RAT: A Book Review by Tween Guest Blogger, Brooke White

The book RAT by Jan Cheripko is an upper middle-grade/young adult novel offering a unique, first-person perspective of Jeremy, a disabled boy in high school. I would recommend this book for readers 11+ who can comprehend the use of mature language, suggestive dialogue, violence, abuse, and swear words. 

 

We start in a courtroom, with Jeremy a witness in a trial, stating what he saw when his basketball coach, Coach Stennard, physically abused a cheerleader, Cassandra Diaz. He explains that the coach was trying to kiss Cassandra and physically disrespect her boundaries.

 

He explains his passion for basketball, expressing that he’s not too good, but that doesn’t change how he likes the sport. He then tells the judge that his nickname is Rat because his “friends” always call him a gym rat! 

 

Jeremy states that the coach threatened to cut a slit in his throat if he told anyone about what he saw. Jeremy also stated that he saw Cassandra crying, with her blouse ripped.

 

Jeremy and his “friends” talk about the incident. Jeremy learns that his “friends” are only concerned about getting a new coach and are mad at him for testifying against Coach Stennard.  Jeremy thinks about how his injury at birth to his right arm affects his life. He says the reason he’s good at basketball is because he concentrates and doesn’t miss the hoop. In the gym, Simpson bullies Jeremy, and then Josh, another “friend” says, “Leave it alone”. 

 

In a basketball game, Simpson chooses Felipe and Josh, while Mr. O’Connor chooses two girls, Katie and Megan. Jeremy is hurt that he hasn’t been chosen, but he still watches the game. In the end, Mr. O’Connor and the girls win!

 

For Jeremy, it feels good to see Simpson defeated, but that ends quickly. Jeremy attempts to shoot the basketball in the hoop, but then Simpson steals the ball and pins him down using the basketball. Simpson pushes the basketball into Jeremy’s right arm and into his back. Jeremy wiggles on the floor and the kids laugh at him. I found this part of the story a great visual and a good example of what Jeremy experiences.

 

Mr. O’Connor, the new basketball coach, tells the team that Jeremy is the new assistant manager. No one responds. Mr. O’Connor gives the team a basketball handbook and discusses the principles with the players.

 

Once Simpson bullies Jeremy again, Coach O’Connor meets with Jeremy in his office. He talks about honesty and reminds him that honesty is the first principle in the handbook. Jeremy thinks about Coach Stennard and reflects on the terrible experience, then decides to reassess. My favorite character is Mr. O’Connor.  I look up to his encouraging, rule-following, and empathetic personality.

 

Once I started reading this book I couldn’t stop turning the pages! This story guides us through many of Jeremy’s real-life experiences, which we can learn from. Some lessons that stuck out to me were the importance of understanding how to be comfortable in your own skin, and the special perspective of how a relationship with God can be strengthened through trials. In the climax of the story, Jeremy starts to pray to help find his way. 

 

There are multiple plots in this story, which may be hard for some readers to follow along with, but the subplots lead to the adrenaline-pumping and fast-paced novel that it is.

 

The reader is left asking questions. Will Jeremy get into more trouble with his team? Will Coach Stennard get out of jail?  Will Jeremy ever find a real friend?     

 

In conclusion, I would recommend this young adult novel, Rat for ages 11+ or anyone who can process imperfect behavior, violence, and bullying.

 

Brooke loves books and basketball!

Read Brooke's last review of Hidden Truths on my blog here. 

 

Sure Signs of Crazy: A Review and Autographed Giveaway!

Congratulations to Linda Phillips who won an autographed copy of BE LIGHT LIKE A BIRD on last week's blog.

Several years ago I bought Karen Harrington's book, SURE SIGNS OF CRAZY (Little Brown Books, 2013) at a SCBWI conference. As my bookshelves fill up with newer books, sometimes older ones take a back seat. Deciding it was time to read this debut novel, I sped through it in just a few days. For some fortunate reader of this blog, I bet you will too.

Twelve-year-old Sarah Nelson is haunted by her past. When she was two, her mother tried to drown her and her twin brother, Simon. Sadly, Simon died and her mother was sent to a mental-health facility. Sarah hasn't seen her for the last ten years and hears from her only two times a year. More than anything, Sarah longs to know her mother, to have her mother know her, and to not go crazy like her mother did. 

