Summary:
Bobby is a typical teenager growing up in New York City. His family isn’t rich – he and his mom live in the city in a walk-up apartment. His dad owns a restaurant and lives in Brooklyn. Bobby doesn’t know what he wants out of life – his time is spent shooting hoops, hanging with his friends and spending time with his girlfriend, Nia. On the day of his 16th birthday, Nia tells him something that could change his life forever – she’s pregnant and he’s the father.
Both their parents want them to
give the baby up for adoption. Their parents say they’re too young to raise a
child because they are only children themselves. Together, they decide to do
what they think is the right thing and give the baby up for adoption. A couple
has already been chosen to adopt her. Then tragedy strikes, and suddenly Bobby
isn’t sure if the “right thing” is so right anymore. Can he handle being a
father, or would it be better for adults to raise the baby? What does one do
when the lines between wrong and right get so blurred?
While short, as far as novels
go, at only 131 pages, this book is very powerful and sucks the reader into
Bobby’s world from the very beginning. The novel is written in first person
from Bobby’s point of view. The chapters tell his story by alternating between “then”
and “now” sequences that serve to illustrate the drastic changes that have
happened in his life in a short time. This format works very well in this novel
because it serves to give the reader short glimpses without telling the whole
story all at once. Where usually I can predict within a few dozen pages the
entire plot line of a story and exact details of what is going to happen, this
book kept me guessing right up to the end without making me lose interest in
the story.
The dialogue and perspectives of
the main character and his friends are very true to most of the teens I have
had in class, as are their thought processes. Johnson does an excellent job of
climbing inside the heads of teenaged boys. I imagine she must spend a lot of
time around teenagers either in a professional or a personal capacity.
Peripheral characters that could so easily have been “flat” or undeveloped are
fully fleshed without having a lot of time words being spent doing so. Johnson
is very good at using vivid words to quickly bring a full picture to the
readers’ minds.
The story itself is gripping,
heartbreaking and yet hopeful all at once. I am not ashamed to say I teared up
while I was reading several different passages. The reader is clearly able to
identify with the protagonist.
There is only one weakness I
perceive in this novel, and not everyone will see it as such. When I was
reading the novel, it was easy for me to keep straight what happened and when
it happened as I bounced back and forth from “now” to “then” chapters. However,
I imagine readers who are struggling readers or who have little patience may
find themselves confused from time to time trying to keep the storyline
straight. This format may lead some readers to put the book down before
finishing it. This is the only weakness I see, and it would not be a weakness
for all readers.
Awards:
(All
awarded in 2004)
ALA Michael
L. Printz Award
Abraham
Lincoln Book Award Master List (IL)
ALA
Best Books For Young Adults
ALA
Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
Alabama
Author's Award
Booklist
Editors' Choice
CBC/NCSS
Notable Social Studies Trade Book
Charlotte
Award Suggested Reading List (NY)
Coretta
Scott King Award (ALA) - 2004
Florida
Teens Read Master List
Garden
State Teen Book Award Nominee (NJ)
Gateway
Readers Award Nominee (MO)
Georgia
Peach Book Award Master List
Green
Mountain Book Award Master List (VT)
Gryphon
Award for Children's Literature
Iowa
Teen Award Master List
IRA
Young Adults' Choices
Rosie
Award Nominee (IN)
Sequoyah
Young Adult Master List (OK)
South
Carolina Book Award Nominee
Volunteer
State Book Award Master List (TN)
YARP
Award Master List (SD)
Teaching Extensions:
This extension could be adapted
to Family Consumer Sciences, Health or even English classes. Students would
read this book, discussing Bobby’s struggles as a parent as they read. After
students have finished the book, the teacher could assign the students an
exercise whereby they get a more true sense of what he is facing. For schools
with higher budgets and existing Family Consumer Sciences or parenting classes,
students would be assigned the mechanical dolls often used in such classes.
These dolls are programmed to cry, wet and demand food at irregular hours of
the day and night, much like real babies. Students would be required to take
the “babies” with them everywhere they went and keep them at home with them all
night for a period of no less than one full school week. Additionally, students
must also keep a journal during the time when they are parents to convey what
challenges they faced and how they coped with their new responsibilities. The
students’ parents are forbidden to assist in the care of the “babies” in any
way. For schools with lower budgets, bags of flour and raw eggs in shell have
been substituted with some success to illustrate the fragility of new life.
After students have completed their turns as “parents,” they will reexamine key
passages in the book and discuss them in light of their newfound experiences
with their “babies.”
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