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From: Dean Schneider <schneiderd>
Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2002 22:47:37 -0600
Both of Jack Gantos's new books are among my favorites of the year: WHAT WOULD JOEY DO? and HOLE IN MY LIFE. I agree with Steven that this may be the best Joey yet. Joey's parents are as crazy as ever, and we get to watch Joey make his way through it all and transcend much of the nuttiness and begin to take charge of his own life in spite of it all. I hope this gets serious award consideration and is not seen as just another in a series.
Not too many books come along that my whole family reads, as we did Hole in My Life. I read it, then my daughter(18), then my son(16), and my wife(?). It is a surprising, gritty, true story of when the author made a Joey-like decision, paid the consequences, and still became what he always wanted to be: a writer. By no means a glorification of drugs and dumb choices, it is a moving story of transcending bad choices and the circuitous route to success as a writer. Along the way, we get to see the books Gantos found important to his development as a writer. Some of my eighth graders are currently reading it (about the youngest I would recommend it for).
Many of my other favorites of the year are YA books, hopefully in the running for a Printz award (along with Hole in My Life, of course): House of the Scorpion, The Lightkeeper's Daughter, This Land Was Made for You and Me, Postcards from No Man's Land, and Island Boyz.
I know it's off-topic, but 2003 books to look for already: Beverley Naidoo's short story collection Out of Bounds (which Ginny mentioned, I believe) and Ashley Bryan's picture book, Beautiful Blackbird.
Dean Schneider Ensworth School Nashvile, TN 37205 schneiderd at ensworth.com
Received on Wed 18 Dec 2002 10:47:37 PM CST
Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2002 22:47:37 -0600
Both of Jack Gantos's new books are among my favorites of the year: WHAT WOULD JOEY DO? and HOLE IN MY LIFE. I agree with Steven that this may be the best Joey yet. Joey's parents are as crazy as ever, and we get to watch Joey make his way through it all and transcend much of the nuttiness and begin to take charge of his own life in spite of it all. I hope this gets serious award consideration and is not seen as just another in a series.
Not too many books come along that my whole family reads, as we did Hole in My Life. I read it, then my daughter(18), then my son(16), and my wife(?). It is a surprising, gritty, true story of when the author made a Joey-like decision, paid the consequences, and still became what he always wanted to be: a writer. By no means a glorification of drugs and dumb choices, it is a moving story of transcending bad choices and the circuitous route to success as a writer. Along the way, we get to see the books Gantos found important to his development as a writer. Some of my eighth graders are currently reading it (about the youngest I would recommend it for).
Many of my other favorites of the year are YA books, hopefully in the running for a Printz award (along with Hole in My Life, of course): House of the Scorpion, The Lightkeeper's Daughter, This Land Was Made for You and Me, Postcards from No Man's Land, and Island Boyz.
I know it's off-topic, but 2003 books to look for already: Beverley Naidoo's short story collection Out of Bounds (which Ginny mentioned, I believe) and Ashley Bryan's picture book, Beautiful Blackbird.
Dean Schneider Ensworth School Nashvile, TN 37205 schneiderd at ensworth.com
Received on Wed 18 Dec 2002 10:47:37 PM CST
