In Holly Schindler’s book, The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky, there are two kinds of people: the ones that shine like Gus’s truck, Old Glory, and the kind who are dull like rusted metal at McGunn’s Scrapyard. The way I see it, books are the same way. Most books I read shine like Old Glory. Very few are rusted metal. However, even fewer books shimmer brighter, remembered fondly forever like sparkling gold. This book did. Ms. Schindler’s book takes place in a small southern town called Willow Grove. It’s a story about an eleven-year-old girl named Auggie who finds a way to make old, broken things become beautiful sculptures. She finds their hidden potential with her grandfather, a trash hauler named Gus, but the book has so much more to it than that. First of all, Auggie’s story includes more than a few discouraging challenges to do what she loves. Auggie’s best friend, Lexi, is giving up their friendship to hang out with Victoria Cole, the antagonist. Victoria is popular and better known in Willow Grove. Not many people listen to Auggie. She’s attending a new school, Dickerson, where she hopes to find her special something. So on top of the “first-day jitters”, she is trying to figure out who she is and face the misjudging Dickerson kids. Secondly, Ms. Schindler represents the elements of the book in fascinating ways. One piece of the conflict’s resolution is represented by the name of Auggie’s neighborhood—Serendipity Place. This name is considered ironic by Auggie in the beginning of the book; everyone in her neighborhood is poor and their houses broken down. It doesn’t seem like a serendipitous, or lucky, community. In the end, though, the residents work on their houses and realize the truth about themselves and the name doesn’t seem quite so ironic anymore. Third, there are many different characters in The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky. Characters who support Auggie. Characters who don’t. Characters who look at her sculptures and see art. Characters who can’t. Characters who choose not to see beauty in Auggie’s sculptures for personal or social reasons, like Lexi. Deep down, Lexi feels the sculptures are beautiful art, but pretends like she sees them as junk, like Victoria does. Lexi wants to impress Victoria because she wants Victoria as a friend. Victoria is rich, after all. Lexi thinks she needs Victoria. She doesn’t realize she already has who she needs—Auggie. And finally, I can relate all those characters to people in real life. I notice qualities about people I have known for a long time I haven’t noticed before. Now that I understand the community of Willow Grove, I understand humans better. What makes the story so real, so relatable, so irresistible to read is that the people in it aren’t the perfectly fictitious characters we hear about so much. Not even Victoria, who appears perfect on the outside, but broken and insecure inside. The other characters hold pieces of the world inside of them too and each is just as intriguing. And then there is Auggie’s art. Her creativity, determination, and what comes out of it is so inspiring. Even when Victoria and the House Beautification Committee discourages her, Auggie plows on because she loves and respects what she is doing. Anybody might wish to be more like Auggie and I certainly do. The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky brought the truth about art and people alive to me. If you are looking for an honest and inspiring book I would certainly recommend it. The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky by Holly Schindler. Dial Books for Young Readers, 2014. Buy the book here and support Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup in the process! Have you read this book? Or do you plan on reading it? If so, comment below!
Book Reviews
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Reviewed by Laura Chiu, age 12
Opening Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, I felt almost like I was in fourth grade again-overly eager, attentive, and absolutely addicted to the Harry Potter series. I devoured up her books, one by one, despite the fact that they were, well, enormous. I immersed myself in Harry’s world as best as I could. Nobody could possibly pry me away from those books. I even dreamt about attending Hogwarts, only to wake up the next morning and sadly realize that I was still attending the same old school. Needless to say, I hadn’t changed much since fourth grade-well, not when concerning Harry Potter. I finished the entire, 376-page book, in less than two hours, from top to bottom. When I finally, closed the book, one thought popped into my head. “What did I just read?” I probably have the most unpopular opinion. I actually enjoyed the book very much, despite the fact that it was in script form. While other readers griped that the script formatting took a lot away from the book, I thought it added more to it. Instead of relying on J.K. Rowling’s descriptive imagery, I now had to think deeper and examine what was really happening-a fact that, apparently, many readers disliked. I felt like only having the character’s dialogue gave me a deeper understanding of the situations, and that, in only one book, I had established a much closer connection with all of the characters than through all seven books of the series. Speaking about characters, one new character that J.K. Rowling introduced to me in the play struck a chord in