Recently, I blogged about Jan Cheripko's workshops at Highlights Summer Camp about secondary characters. Since I found the secondary characters in SURE SIGNS OF CRAZY to be so well-developed and adding so much to the plot, I decided to show how they contributed to Sarah's story. 

Early on the reader meets Plant, Sarah's best friend. Plant gets moved from one rental house to another and is the recipient of Sarah's confidences and fears. 

Most days when I water Plant, I have a new trouble word to tell her. All of them are mixed deep in her soil. If secrets were seeds, she could bloom leaves that would make me blush.
And if she did bloom and show the world all my secrets, I just don't know what I'd do. Probably I'd lie and say, "Oh, she was here when we moved in. These are the secrets of another girl." (p.  13)

The book begins with the end of sixth grade. Sarah receives an assignment from her English teacher, Mr. Wister, who is another important secondary character. On the last day of school he hands out composition books with the assignment to write an actual letter or story. When the students complain he answers, "Most people don't know what they truly think until they write it down. Don't you want to know what you truly think?" (p. 39)

Without too much thought, Sarah begins a letter to Atticus Finch, one of her literary heroes.

Dear Atticus Finch,
I am writing to you for a class assignment given to me by the greatest English teacher ever, Mr. G. Wistler. He had the idea that we should choose a character to write to. I can't say for certain, but I think I'm the only one writing to you. That is good for me. Most of my classmates are writing to Harry Potter and Lucy Moon. Maybe you've met them at the library. When I was little, I used to think that when the library closed, all the characters came out of the books. (p. 41)

With that, a "correspondence" between Sarah and Atticus begins in which she pours her heart out to him. Although she tries hard to hide the reality of her mother's actions from the people around her, Atticus (and Plant) are safe. They'll never rat on her and they help her feel less alone. 

Lisa is her best friend ("But when you hardly have any friends, best is relative." p.45) who really doesn't serve as much purpose as Atticus or Plant do--except that Sarah hides the truth of her family from her. Lisa is also the girl who is what Sarah wants to be-- a "normal" about-to-be-seventh-grader that has pierced ears and wants her first French kiss. 

Charlotte is the college-aged babysitter who Sarah stays with while her father is at work. She is like a big sister to Sarah, helping her out when Sarah gets her period for the first time and teaching her about make up. But Sarah is more sensible than her babysitter. When Charlotte can't seem to break up with her loser boyfriend, Sarah tries to convince her that she'd be better off without him.  

Because Sarah spends her summer days at Charlotte's house, she meets Charlotte's younger brother Finn. Despite a big age difference, the two connect over their love for words. One day they're killing time watching The Price is Right when an announcer breaks into the show. 

"This is only the second time in Texas's history the charge has been brought forth, the first time being the case of Thomas Nelson following the trial of his wife, Jane Nelson." And there she is, entering my life announced and unwanted. (p. 157)

Finn handles the news with aplomb and later says to her,

"Anyway, we all have big secrets," he says. 

"Really? What's yours?" I ask. "Do you have a tattoo somewhere?" 

He leans into the door frame, studies his shoes."My dad killed himself when I was eleven." 

Then time waits for him to speak again. That's how big the secret is. It has to come out slow. "Apparently, I look just like him, which is a real problem for my mother," he says. "She still has a big reminder of him, you know, whether she wants it or not. So when he died, I sort of lost both my parents, you know. I was mad at both of them, but that doesn't help. I think that's how it might be with your dad." 

I swallow hard. This is the kind of information you want to run and be alone with, dissect it and break it down to be sure you heard it right. 

"It sucks," is all I can say. 

"I agree with your choice of verbs," he says. 

"At least your secret cannot be announced during The Price is Right.  (p. 190)

Sarah's alcoholic professor father, Thomas Nelson, is a very important secondary character. Although Sarah hates his drinking and even at one point pours out his Jim Beam, he is all the parent she has. Her growth is almost in spite of him. At the end of the book after Sarah sees him passed out on the sofa at his parent's house Sarah announces: 

"I'm going to go see her so I can talk. Just to her. I have things I need to day." 

