Presenting the 2013 Rebecca Caudill Nominees
The ones that I have already read:
Dark Life by Kat Falls (audio book)
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (audio book) I read this ‘pre-blog’, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Very different. It is the 2008 Newbery Award Winner.
Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm (audio book) 2011 Newbery Honor book.
Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai (audio book) 2012 Newbery Honor book.
Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes (audio book) 2011 Coretta Scott King Honor book for author.
Now I can add Bounce to that list. Similar to Dark Life, Bounce was not a Newbery or Coretta Scott King book. It was one of the surprises – so much of a surprise that Decatur Public Library didn’t even own it yet. It wasn’t on our radar. Thanks Williamsville Junior High Library for the loan! Our copy is on order. And if it weren’t for the Caudill Nominating Committee, I am not sure that it would have received much attention – in my opinion.
It is a slight book – under 200 pages. It is a quick read. And I would say it is definitely written for junior high girls – the protagonist is thirteen-year-old Evyn (not E-V-A-N). Of course girls and even boys like to read about kids who are older than themselves. They like to read about what they have to look forward to in the future. So that the girls who will actually read this book will probably be 4th-6th graders. I might be a bit too “straight” because it wouldn’t be my choice for my 6th grader due to certain situations and conversations.
When I first started reading this novel, I mistakenly pictured the setting to be the 1970s. Just some of the character descriptions, particularly the clothing, led me in this direction. And then a cell phone and an Xbox jarred me back into the present. I still don’t find the setting to be solid.
Evyn and her 15-year-old brother live with their widower father. Evyn’s mother died when she was one. Her only wish is to have her mother back. As her wish continues to go unanswered, she has chosen to imagine her mother as her imaginary friend. The person she goes to in her own mind for advice. No, she’s not crazy, thank you very much. Evyn knows she provides her mother’s voice, but it works for her.
At the very beginning of the novel, Evyn’s dad, Birdie, announces that he is getting remarried and they are moving to Boston to live with their new family including six new step-siblings. Yikes! Evyn is the opposite of happy about this new adventure, but her brother, the one person she would expect to be her ally, doesn’t say a word. Evyn continues to feel alone as she leaves behind the only town she’s ever known along with her best friend and their solid group of friends.
Evyn does not fit in in her new home. Her new little sister is half her age. The twins she shares a room with are in high school already. Her biological brother doesn’t speak; he only mumbles as necessary. And as her father settles in with his new household, he begins to change. He shaves his face and starts to dress differently. He even begins to cook gourmet meals. KFC had always been good enough before. Why does the new family get this special treatment?
Evyn also doesn’t fit in at her new school. She doesn’t know how to accessorize her new uniform. Her hair is cut too short and choppy. No one seems interested in getting to know her until the ‘it’ girls discover that her step-brother is Ajax Gantos, star soccer player. Then Evyn is suddenly welcome to eat lunch with the beautiful girls. She manages to ignore the fact that they don’t even care to know her name.
Perhaps this would be a good book for girls dealing with the remarriage of their parents and combined families. Perhaps this would be a good book to help girls dealing with mild forms of bullying. The book’s title refers to Evyn’s mother’s advice to let the insults “bounce” off of her. What I didn’t care for was talk of spiked punch at junior high dances. And more especially, there is a college-attending, nineteen-year-old step-brother that Evyn has a crush on. He offers his place as a temporary refuge at one point like a real big brother might do, but he has his girlfriend over; there is alcohol and tobacco present and possibly some making out. Nothing graphic, mind you, but not necessarily necessary. Flawed character? yes. Perfect role-model? no. Real life? yes. Does illegal behavior need to be written in as okay? no. I don’t think so. Make him 21 at least. I don’t want my child thinking this is the norm. Is this the norm?
I think I have just discovered contemporary realistic fiction for reluctant readers who happen to be junior high girls. It is that “light”.
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