my heart. I felt myself sympathizing with him, celebrating with him, and, at times, scolding him. It’ll probably come to no surprise to you that this character is Albus Severus Potter. Yes, he’s Harry’s son. Albus doesn’t seem to be a particularly outstanding character at first, as he’s rotten at Quidditch and turns out to be, unlike his mother and father, not a Gryffindor, but a Slytherin. He also befriends Draco Malfoy’s son, Scorpius Malfoy, who’s rumored to be Voldemort’s son. Poor Albus has to deal with the bullying of other students, who judge him by Harry’s legacy. You know when they say, “Like father, like son?” Yeah, forget that. I sympathized with Albus, because his story hits a little too close to home with me. My older sister excels in all of her subjects. She gets perfect scores on every test and scores 100’s on state-wide exams. Sometimes, people judge me and treat me the way they do with my sister, even though I’m not like her. I’ve come to peace with this fact, however, unlike Albus (though he does learn to in the end of the book). Despite being quite a good follow-up on Harry Potter’s world (it’s so interesting to see how Harry and the rest of the Hogwart’s gang has matured), there are some things in the book that slightly disappoint me. As it’s adapted for a play, it’s very short, and makes me feel as if something is missing. The ending seems to wrap up much too quickly and neatly, unlike the Harry Potter series. And in the end, instead of feeling satisfied and moving on, I still felt like there was more to the story (there wasn’t.) In conclusion, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was an excellent book (which goes to show that J.K. Rowling never disappoints her readers). I read it three times, then some more, if you can believe it. Now, it’s your turn. Read it. I promise it won’t disappoint. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling. Arthur A. Levine Books, 2017. Buy the book here and support Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup in the process! Have you read this book? Or do you plan on reading it? If so, comment below!
Last Stop on Market Street, Reviewed by Samuel Phillips, age 12
Despite being a picture book for young readers, Last Stop on Market Street, by Matt de la Peña, won the Newbery Award, a rare event that shocked the reading community. A picture book hasn’t won in ages and, because of this, no one in my class won our Newbery Medal guessing competition because we never saw it coming. But after reading it, I’m shocked that nobody in our class saw it coming, how I didn’t see it coming. CJ is a little boy, who is about to embark on a bus ride that will change his outlook on life. Every Sunday, after church, he and his Nana ride the crosstown bus down Market Street. The problem is that CJ wants to ride in a car, like his friends, instead of waiting for the bus in the rain and many other things that he can’t do because of lack of money. But Nana, old and wise, shows CJ the beauty of their world, even when parts seem dreary. Books aren’t just good because of the story they tell, but because they’re relatable to our own lives. I picked this book up after a trip to Portland, OR, a beautiful city dealing with a severe homelessness crisis. Because of this experience, I could see beyond Christian Robinson’s Caldecott-winning artwork. I could see Market Street, from the distinctive characters on the bus to the man pushing his belongings in a shopping cart down the street. I could smell it, the weird smells and the smell of fresh rain. I could hear it, the doors of the bus opening and shutting with cars honking in the distance. Most importantly, I could see it through CJ’s eyes, because he feels so real. So when CJ complained about his circumstances, I could understand his frustration, yet appreciate Nana’s wisdom and see where she was coming from. Last Stop on Market Street is great for many other reasons too. CJ is very realistic, as I said above. He asks questions that our generation of kids would ask in or out of that situation, such as, “Why can’t I have a IPod?” He whines and complains like many kids I know (me, again) and he uses slang, something that I often do, too. Another reason is Nana’s sage words. Her words are so poetic, fluid, and real. My favorite line of the book comes from her: “Sometimes when you’re surrounded by dirt, CJ, you’re a better witness for what’s beautiful.” She interacts in such an inspiring way with people that it makes you think differently about your own interactions. If all the awards and high praise haven’t convinced you to read this book, here’s some food for thought: Every city has its troubled areas, whether small, maybe like your city, or big, like Portland, OR. In this particular case, it’s Market Street. Now it’s not like CJ and Nana have to go to this part of town. Nana doesn’t care about their financial situations. She just wants to talk to these people and bring some kind of joy to their lives. We can learn from her actions and, if for nothing else, she is the reason to read this book. Last Stop on Market Street is a short, yet sweet book that everyone should read once in their lives. Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña. G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 2015. Buy the book here and support Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup in the process! Have you read this book? Or do you plan on reading it? If so, comment below!