"Couldn't we talk---" 

"No," I cut him off. 

"Maybe a counselor..." 

"No," I tell him again. I want to cry, but the brave girl won't let me. "You are evading. Atticus says a child can spot an evasion quicker than grown-ups. You are supposed to answer my questions." (p. 253)

Sarah tosses To Kill a Mockingbird at her father, tells him to read it and suggests he might learn something from it. 

Easily the most important secondary character is Sarah's mother, Jane Nelson.  The reader mostly meets her in Sarah's thoughts about her, but despite her father's protests, Sarah decides to visit her at the hospital. On the bus trip to the hospital, Sarah writes a moving letter to her mother, pouring out all of her hopes for the relationship they never had. Sadly, Sarah never gets to say what she longs to tell her.  

But her letter writing to Atticus has changed her. Before visiting the hospital they stop by Simon's grave. Afterwards her fathers asks Sarah:

"What did you put on Simon's grave?"

"A page." 

"From the book?" 

"The part where Atticus describes courage. What it means to have it." 

Dad tells me I'm the most courageous person he's ever met. It goes straight to that secret place inside of me where I keep my favorite words. (p. 272)

To win my autographed copy of SURE SIGNS OF CRAZY, please leave me a comment by October 27th. If you decide to follow my blog or post this on social media, I'll enter your name twice. Just let me know what you decide to do and PLEASE leave your email address if you are new to my blog!

Gems from Jan: Summer Camp at Highlights Part III

I first met Jan Cheripko, author of Rat; Sun, Moon, Stars, Rain; and Imitate The Tiger, when we both presented at a South Carolina Reading Association conference several years ago. I admire his tight prose in which young men face peer pressure and/or tough choices. His workshop at camp was on secondary characters and transitions. Since I'd never studied either of those in particular, I thought I’d learn some tips for Half-Truths and some advice to pass on to all of you. Below is a synopsis of his two presentations. 

Photo by Gayle Krause

On Secondary Characters

Pay attention to your secondary character’s motivations and make sure you develop a distinct identity for them. If you are only using a secondary character to advance the plot, you might be short-changing the plot. Secondary character must be there for his/her own growth.  

Focus on an individual in a crowd and realize how that person may personify the crowd. For example, in the opening scene of Casablanca moviegoers see a pickpocket. The thief represents how people are stuck in Casablanca and bad things are about to happen. Each minor character should reinforce the theme of the story.  

Shakespeare gave some of his best lines to his secondary characters. Can you be so confidant in you writing that you give some of your best lines to someone who only shows up on the page briefly?  In King Lear the Gentleman says: “Her tears were like diamonds dropped from pearls.”

Your assignment: Create a list of all your characters and assign a value to them.  

1- Most important

2- Supporting

3- Less so

4- Brief encounter

5- Part of the crowd

Then ask:

• Who are they?
• What’s their purpose?
• Where do they come from?
• When did they exist?
• What’s their history?
• What do we know about them?
• Why does she or he speak that way?
• Should she be eliminated or developed?
• Is this character consistent with purpose and theme of the book?

Play with a secondary’s character language. Allow him to be extravagant in ways the main character isn’t. Experiment! Be poetic, use humor, innuendo, puns, and slapstick. Take chances! Be philosophical, offer insights, use recurring symbols and leitmotif. Then, if necessary, be prepared to cut it all.

An example from Half-Truths

Maggie, Kate's younger sister comes into the library after exploring her grandmother's attic. She and her brother are excited to find their great-grandfather's civil war uniform. While she is chattering about what they found, Kate looks at their great-grandfather's portrait which hangs over the fireplace.

Maggie follows my gaze. "That's it! That's what we found. Wait 'til I tell Frankie. He's going to be flabberdoozled!" 

"Flabberdoozled?" Grandaddy repeats. He bites his bottom lip to keep from laughing.  

Maggie looks at him with impatience. "You know, Grandaddy! Flabbergasted plus bamboozled. Flabberdoozled!"

Transitional Scenes: Half the Fun is Getting There

First, Jan gave a short primer on plot:

Beginnings. Will it get us to turn the page?

