E-book
Fouling out
Record details
- ISBN: 9781551437163 (electronic bk.)
- ISBN: 1551437163 (electronic bk.)
- ISBN: 9781554694709 (electronic bk.)
- ISBN: 1554694701 (electronic bk.)
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Physical Description:
electronic resource
remote
1 online resource (168 p.) : port. - Publisher: Victoria, B.C. : Orca Book Publishers, 2008.
Content descriptions
| General Note: | Title from eBook information screen. |
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Problem youth -- Juvenile fiction Runaway teenagers -- Juvenile fiction Friendship -- Juvenile fiction |
| Genre: | Electronic books. |
Electronic resources
- Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2008 June #1
A teenager struggles to steer a course away from a risky friend in this conventional but not agenda-ridden debut. Thirteen-year-old Craig has hung out with Tom ever since third grade, but now all the pranks and blowing off schoolwork are starting to wear thin. Plainly drawing on his experiences as a teacher and principal, Walters tucks in seemingly authentic classroom dynamics, silly games, and horsing around while capturing Craig's conflicting feelings as his longtime buddy exhibits increasingly erratic behavior. A scary near miss with a gun brings matters to a head. Tom runs away from home to escape the retribution of his violent, abusive father, and Craig, after much inner turmoil and with some unexpected adult assistance, helps Tom make a clean break. This isn't likely to draw a wide audience, but there are some vivid moments, and Craig's insight that "acts of charity should make a difference, not highlight a difference" is worth pondering. Copyright 2008 Booklist Reviews. - School Library Journal Reviews : SLJ Reviews 2008 August
Gr 5â7â Craig Trilosky has been friends with Tom since second grade. Now he's beginning to reconsider their relationship; the older they get, the more trouble Tom gets them both into. Tom's father is abusive, and his own behavior is unpredictable. Things come to a head when he attempts to shoot a squirrel and Craig tries to stop him, leading to what the media labels a hate crime when the stray bullet shatters the window of a Chinese family's house. Consumed by guilt, Craig is shocked when Tom beats him up but then takes responsibility for the incident. However, the threat of foster care causes Tom to run away. Craig confesses everything to his mother, and when Tom, suffering from hypothermia, comes to them for help, Craig's mother takes charge, eventually helping to get him from Vancouver to an uncle in Saskatchewan. There is little build-up to Craig's abrupt confession, and it seems unrealistic that his mother doesn't contact the authorities. Craig's narrative voice doesn't always ring true; not too many 13-year-old boys use words like "buffoon," "guffaw," and "sleuthing." However, kids who are dealing with the desire to redefine themselves apart from a difficult friendship may relate to Craig's situation.âLaurie Slagenwhite, Baldwin Public Library, Birmingham, MI
[Page 137]. Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information. - Voice of Youth Advocates Reviews : VOYA Reviews 2008 October
Craig and Tom have been friends since the second grade, but the time may have come for them to go their separate ways. Tom's loud and obnoxious behavior, along with his basketball obsession, alienates those around him, and Craig is embarrassed and a little unnerved by Tom's unpredictable ways as well as by the violent actions of Tom's father. But it is difficult to turn away a long-time friend, at least until Tom uses a gun trying to shoot a squirrel for fun and instead gets accused of a hate crime. Craig must decide whether he can stay friends with Tom or if he needs to be his own man, no matter what it costs Tom Walters's first novel has some strengths, not least of which is Craig's interest in school and desire to work hard and do well. Readers will identify with the tensions that come as one person outgrows another and the need to move on, and Tom's tough-guy manner (which covers abuse) is believable and poignant. Parts of the story are implausible, especially Craig's mother's quick about-face toward Tom when he gets in danger, but middle school readers will see past it to a compassionate adult and the possibility of hope in the midst of desperate circumstances.-Melissa Moore 3Q 3P M Copyright 2008 Voya Reviews. - Voice of Youth Advocates Reviews : VOYA Reviews 2008 June
Seventh grader Craig has one friend-Tom. Tom is reckless and a bully, and Craig finds himself also getting into trouble because he will not stand up to Tom. Tom's father is an abusive drunk, which makes Craig feel guilty whenever he tries to distance himself from his so-called friend. But when Craig gets caught up in an actual crime, he begins to realize that he can no longer follow Tom down his road of self-destruction. Craig is a likeable kid, and the tension between wanting to do well for himself while not abandoning his long-time friend rings true. Although it is interesting to see a seventh grade, shifting-friendship story about boys, this novel heads in too many different directions. What begins as a story about a boy learning to stand up for himself and mature even when his friend does not turns into a rescuing-an-abused-friend story. Suspense builds as to whether Craig will come clean about his involvement in a shooting incident, but when he does, it is anticlimactic. Tom's characterization also shifts. He goes from being a jerk for whom is difficult to care despite his awful circumstances, to being completely sympathetic. Craig's voice also sounds far more sophisticated than his actions; some of his witty observations are not believable coming from this sometimes clueless seventh grade boy. Ultimately it is a readable but flawed novel.-Alice F. Stern 2Q 3P M J Copyright 2008 Voya Reviews.
