Review: Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading

by Tommy Greenwald
illustrated by J. P. Coovert
Roaring Brook Press, July 5 2011
contemporary middle-grade
reviewed from ARC, courtesy of publisher
reviewed by Yahong Chi

Summary (from the back of the ARC):
Charlie Joe is proud to say that he's never read an entire book cover to cover. Sure he's glanced at the first and last chapters, and maybe even read the cover, but when it comes to reading what's in the middle, Charlie counts on his friend Timmy McGibney to do the reading for him in an exchange for an ice cream sandwich. Sounds easy enough, right? But what happens when Timmy's price goes up to three ice cream sandwiches? What's an industrious non-reader to do?

Review:
It's the voice that jumps out first thing, which is excellent since this is a "boy book" and also aimed at reluctant readers. (Oh, the irony...) Charlie Joe manages to come off as appealing despite his deviousness when it comes to reading -- or maybe because of it. There's ample attitude: "The tune I came up with is pretty catchy, but you can't hear it, because this is a book -- another problem with books by the way."

CJJ's family is refreshingly normal, and it's pleasing to see a protagonist who actually likes his siblings (his sister plays an important part in the story's plotline). The school friends, however, were a bit less distinctive, especially with commonplace names like Timmy, Jake, Katie and Hannah. They all have different roles, but the reader never is emotionally invested in any of them, only Charlie Joe. Surprisingly, Greenwald does an excellent job with the teachers ("Did being handsome give him [Mr. Dormer] the right to be so completely not funny?").

The plot could've come off as heavy-handed and message-laden, but thanks to Charlie Joe's narration, the topic of cliques, labels and peer pressure doesn't dominate the book -- his focus is still on getting out on reading. And the end result when his not-reading habits come back to bite him makes for a very good whole-circle, from end to beginning feel.

I have to quote a passage with the dogs, Moose and Coco,  here:

"We have no idea what you're doing, you've never done anything like this before, but we still love you, and we'll wait as long as it takes," their eyes would say, taking pity on me as I sat on my computer. "We know that one day you'll realize that it's summer, and that you should absolutely not be doing what you're doing. You should be outside playing with us."

They're absolutely right.

I think that captures exactly what dogs are like.

There'll be illustrations throughout the finished copy, and the few chapter illustrations in this ARC already tell me they're going to be adorable:

Oh, and the acknowledgements make for some entertaining reading too. :D

Pre-order this book on Amazon.

And check out an interview by Mike Winchell with the author here!

Tell us about yourself and your summer goals (if any!)

It’s great Project Mayhem has so many readers and followers, and being the nosy writers we are, we’re curious about who you are. Sometimes I think blogging is unnatural for writers. Most of us are more interested in other people’s lives than we are in our own. If we weren’t, I’m not sure we’d spend so much time making up characters. The good part about blogging is it allows connections between people who would otherwise never meet. So please tell us a little about yourselves. I’ll give you a prompt you can follow if you like, otherwise, any info. would be great. I hope other Project Mayhemers jump in as well.

 What state do you live in?
Favorite hobby?
Real life job?
Summer plans or goals?

Here’s mine:
What state do you live in? Ohio
Favorite hobby? Reading and gardening
Real life job? Writer, mom, kid chauffeur
Summer plans or goals? Road trip to Pennsylvania, catch up on reading, practice drawing (a long-term goal)

~ Dee Garretson

Good "Boymanship" Awards

Okay, so I normally try to keep my personal blog and the PM blog separate, but I've had some recent conversations about the topic of what I call "boymanship" and I wanted to run it past everyone over here at PM. So, here goes:

I write "boy" books. Problem is, it seems to take a village to raise the consciousness of the boy sensibility in MG. A while back, I was involved in a great Twitter chat during #kidlitchat and we discussed boy books. I made a comment that I wished more MG books would accurately depict the way boys interact with one another. I went on to explain that the back-and-forth joking between boys, heavy on sarcastic razzing, is a sign of true friendship between boys, and those who don't understand this or want to paint a different picture are not being true to reality. Boys make fun of each other when they're friends (all in good fun), but the moment they need to have each other's backs they do. I equate this to the wartime bond soldiers have. It's a brotherly thing, and I don't see this truly represented in many MG books. Toward the end of the conversation I coined the term "boymanship" and I really think it fits. A perfect example is found in the following scene from the classic movie Stand By Me, and actually, in just about every scene in the movie.

This scene is true-to-life. These boys are the best of friends, but look at how they razz each other. And if you've seen the movie before, you know these kids are 100% "there" for each other (they have each other's backs). This is what I'd love to see more of in MG books of today. Please, give me "real" kids.

I have a great deal of experience with boymanship (heck, I'm a black belt). I am a teacher of junior high kids (for 12 years now), I was a boy once (shocker, I know), and I still see myself as a big kid at 37 years of age. So let me tell you: BOYS ARE LIKE THIS! And the point I made during that chat was the fact that if we can accurately capture this in MG boy books, it helps to educate boys about "boymanship" and also educates adults who've lost touch with this. I'm sick of seeing MG boy books that are treated like after-school specials (corny, cheesy, and just plain unrealistic).

Another movie that I feel accurately portrays the way boys interact with one another is the old 80's flick (dated, but still timely) My Bodyguard (trailer below). Clifford (the main character) and Linderman (his bodyguard) capture the true sense of boymanship in their friendship. And even though the bullies are nasty, their relationship is realistic as well (so is the evil streak they have as bullies). In all, kids are kids in this movie. Real kids. I highly recommend you check out this movie if you haven't seen it. 

