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If I Ever Get Out of Here
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From: Crystal Brunelle <brucr_at_onalaskaschools.com>
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2014 11:06:26 -0600
I read If I Ever Get Out of Here because of the review I saw on Debbie Reese's site - thank you Debbie! I reviewed it back in November http://readingtl.blogspot.com/2013/11/review-if-i-ever-get-out-of-here.html, but I will leave a few comments here in case you want a shorter version.
What I loved about the book was the depth of the characters. I felt like we knew Lewis and the important people in his life. On the listserv we discussed how the music is a bridge or way to connect, I also found many things about the story that readers could connect with like the dating, friendship, and bullying. Like Barbara and Ebony were discussing, this book doesn't have to be talked about only as a book about an American Indian on the Tuscarora reservation, though that can be one way to describe it. I'm glad to know about another culture, but it is a book about more than that. It's a book about a teenager figuring out his place in the world. It's about Beatles music, bullies, teen friendship and there's even a bit of romance. If we only talk about this book during Native American Heritage Month or as a "diverse" read, we are not doing our job.
Oh, and did I mention the humor? Even in the midst of some difficult situations, Lewis has quite the sense of humor. Gansworth is funny. Made me laugh over and over though sometimes the laughter was accompanied by a grimace.
From my review: Lewis and his friends and relatives hassle each other as part of their way of bonding with rather rude nicknames like Stinkpot. Often though, the humor is just his matter of fact rather deadpan style like the exchange with his mother after he had someone cut off his braid.
"You look like a Welfare Indian."
"I *am *a Welfare Indian," I said.
"You don't need to look the part," she said. Another example is way back in the acknowledgments. Even there Gansworth is still cracking jokes. He begins, "If you're reading this book for class, you can skip this page. There will surely not be a quiz on any of this information."
What I want to know is are we getting any more young adult lit from Eric Gansworth?
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2014 11:06:26 -0600
I read If I Ever Get Out of Here because of the review I saw on Debbie Reese's site - thank you Debbie! I reviewed it back in November http://readingtl.blogspot.com/2013/11/review-if-i-ever-get-out-of-here.html, but I will leave a few comments here in case you want a shorter version.
What I loved about the book was the depth of the characters. I felt like we knew Lewis and the important people in his life. On the listserv we discussed how the music is a bridge or way to connect, I also found many things about the story that readers could connect with like the dating, friendship, and bullying. Like Barbara and Ebony were discussing, this book doesn't have to be talked about only as a book about an American Indian on the Tuscarora reservation, though that can be one way to describe it. I'm glad to know about another culture, but it is a book about more than that. It's a book about a teenager figuring out his place in the world. It's about Beatles music, bullies, teen friendship and there's even a bit of romance. If we only talk about this book during Native American Heritage Month or as a "diverse" read, we are not doing our job.
Oh, and did I mention the humor? Even in the midst of some difficult situations, Lewis has quite the sense of humor. Gansworth is funny. Made me laugh over and over though sometimes the laughter was accompanied by a grimace.
From my review: Lewis and his friends and relatives hassle each other as part of their way of bonding with rather rude nicknames like Stinkpot. Often though, the humor is just his matter of fact rather deadpan style like the exchange with his mother after he had someone cut off his braid.
"You look like a Welfare Indian."
"I *am *a Welfare Indian," I said.
"You don't need to look the part," she said. Another example is way back in the acknowledgments. Even there Gansworth is still cracking jokes. He begins, "If you're reading this book for class, you can skip this page. There will surely not be a quiz on any of this information."
What I want to know is are we getting any more young adult lit from Eric Gansworth?
-- Crystal Brunelle Teacher Librarian Northern Hills Elementary 511 Spruce St. Onalaska, WI 54650 Tweet _at_librarygrl2 -- This email adheres to the policy of the School District of Onalaska <http://www.onalaska.k12.wi.us/email_policy.htm> --- You are currently subscribed to ccbc-net as: ccbc-archive_at_post.education.wisc.edu. To post to the list, send message to: ccbc-net_at_lists.wisc.edu To receive messages in digest format, send a message to... ccbc-net-request_at_lists.wisc.edu ...and include only this command in the body of the message: set ccbc-net digest CCBC-Net Archives The CCBC-Net archives are available to all CCBC-Net listserv members. The archives are organized by month and year. A list of discussion topics (including month/year) is available at http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/ccbcnet/archives.asp To access the archives, go to: http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/ccbc-net and enter the following: username: ccbc-net password: Look4PostsReceived on Fri 28 Feb 2014 11:06:26 AM CST
