Book Reviews

In the novel Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson, six kids from Ms. Laverne’s class (Haley, Amari, Tiago, Ashton, Esteban and Holly) must meet every Friday of the year to talk – alone, with no adults in the room. They choose to name this special room, the ARTT Room (an acronym for “A Room To Talk”). With the ARTT room, they now have a safe space in which they are free to talk to each other about what’s bothering them, free from judgement. Whether it be Haley’s father in prison, Amari’s fears of racial profiling, Esteban’s father’s deportation, or Ashton adjusting to his family’s new financial situation, the six of them know they can count on each other to listen. They can talk about things they usually wouldn’t talk about: their feelings, fears and thoughts. Haley, Amari, Tiago, Ashton, Esteban and Holly all learn that they have the ability to express their emotions freely and ultimately grow braver. The unfamiliarity of the ARTT Room eventually becomes a place that they now look forward to going to every week. This novel is written in first person, from the perspective of the main character, Haley. What I liked about this, is that readers are able to hear how she, in particular, is feeling during a specific time. This allows the reader to understand the evolution and growth of the character (in this case, Haley), as the book progresses. Haley was an extremely influential character in the book, and hearing from her point of view, helps readers to grasp a better understanding of the story. Another aspect of this novel that I enjoyed was that it is a book that doesn’t require much focus. There isn’t much of a plot, and certain parts weren’t very structured throughout the novel. The book lacked most of the traditional elements of a story, such as, a climax or a main problem. The constant use of imagery within Jacqueline Woodson’s writing, helps readers to visualize what is happening in the book and guides them through the story. Woodson’s style of writing engages all five senses, while also directing readers to gain deeper insight of what is going on in the novel. This shows the reader what is taking place in the story, rather than directly telling them.I gravitated towards this book because I was able to learn about other people who are unlike myself and their personal struggles. While the students were talking to each other, they spoke about issues that many kids all over America have to deal with on a regular basis. I learned about things that many kids my age worry about, that I wasn’t aware of before reading this book. Through hearing about the students’ problems and concerns, it opened my eyes to how real problems in America can affect children personally. For example, Esteban’s father’s deportation caused him and his family a lot of stress and anxiety. Undocumented immigrants are clearly a source of controversy among Americans, and it was interesting to see how people are affected by this problem. Readers are able to educate themselves on cultural issues in America and what difficulties this can cause children. After reading Harbor Me, one can learn that it is crucial for children to express their emotions. Furthermore, having trustworthy people around to advice and support them through difficult times, is important in order to overall better themselves and achieve successful relationships. Presuming that the students in Ms. Laverne’s class hadn’t opened up to each other and expressed how they were feeling, they might have struggled to cope with the challenges that they faced. This book discusses a wide array of themes, such as, privilege, race, self expression, loss, identity, friendship, culture, and more. Overall, I would unquestionably recommend this novel to anyone that is interested in gaining a higher perspective of people from different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson. Penguin Random House, 2018. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process! Have you read this book? Or do you plan on reading it? Let us know in the comments below!

I read one page of the novel George by Alex Gino, and was hooked. One chapter, and I fell in love. When the book was sad, I fought back tears. When it was happy, I pumped my fists in the air and shouted for joy. George is a current story that sets out to tell the truth. The truth of a girl who knows she is a girl, but was born in a boy’s body. This is a story of determination, courage and love. It is a journey of self-discovery and you as the reader are going through it alongside the main character, Melissa. Melissa is a transgender girl in the fourth grade. To the rest of the world she is known as George. Melissa is the name she calls herself in the mirror. However, Melissa keeps this a secret from everyone in her life, including her mother and big brother, Scott, and her best friend, Kelly, because she is afraid that they won’t love and accept her. Therefore, Melissa goes through her days feeling alone. When Melissa’s teacher announces that the class will perform a production of Charlotte’s Web, Melissa really wants to be Charlotte, the spider. While she and Kelly practice Charlotte’s lines together, Melissa loves saying the spider’s lines out loud. She feels that if she gets the part of Charlotte she will not only enjoy the role, but she will finally get to show her school and her family who she truly is. When the day of auditions finally comes, Melissa bravely begins to try out for Charlotte, beginning with the spider’s famous greeting, “Salutations.” Abruptly, Melissa’s teacher stops her and tells her that only the girls are allowed to try out for the spider’s role. Melissa is devastated, until she and her best friend Kelly hatch a plan. All of the characters in this novel are incredible. Melissa is kind, shy and brilliant. Kelly, Melissa’s best friend, is witty, funny and sharp. Mom is kind-hearted and stubborn. Scott, the older brother, is understanding and funny. Rick and Jeff are the big bullies in this story. Although it is sad to see your favorite character being pushed around, in the end, it is rewarding to see them stand up for what she believes. It makes sense that Alex Gino chose E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web as the play in the book, because both Charlotte’s Web and George share the theme of friendship. Melissa and Kelly are the best of friends, just as Charlotte and Wilbur are. When Melissa finally tells Kelly that she is a girl inside, Kelly is confused at first, but she comes to realize that this is who Melissa is and it won’t change their friendship. This gives Melissa the confidence to take a bold risk in front of her everyone she cares about. Both George and Charlotte’s Web are incredible pieces of literature that show us how friendship can inspire acceptance and self-confidence. Alex Gino is a fantastic writer who tells a story similar to their own. I am not surprised that George has won so many medals. If I were going to write a book, it would be like this one, because it is a beautiful story that shows its readers how to live honestly as ourselves. George has inspired me to be more open with gender and my emotions. It has changed my life forever, and it will change yours too! George by Alex Gino. Scholastic, 2015. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process! Have you read this book? Or do you plan on reading it? Let us know in the comments below!

