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Books | Young Adult Fiction / Family / General
4.1
(517)
Gary D. Schmidt
2011 National Book Award FinalistAs a fourteen-year-old who just moved to a new town, with no friends and a louse for an older brother, Doug Swieteck has all the stats stacked against him. So begins a coming-of-age masterwork full of equal parts comedy and tragedy from Newbery Honor winner Gary D. Schmidt. As Doug struggles to be more than the “skinny thug” that his teachers and the police think him to be, he finds an unlikely ally in Lil Spicer—a fiery young lady who “smelled like daisies would smell if they were growing in a big field under a clearing sky after a rain.” In Lil, Doug finds the strength to endure an abusive father, the suspicions of a whole town, and the return of his oldest brother, forever scarred, from Vietnam. Together, they find a safe haven in the local library, inspiration in learning about the plates of John James Audubon’s birds, and a hilarious adventure on a Broadway stage. In this stunning novel, Schmidt expertly weaves multiple themes of loss and recovery in a story teeming with distinctive, unusual characters and invaluable lessons about love, creativity, and survival.
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More Details:
Author
Gary D. Schmidt
Pages
384
Publisher
HarperCollins
Published Date
2011-04-05
ISBN
0547534175 9780547534176
Ratings
Google: 3.5
Community ReviewsSee all
"This book was amazing! It takes real skill to make me interested in something like Audubon, or baseball stats, but everything that happened to Doug or that he talked about was so engrossing! The book felt so powerful and raw through the eyes of this middle schooler. Also, I didn't realize this book was a sequel since it read like a standalone. Now to read the first book!"
O
Olivia
"Character development for secondary characters is the best I've ever read."
B
BW
"This was my favorite book for many years of my childhood - I kept it on my bedside table to reread at any time because I loved it so much. The character development and the many different storylines interwoven in the book are amazing. TW for domestic violence- this book has a really good portrayal of the complexities of domestic violence and abuse and the ways that that can affect the behavior of the victims and people in the household. "