Sophie Childs

BookTardis394

Two boys – a slow learner stuck in the body of a teenage giant and a tiny Einstein in leg braces – forge a unique friendship when they pair up to create one formidable human force. A wonderful story of triumph over imperfection, shame, and loss.

Allison Bertasso

Максим Еркин

Deadend Do

Eathereal Beauty

Cameron

Hailey Ash

isaac yancey

Turd Cobain

Brooklyn

Natalie Ordonez

Carey Williford

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Freak the Mighty

I teach Junior high (7th/8th grade) literature and this is my first review of a book that I utilize in my classroom. I think it is a remarkable example of literary workmanship. I'd estimate that I've read it aloud to my students some 40 to 50 times now..(two/three times a year for 18 years)...and yet I still find new aspects to savor everytime I immerse myself in the journey that begins with:"I never had a brain until Freak came along and let me borrow his for a while and that's the truth, the whole truth. The unvanquished truth...."  This book is my sure fire,reel 'em in, can't lose, heart ripping, rollicking, tear jerking, laugh provoking, page turning miracle of a book that has always worked in my classroom. When I'm reading this to and with my class,the kids are right there with me, eyes on the page, totally absorbed in the text. I've never had a kid say he/she didn't like it/love it (some 1500 hard to impress, hard to hook, and, for the most part, struggling, reluctant readers over the course of my tenure here at Richgrove Junior High). Thank you Rodman Philbrick!!! I only wish you could see,hear,and feel the intense emotional atmosphere in my classroom as I read the section wherein Max screams out his pent up rage and agony...opening the door to his repressed chidhood nightmare and confronting the evil that "Preacher" Killer Kane has wrought in his life.You could,quite literally, hear a pin drop in my room at this moment....I always pause at the line where the light is fading from ghost/mother's eyes. Truly dramatic...not melodramatic as one reviewer suggested.   Yes, there is much palpable darkness in this book...but there is compensation in in the exqusite light that emmanates from these pages, too. A beautifully wrought dance of darkness and light.   Wisdom abounds in passages like these:  "Pain is just a state of mind. You can think your way out of everything, even pain."  “...remembering is a great invention of the mind, and if you try hard enough you can remember anything, whether it really happened or not.”   “You don't need a time machine if you know how to remember.”   "...I also read tons of books so I can figure out what's true and what's fake, which isn't always easy. Books are like truth serum--if you don't read, you can't figure out what's real.”   "Life is dangerous" ....  The characterization in this novel is impeccabble and brilliant...the thematic content is deep and rich, the plot intriguing...foreshadowing and flashback are abundant but not overbearing,philbrick's diction is perfectly in tune with the characters.The book can serve a biblio-therapeutic role too. Can you tell how much I've come to treasure this little novel "for Kids" ? I could go on....and on. I won't. I'll just continue to look forward to teaching it to my students each year...for as long as i continue to teach....maybe another 50 times????

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