Fish in a Tree, by Lynda Mullaly Hunt; Nancy Paulsen Books: New York, 2015; $16.99 In Lynda Mullaly Hunt’s new novel, Fish in a Tree, sixth-grader Ally Nickerson has a big secret that she’s afraid to share: she has always struggled with reading and writing. It’s been the same thing in every one of the seven different schools she’s been to (her father is in the military): her best work isn’t good enough. On top of that, Ally is bullied by two mean girls, queen bee Shay and her sidekick, Jessica, who insult her and call her many awful names, one of the worst being “dumb.” Ally fears that she is dumb, but she isn’t. When Ally’s teacher goes on maternity leave, a substitute named Mr. Daniels replaces her, and something special happens. Mr. Daniels cares so much about every student in his class. Ally eventually learns from Mr. Daniels that “everyone is smart in different ways” and that she has a learning difference that makes it harder for her to read but not impossible. Mr. Daniels reminds me of one of my teachers. Like Mr. Daniels, Mr. Lemaire is kindhearted, generous with his time, and did his best to help each and every student in my class. I can remember many times when I stayed after school or came in before school to work on a range of things, from spelling to writing to practicing lines for our annual school plays, which all of us loved and he directed. In fact, he was the one who introduced me to Stone Soup and suggested good books. Mr. Daniels gave each student in his class a writing notebook and so did Mr. Lemaire. We would write about our thoughts on the books we read, and he wrote back to us every time. I will always remember how he helped me in fourth and fifth grades, and if I ever become a teacher, that’s how I would like to teach. Mr. Daniels wasn’t the only person who helped Ally; her friends did, too. In the beginning of Fish in a Tree, Ally didn’t have any friends. I give her credit for trying to make them, and I was happy for Ally when she met Keisha and Albert. Ally admires Albert for his thick skin. Albert also gets teased, but he doesn’t let it get to him. Almost every middle-school kid wants to fit it, including Ally, but Keisha reminded her that sometimes it’s not good to fit in with the wrong people, like Shay’s mean crowd, and instead, Keisha stands up to them. I think this is good advice, and I believe that it is better to be who you are and not pretend to be like somebody else. My friends are the kind of people that I want to be around. I would rather have my few understanding, true friends than a flock of followers like Shay’s “friends.” If you are looking for a good read that will make you think, laugh, and cheer, Fish in a Tree is waiting for you. Also, reading Ally’s story could be comforting if some parts of school are scary or seem stressful, or you’re getting teased or feeling lonely. A poster in Ally’s school reminded students: “Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is ask for help,” and don’t keep your struggles a secret. It is important to remember that you should never give up. You never know when impossible can turn into possible. Vera Sablak, 12Concord, Massachusetts
Book-Reviews
Turn Left at the Cow
Turn Left at the Cow, by Lisa Bullard; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: New York, 2013; $16.99 When I read this book, I realized right away how it got its name. In the first part of the book, when the main character, Travis, is describing the setting of the book and how rural it is, he says, “I stared out the window, wondering how this place could qualify as a state. How would GPS even work? ‘Turn left at the cow?’” The book never refers to “turn left at the cow” again, but I think the title symbolizes that Travis doesn’t know the environment very well and he thinks that there is not a lot of fun stuff in this boring town. So now, you might be wondering, why would Travis come to this town? It doesn’t seem like he really likes it. I should probably explain a little more. Travis’s mom divorced his dad just before Travis was born because his dad had committed a lot of crimes. So Travis had lived with his mom all his life and had gotten quite used to it. Then, out of the blue, his mom announces that she is going to get married and that she and Travis are going to move to L.A. Travis does not like this plan, so he decides to run away. He uses his mom’s credit card to buy a plane ticket and a bus ticket to his grandma’s (on his dad’s side) house in Minnesota. When he arrives, he calls his grandma and asks her to pick him up. She says yes, but she will have to call Travis’s mom and tell her that he is all right. Have you ever not wanted to tell your parents something, but someone says that you have to? I have. It made me worry that I would be trusted less. That is what Travis feels like. But he says OK. This is where it gets exciting. A boy and a girl who live in town visit the house to welcome Travis. They tell Travis a news story from years ago that he never knew: after leaving Travis, his dad had robbed a bank and the money was probably hidden under a lake. The boy and girl are looking for the money and Travis agrees to help them. But what should Travis and his friends do when there is someone else looking for the money? And the other person looking for the money is… I’ll leave that for you to read. Before sharing my final thoughts about the book, let me tell you something: authors do not need to put any romantic stuff in a story. None. If I were you, I would just skip all the romantic parts of the story. Don’t worry; they are not part of the plot. To conclude, I thought that this book would be like Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, which I didn’t really like, but it is in a class of its own. It is like a mystery, but without a lot of clues. At first, I inferred that this book took place in an old-fashioned city because it had weird games like a chicken pooping on a number to determine the winner of the lottery. But this is actually a weird city in a modern time. This book is funny and a quick read. Max T. Smith, 10Evanston, Illinois
My Cousin’s Keeper
My Cousin’s Keeper, by Simon French; Candlewick Press: Massachusetts, 2014; $16.99 Do you know what it feels like to be bullied? Have you ever felt left out? These are questions that My Cousin’s Keeper forces the reader to consider. They are questions I never thought a lot about until I read this book. No book can be good unless it has interesting and inspiring characters. There are three important characters in the book. I was drawn into the story by the way these characters relate to each other. Their relationships made the message of the book jump off the pages and drew me into their world. Bon is the main character. He is ten years old. Bon moves in with his cousin, Kieran, and his family and is insecure because his mother is not responsible enough to take care of him. When Bon arrives at his new school he is bullied because he is different. He has a long braid and wears old clothes, which the kids tease him about. Bon’s experiences made me think of my own, and about how children learn about kindness and empathy. We sometimes think that school is just a place where we go to learn how to read or do math. But it is more than that. School is also where kids learn how to form friendships and deal with problems. It is a difficult place for kids, and people who aren’t bullied or treated poorly sometimes forget this. This story will remind kids who have to struggle at school, or even those who have no problems, how important it is to be aware of your fellow students. Not everyone at school bullies Bon. He has one friend who defends him. Julia is my favorite character in the book. I admired her because of her sense of justice and her strength. When you first meet Julia you would think she would want to fit in and not stand up to the bullies because she has a troubled life at home. Her mother kidnapped her from her father and she lives on the run. She is unhappy but doesn’t take this out on others. I was pleased and inspired by the way she defends Bon and acts as a peacekeeper. Bon also uses his imagination to escape the troubles in his life. He imagines himself as a brave crusader who gets help from “Kieran the brave” and “Julia the fair.” His uses his imagination to write these stories and gets lost in another world. Words have the power to make Bon forget about his troubled life, and I have learned that words can give you a sense of power. This was another part of the book that I enjoyed. It reminded me how important books and words can be for those who feel alone and troubled. Finally, when I read the book I thought of something I read when I was much younger by Henry David Thoreau: “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away.’’ These are words I have tried to live by. They have also inspired me to be different and not to follow others. So if you’ve never asked yourself what it feels like to be bullied, or if you’ve always wanted to be yourself but were afraid, I recommend this book and maybe it can give you the drumbeat to march to your own music. Raiyah Patel, 10Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