“Call me Ishmael.” Moby Dick.  This is a command to the reader. 

“And the clock struck 13.” 1984.

Middle. Is there a clear inciting moment? It must happen in the first third of the story. Tension builds with the inclusion of backstory, new characters, danger, actions, dialogue, and interior monologue. Then relations become more complicated. Motives are introduced and action intensifies. Conflicts build to inciting moment until you get to a point of no return.

Rocky When the guy pulls Rocky’s name out of the hat and there is no choice: Rocky must fight.

Titanic Jack looks up and sees Rose in the balcony. Once they meet, it’s the point of no return.

End. Is the reader left thinking, feeling, wondering, sad, happy, perplexed, or satisfied? 

When crafting a scene ask:

• Why is this scene in here?
• How is it constructed?
• Is it consistent with the story, plot and pacing?
• Can it, or should it be eliminated?
• Where is the story line going? Does this scene take my story forward?
• Is the scene consistent with my purpose and theme?

Transitional scenes move readers from scene A to scene C by way of scene B. The transition can be physical, emotional, psychological, relational, necessary to flow of the story line, or some combination of all these.  Shakespeare used letters and messages for this purpose. In Casablanca a departing plane symbolizes hope to the people who watch it leave. You can see them thinking, “Perhaps tomorrow we’ll be on it.”

Scene A: The Barn

Scene B: Summer Campers Tracey Meltzer Kyle and Jilanne Hoffman
strolling from Scene A to Scene C.

Scene C: The Creek

When you look at a transitional scene you have four options:

• Leave it the way it is.
• Eliminate it entirely and cut to the chase.
• Expand it, develop it, and integrate it even more.
• Judiciously trim it; let the left out parts speak volumes.

Your assignment: Write a transitional scene. Slow down, pay attention to details, and make the scene worthwhile. 

An example from Half-Truths

Kate is walking home from just having been in Lillie's neighborhood without her family knowing. (For those of you who are unfamiliar with the story,  Kate has just moved to a wealthy area of Charlotte, NC after spending her growing-up years on a farm in Titusville, SC.) 

It's getting dark and I hurry along the street. I've got to get back before my grandparents come home from the club. Even Grandaddy wouldn't be too happy with me walking around a colored neighborhood by myself at night. 

I walk past a white brick mansion high on a hill. Small lights line the long driveway casting a warm glow on the spacious lawn. This isn't at all like Titusville, but I feel like I belong here more than I do in Lillian's neighborhood. It's strange. I never thought I'd feel like I belonged in Myers Park.

******

Jan is a gifted teacher and mentor. It was a pleasure to chat with him and hear from other campers how much he encouraged them.

Photo by Jolene Ballard Gutierrez

In case you missed my previous posts about Summer Camp at Highlights, here is Part I ("The Power of Social Media") and Part II (Conversations with Kathy).

Word Garden, Highlights Foundation
Words by Rose Colson

Craft Plus revisited

In March I blogged about the project which Maupin House publisher Julie Graddy had asked me to work on— adding 6-8^th grade fictional narrative lessons to the new edition of the Maupin House Craft Plus series. I recently received my copy in the mail and was proud to see my name listed along with eleven other teacher educators who participated as curriculum writers. If you are looking for a comprehensive program to teach writing skills, check out this easy-to-follow set of lesson plans that also include descriptive, expository, personal narrative, procedural, persuasive, and comparison writing. A list of materials, which you will need during the 5 weeks of writing and application, introduces each book. Selecting literature models was one of the fun parts of writing these lessons; I could choose books that I have enjoyed over the years. In 6^th grade I recommended that students write an historical story and was happy to suggest that they read Blue and Healing Water
by my colleague, Joyce Hostetter; and Anchor: P.Moore Proprietor by fellow North Carolina SCBWI-er, Blonnie Wyche. For seventh grade, I used sports fiction as a model and included Jan Cheriko's book, Imitate the Tiger
and Samurai Shortstop
by Alan Gratz. Eighth graders write mysteries and one of the books that I recommended was Gratz's book, Something Rotten. It's an honor to have been part of the staff that created these writing lessons, and a pleasure to recommend these books to your students.

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