3 Stars
“I thought you were one of the boys.”
Being one of the boys is a pretty simple task. Choose the right side in “the war.” What war, you might ask? The war between mother and father. Pick dad and you pick strength – fun – a new start in a new location – a chance to be one of the boys with him and your brother. Pick mom and you’re weak – nothing – less than nothing. It’s not until your new life starts that you begin to see what started the war to begin with. Dad’s volatile temperament, his inability to focus on his job at times, and the worst thing of all – the strange chemical smells that come out of his bedroom when he locks himself in there, sometimes for days at a time “smoking cigars.”
I’m pretty sure I read this wrong. Okay that’s a lie. I know I read this wrong. It was supposed to make me feel all the feels and it didn’t. That’s alright, though, because . . . .
And this time I’m blaming everyone in my household being sick as the problem instead of my lack of heart. Here’s an image of what I experienced this weekend. First with the husband . . . .
Then with the oldest boy . . . .
Then the baby of the family . . . .
Before finally succumbing to my own symptoms while at work . . . .
In addition to all that, here’s the deal: I would totally market this as young adult. Although it deals with some super serious mature storylines, I’m all about pushing the envelope. My (upper) middle schooler is currently reading an “award winning” recommendation from the school district. So is his teacher’s FOURTH GRADE son. It probably goes without saying my (not a voluntary reader to begin with) kid is hating every second of this experience. One of the Boys has a lot of things that might keep him interested: it’s short (remember, not a big reader), it’s contemporary and it deals with adult subject matter (drug use and child abuse). The thing that works for me when it comes to books I like discussing with the kid is the “book clubby” nature that generates conversation. Why do the characters not have names? What does he think was really up with the mom? Why does he think the boys chose dad in “the war”? Was dad healthy before they moved away from Kansas? Does he think the kids did anything wrong ever – either back in Kansas or in New Mexico? Why does he think they never tried to get away or tell someone about what was happening? Would HE tell someone what was happening if this was his life? THIS is the type of outcome I want to have after my kid finishes a book. Not to mention his privileged little hiney could stand a dose of “not everyone has it so good” every once in a while. If you’re like me, you might want your kid to read this one too. If you’re not like me I have a bunch of generic, vanilla recommendations from the school I can give you : )
Being one of the boys is a pretty simple task. Choose the right side in “the war.” What war, you might ask? The war between mother and father. Pick dad and you pick strength – fun – a new start in a new location – a chance to be one of the boys with him and your brother. Pick mom and you’re weak – nothing – less than nothing. It’s not until your new life starts that you begin to see what started the war to begin with. Dad’s volatile temperament, his inability to focus on his job at times, and the worst thing of all – the strange chemical smells that come out of his bedroom when he locks himself in there, sometimes for days at a time “smoking cigars.”
I’m pretty sure I read this wrong. Okay that’s a lie. I know I read this wrong. It was supposed to make me feel all the feels and it didn’t. That’s alright, though, because . . . .
And this time I’m blaming everyone in my household being sick as the problem instead of my lack of heart. Here’s an image of what I experienced this weekend. First with the husband . . . .
Then with the oldest boy . . . .
Then the baby of the family . . . .
Before finally succumbing to my own symptoms while at work . . . .
In addition to all that, here’s the deal: I would totally market this as young adult. Although it deals with some super serious mature storylines, I’m all about pushing the envelope. My (upper) middle schooler is currently reading an “award winning” recommendation from the school district. So is his teacher’s FOURTH GRADE son. It probably goes without saying my (not a voluntary reader to begin with) kid is hating every second of this experience. One of the Boys has a lot of things that might keep him interested: it’s short (remember, not a big reader), it’s contemporary and it deals with adult subject matter (drug use and child abuse). The thing that works for me when it comes to books I like discussing with the kid is the “book clubby” nature that generates conversation. Why do the characters not have names? What does he think was really up with the mom? Why does he think the boys chose dad in “the war”? Was dad healthy before they moved away from Kansas? Does he think the kids did anything wrong ever – either back in Kansas or in New Mexico? Why does he think they never tried to get away or tell someone about what was happening? Would HE tell someone what was happening if this was his life? THIS is the type of outcome I want to have after my kid finishes a book. Not to mention his privileged little hiney could stand a dose of “not everyone has it so good” every once in a while. If you’re like me, you might want your kid to read this one too. If you’re not like me I have a bunch of generic, vanilla recommendations from the school I can give you : )
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