From: Karen Vieth <kevieth>
Date: Fri, 12 Jun 1998 09:24:32 -0500

The effects of reading this book have stayed with me long after its closure. After reading the last page of this book, I find myself wondering how Melvin Burgess pulled it off. There wasn't any point in the book where I felt that I heard any other voice than that of the author. However, somehow I still felt like I had gotten to know the characters and their lifestyle on a very insightful level.

I don't think this is the kind of "message" book that can just be given to a teen and forgotten. The message in this book is found in the way that the book causes you to think. This message isn't necessarily contained in the pages, but in the thought that the book provokes.

Would I give this book to a fourteen year-old? Yes! The real issue is how I would give this book to a fourteen year-old. This book is a "talking" book. It is not a book to pass around without a second thought. I think that it is important that this book is not only read, but discussed. One subscriber mentioned a concern about the lack of positive adult characters in this book. I think that it is important that this positive influence comes from the outside. Through rigorous discussion, the adult readers of this book act as the positive influence on the younger readers.

I found Gemma's role in this book to be critical. She was in sharp contrast to Tar's character. I found it to be disconcerting that Tar, the most liked character, is not the one that will survive this situation. It raises important questions of the effects of drug abuse. Too often, a druggy becomes a stereotypical personality.
 This book showed that it wasn't personality type that was the cause of the character's personal turmoil in this story. Addiction is non-discriminating.

Karen Vieth UW-Madison Elementary Education
Received on Fri 12 Jun 1998 09:24:32 AM CDT