Howe,
James. The Misfits Atheneum Books for
Young Readers, New York, 2001. 274 pages.
Tr. $16.00 ISBN 0689839553
Plot
Description:
The
Misfits is the story of the Gang of 5; four life-long
friends, Bobby, Addie, Joe, and Skeezie .who have bonded over their mutual
status as outcast, all teased and called names by their peers throughout
school. The seventh grade has just begun
and Addie is out to make waves. She is
determined to start a third party and run for student council. The rest of the Gang of 5 are not sure the
best way to survive middle school is by drawing attention to themselves by
running for election, but they are devoted friends and agree to help Addie
anyway. Running for student council is
not as easy as the friends had hoped; they are up against stubborn teachers and
peers that generally spend their time making, Bobby, Skeezie, Joe and Addie
miserable. Bobby has the brilliant idea
to use their status as outcasts as a campaign platform and the No Name Party is
born, but does the No Name Party stand a chance at winning against the smartest
and most popular kids in school?
Review:
Howe’s The
Misfits is an inspiring story about standing up to bullies and accepting
one’s self. Each of the four characters
is teased for different reasons and they all deal with bullies
differently. Joe for instance responses
to having “fagot” written on his locker by pointing out to the bullies that if
they are going to call him names they should at the very least know how to
spell them. Joe was my favorite
character; a young boy who has known he is gay from a young age and who despite
facing constant ridicule from his peers refuses to be anyone but himself. The
Misfits is thought provoking book that will make readers think twice about calling
anyone names again. A must have for nay
middle grade collection!
Genre:
Realistic Contemporary
GLBTQ
Humor
Reading
Level/Interest Level:
Grades 4-8
Similar
Books:
Diary
of a Wimpy Kid Jeff Kinney
Middle
School, the Worst Years of My Life James Patterson
No comments:
Post a Comment