This week I’m sharing several books that are written from a boy’s point of view. I’m happy to be linking up to Marvelous Middle Grade Monday. All the books except the last one are good ol’ library books, gotten in my quest to conquer the 100 Cybils Middle Grade Fiction nominees. My opinions are my own and not meant to reflect those of the committee as a whole.
Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made by Stephen Pastis
I’m not sure what I think of Timmy. He’s not as much of a ne’er do well as some of the boys prominently featured in children’s lit these days, but there’s something not quite right about him (that’s not my judgment alone. That’s how he’s portrayed and meant to be received, I believe). Timmy has a detective business, but he’s not so smart about picking up on the clues. He’s not so good at it, so that makes the fact that he has competition even worse for him, so he is always trying to stop The Weevil Bun (or evil one, or she who must not be named), Corinna. Even the fact that Timmy has a polar bear partner — a polar bear named Total – and a cool segway that he borrows from his mother to get him from place to place, does not help him with his business sense.
This is a zany book with crazy characters. In addition to Timmy and Total, we meet Rollo Tookus, whose name says it all, and Molly Moskins, a girl who crushes on Timmy and just happens to smell like tangerines, and his mother, with whom he’s always trying to teleconference. My 9-year-old son enjoyed this one and was glad to know it’s first in a series.
A Song for Bijou by Josh Farrar
Something about the storytelling drew me right in. I was sort of annoyed that the whole idea is about a 7th grade romance, but I loved the male protagonist, ALex Schrader, so I kept reading. (A very long aside here — I think I’m a prude. I like to think that there’s no romance stuff going on in middle school. I wasn’t ready for all that stuff in middle school, nor was my daughter, and so I shy away from books and movies and shows that seem to promote it as “normal,” because they seem to promote it. That said, I remember that when my daughter was a 5th grader. Twilight was all the rage and her friends were reading it. I’d rather them read about romance on their level than teenaged mortals and sparkly vampires yearning and burning for each other, so I guess it’s good to give them what they want — long aside over).
Alex sees Bijou and immediately falls for her. She’s a new student who has just moved here from Haiti. The story is advanced with dual narratives from both Bijou and Alex, and the “romance” is totally on an age-appropriate level. They are intrigued by each other, and of course their friends try to encourage it (because that IS very normal, in my recollection and current observations). Bijou is a smart, thoughtful girl, and Alex is a mother’s dream — except for the fact that he sneaks around and lies to his mother, but hey, it’s all in the name of love, right? Other relevant themes that this novel explores are bullying, social status, racism, and maturing.
Books like this draw in girls because tween girls want to know what tween boys are thinking, but I think that they could also win over some boy readers. Unfortunately, this cover seems a bit juvenile to me. It somehow reminds me of the Fox and the Hound for some reason, though it does sort of sum up the sweetness of the story.
The Bully Book by Eric Kahn Gale
This book annoyed me at first (hmmm–I am sounding sort of curmudgeonly, being so annoyed). It seemed too over-the-top. Yeah, we get it, bullies should try to understand the way their targets feel. This message comes out as the pages of “The Bully Book,” a guide to the top dogs at the middle school on how to be sure they can rule the school, are interspersed with journal pages from the boy who is chosen as the target, the Grunt. There was also some strong language in the early pages that turned me off, because I feel like it pushes the limit for the age group: butt (used frequently), nuts (slang for the body part), gaywad (do kids even say that anymore?).
But then, it grew on me. The voice — of both the Grunt and the Bully Brokers — was genuine and very readable. And in the end, despite me feeling jaded and manipulated at first, I really felt like I could understand the pain that the targets of bullies feel.
The 14 Fibs of Gregory K
Follow the link for my full review of this book which posted earlier this week, which also features a story told from a boy’s POV.
Vertical by Jane Eoff Berend
Josh Lowman wants a lot of things. He wants to finally go vertical on the big ramp at the skate park, he wants to figure math out, which he hopes to do with the help of his tutor, and he is hoping to figure girls out too. He skates as much as his mom lets him. But when he has a run-in with a fellow skater, and all around bully, things change in his life.
Skateboarding is a very popular sport, so I think that this book will appeal to boys in particular who are interested in it. I would recommend it for older kids, 12 and up for sure, since Josh is in high school, and some of the topics are on the mature side, such as the “slacker” nature of skateboarding in general, and in particular his friend Brendon’s inclinations to put skating over school as he struggles with his thoughts on whether or not school is a valid use of his time, but there’s nothing in it that would prevent an interested 10-year-old from enjoying it.
Josh’s voice is true, and his level of self-exploration is appropriate for a 9th grade boy, so it’s very believable. It’s a short book with an appealing cover, and all these are great for older reluctant readers looking for something they can relate to.
The publisher has offered up a copy of Vertical for one of you, so use the widget below to enter. Start off by putting in your name and email address (just used to contact you if you win), then tell me what appeals to you about this book/character.
Whether you are entering the giveaway or not, I’d love to hear if you have read any of these books, or if any of them interest you.
Rosi says
Wow. This is quite a collection. Thanks for gathering these reviews in one place. This is very helpful. I’m always trying to find good books for my grandkids, and some of these sound perfect.
Jennifer says
You’re welcome!
Sunnymay says
Board games: Monopoly with Free Parking, Battleship, Clue, Scrabble where it’s fun to challenge made up words.
Dominoes, Jenga
Jill the OWL says
I have three kids ages 6-14. ANYTHING we do sounds fun at first but then get out of hand!!! But I think any time I decide to take them somewhere like the zoo alone.
Jeniffer says
This looks like a great book for my freshman son. Thanks for the giveaway.