get cosmic, Sachar seems to be making allusions to the manual labor on one level and Greek mythology on another. Take this one as deep as you want to go. |
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A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck (Dial, $12.79, sixth-grade level). ISBN: 0-439-13586-9. |
Honor Book Peck uses a series of vignettes to relate the story of two city kids who are forced to spend summers in the 1930s living with their cranky grandmother in a small, rural town. Big-city folks might cringe at some of the narrative elements because Peck reveals the best and worst of small-town life. However, the characters are so artfully drawn, especially the marvelous Grandma Dowdel, that readers feel an immediate kinship to all involved. Grandma is in fact one of the most memorable characters I've encountered in a juvenile novel. She has a heart of gold that's matched only by her visceral dislike of pomposity and pretension. Anyone displaying the latter two traits is promptly skewered. This novel is rich in humor, mainly because of the actions of grandma. The kids come to cherish their time with her. So, too, does the reader. |
Copyright David Ross 2003