When I first saw the cover of this book a couple of years ago, I was genuinely surprised. I am not a very historical fiction type of guy, so getting surprised by one is not common. Then, after starting middle school, our English teacher assigned us to read it, and at first, I was really excited. I had never read a novel about the Holocaust, and I was ready to see what would come of this book. Sadly after I read it, I was extremely disappointed. Mainly because the author had so much potential to create something amazing. The Boy In The Striped Pajamas is set during the Holocaust, and is about a young kid named Bruno who just moved from Berlin to Poland. But in the book, they call the place Out-With. Obviously, Bruno doesn’t like the new home, but after a couple of days, he comes across a young kid named Shmuel that lives on the other side of a barbed wire/fence within a concentration camp. If you didn’t know, concentration camps were very heavily guarded, and had to be surrounded by fences so that the Jews wouldn’t escape. But anyway, after Bruno meets Shmuel, they become best friends, and Bruno suddenly finds a reason to like Poland! For the next few days, Bruno mostly lives peacefully with his family, and talks to Shmuel on a daily basis, until the end… I want to point out for some readers, though, that the book never explicitly says any of this. The author wants you to figure out what’s going on. He never says that they’re in Poland. He never says the book takes place during the Holocaust. In fact, Bruno always call the new place Out-With! But my classmates and I soon discovered that it wasn’t Out-With; it was Auschwitz, one of the worst concentration camps at the time! After I learned this, I finally understood more about the story! But now, the review. The worst thing about The Boy In The Striped Pajamas is that it’s so linear, and it becomes very predictable. It just moves along, chapter after chapter, without many twists and turns. This is especially seen during the ending, which I won’t spoil! There were also these little side stories drifting away from the main story, and none of them connect to each other or the main plot. Like for example, Bruno’s family pays a maid named Maria to work for them. But we learn nothing interesting about her! What if SHE was a Jew, and was hiding as the maid for Bruno’s family, but then gets caught, and the reader gets suspicious of this because she is shaking and shivering the whole time? But no, instead, the author uses Maria as a character that appears and disappears, and the author does this frequently with other characters as well. The story also doesn’t have anything interesting to show during some periods of the book, and instead brings in these other characters for a couple of minutes. An example of this is when Hitler (aka The Fury, according to this book) is invited to Bruno’s new house, and he just comes and goes, and never comes back again. This not only cuts out what could have been some interesting moments, but leaves you bored and annoyed, thinking, “That’s It?” We also barely get to learn about Shmuel’s past, so you don’t feel very connected to their friendship. What if we actually got to see his family? We also never get to see Auschwitz very well. I really wish Bruno would have actually spent more time there instead of getting told by Shmuel what’s going on. This lack of freedom also dramatically affected the ending for me, and I didn’t really feel any emotion after I finished the book. The Boy In The Striped Pajamas really disappointed me not only because the author failed to create an interesting story, but also because he had such a huge opportunity to make one! This book could have been an action-packed, suspenseful adventure with a dramatic closing, but it unfortunately isn’t. I like how the author never explicitly said anything about the setting, and I like how the description is sometimes funny, but after a while, that also becomes really annoying. Unless you have a lot of patience for getting through books, I’d recommend to go and read something else. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne. David Fickling Books, 2006. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process! Have you read this book? Or do you plan on reading it? Let us know in the comments below!