Brendan Buckley is
many things. He is more curious than a cat. He is not afraid to ask questions.
He keeps a book of all the questions he wishes to answer and he is saving them
for summer vacation when he plans to tackle them. Brendan knows that he is a
scientist. He knows how to perform an experiment using the Scientific Method.
He is a Tae Kwon Do Warrior who practices the five tenants. He is working on
his purple belt, but plans to achieve his black belt in one year. Finally,
Brendan Buckley has just become a rockhound, a person who collects and
catalogues rocks and minerals as a hobby.
This slight, under 200
pages, 2013 Bluestem Nominee geared toward 3rd to 5th
graders covers ALL of the above things. Brendan adds several new questions to
his big book of everything. He even answers a few. He attempts to perform at
least two actual experiments – one involving pee. Yes, I said it. He practices
his forms for Tae Kwon Do in his basement with his best friend. You will hear
more about this martial art than you thought there was room for in this novel. Brendan
starts his collection of rocks AND he memorizes the Mohs Scale of mineral hardness
in an attempt to impress. There is a BUNCH of information packed between the
covers.
And yet, these things
are not what this book is actually about. Brendan is biracial. His father is
black. His mother is white. Brendan has always known his paternal grandparents.
His grandfather, whom Brendan was especially close to, has recently passed
away. He sees Gladys, his black grandmother on a weekly basis. Brendan has
never known his maternal grandparents although he knew that his white
grandmother died when he was a baby. He doesn’t even know who or where his
grandfather is. When he has asked his mother in the past, she simply states that
the man is gone.
The action begins when
Brendan goes to the mall with Gladys. She wants a massage and she will bribe Brendan
with treats and pop to go along with her. Brendan happens to know that the
local rock, gem and mineral club is featuring a show at the mall. There will be
displays, but also a chance to buy minerals and Brendan is itching to obtain
his first rock! Brendan is just about to make his first purchase from the
president of the local chapter when Gladys shows up and immediately drags him
away before the transaction is completed. Gladys’ reaction to the man leads
Brendan to read the flyer in his hand… the man he was just talking to is his
grandfather!
So begins a story
where Brendan lies and sneaks around behind his parents’ backs in order to meet
and spend time with the grandfather he never knew. All the while, he is trying
to find out why his mother and grandfather don’t want to see each other, but
more importantly, why his grandfather didn’t want to meet his own grandson.
Brendan seeks to show the two “that the one who forgives ends the argument.”
My favorite kind of
book is the book that takes a main character who might be nothing like myself,
but quickly and easily puts me in their shoes. By the end of the book, I have
learned their point of view. I have seen it. Sometimes, I have even felt it.
That is an author with a gift. I can definitely see a need for books like Brendan Buckley. In this case, the magic didn’t
happen. I never identified with Brendan. I was even borderline offended. I came
away from the book wondering what went wrong and how it could have been
improved. I think perhaps the author was heavy-handed with the message and
spent a good portion of the book telling rather than showing the story. There
is no doubt in my mind that she has the experience to tell Brendan’s story and
it is a story that needs to be shared. Maybe it is the voices of the other
characters that need to be elaborated upon. There were no satisfactory answers
to be found here.
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