Um, why do I find it necessary to refer to MOVIES and not books? Interesting question. Think about why that might be the case.

Okay, tell me, is there any book I might be overlooking that gets your good boymanship award?

Playing with Perspective

Not too far from where I live, a little two-lane road shoots away from town. There's not a lot out here except the occasional farmhouse and a cow or two. The only reason most people take this road is that, several miles out, it connects to a major highway. And it's because of my occasional jaunts to and from the highway that I know about the grassy little airstrip that makes its home out here. Often you'll see little planes parked in the grass. One of the hangers has a website address painted on the side in neat white letters. It's from this website I learn that the little planes are ultralights, and that the owner of the airstrip gives piloting lessons as well as introductory flights for the curious. I'm curious. I'm also scared of heights. So it takes me years to finally work up the nerve, this spring, to e-mail the owner to schedule a flight.

By the time I actually drive out to the airstrip a week later, I'm pretty nervous. Did I mention I’m afraid of heights?

I'm met by a pleasant middle-aged gentleman in a blue windbreaker. "Nice to meet you. I'm Ray," he says, shaking my hand. "I'll be taking you up in one of our planes today."

"I'm scared of heights," I blurt out.

Ray doesn't seem too concerned. "I take up a lot of people who are scared of heights. It's not so bad. It's different in a plane, even one as small as this."

And the plane is small. It doesn't have a door, just a large plexiglass window that stretches almost to the floor of the cockpit, right next to the passenger seat where yours truly will be sitting. This means I'll have a distressingly good view all the way down to the ground, far...far...far...below.

"We'll only be going up about a thousand feet today," says Ray.

I think he means this to be reassuring. But what I'm actually thinking is, ONE THOUSAND FEET!!! In a plane barely bigger than my car?!

I think about turning tail and running, but five minutes later I'm strapped into the tiny cockpit. We’re cruising down the grassy runway, and Ray's angled the plane so we can "take off with the wind." The nose of plane tilts upward, and we're up in the air.

"Is there something I can hold on to?" I ask through the radio headset.

"There a metal bar over your head," says Ray, as we climb higher. "But you won't need it. It's a very smooth ride."

He doesn't understand. I'm not worried about it being a bumpy ride. I'm a bundle of nerves, and I want something to hold on to for dear life.

Then I see the view.

"Do you want to steer the plane?" asks Ray.

"No!!!" But I do let go of the metal bar long enough to start snapping pictures with my camera. Because it’s really pretty. I knew there was farmland out here, of course, but I can see now that it stretches north all the way to the horizon. The ground is silver and marshy from all the recent rain. Ray dips the plane low along a tree-lined river, so we can look for wildlife.

"Is there much wildlife out here?" I ask.

"Oh sure," he says. "Deer, coyotes—look, there are some wild turkeys along the river bank!" (For the record, wild turkeys look about the size of pencil erasures from the air.)

"I had no idea any of this was out here," I say, a bit embarrassed. I've lived in the area a long time, but I guess I don't get out of town much.

"A lot of people don't," says Ray.

I know what he means. Most people probably never go beyond the little road to the highway. The view is completely different from up here.

A fresh perspective can make such a difference. Perhaps that’s why some of my favorite writing tips involve playing with perspective and shaking things up a bit. Here’s a few:

Write the Opposite of Your Ending—or Any Other Scene You’re Struggling With

Endings can be tough to write. So can significant or particularly emotional scenes. The next time you’re struggling with a scene, try writing the opposite of it. Want to give your story a happy ending where the hero and heroine defeat the villain and live happily ever after? Write an ending where the villain wins, the hero and heroine go their separate ways, and everyone ends up miserable. I’m not saying you should actually use this ending in your final manuscript, of course, but it’s a great writing exercise that gets the juices flowing and often stirs up inspiration for the right way to do the scene. Think of it as How Not to Write an Ending.

Write from a Different Point of View

Write that key scene you’ve been struggling with from the villain’s point of view instead of the hero’s, or from a secondary character’s point of view instead of the main character’s, etc. Again, you don’t actually have to use the scene you come up with. But you may be surprised at the insights it provides—how other characters view the main character or the situation, what various characters’ motivations are, etc. It can be a very eye-opening experience. You may even discover some things you didn’t know about your characters.

Write a Scene in which a Character Does the Uncharacteristic

I believe it’s Donald Maass who advises writers to think of something their character would never do—and then write a scene where the character does just that. He reports that many writers actually end up using such a scene in their final manuscripts. Just think of the possibilities—how desperate must the character be, how altered must their mindset have become, for them to be pushed into an action fundamentally unlike them. What a fabulous way to add tension and challenge to your character’s story!

Back at the grassy little airstrip, after Ray lands the plane, I have to admit I’ve had an enjoyable time, even with all my jitters.

“It’s good you came,” he says. “It’s good to push yourself to have new adventures from time to time.”

Have fun on your writing adventures today. Don’t be afraid to leave the road.

-Dawn Lairamore

Birthday books!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEN, Love Harry!

Hello everybody!!

Happy Friday!!

And happy birthday to me!!

:-)

This naturally segues (for me anyway!) into a discussion of book character birthdays. What birthdays do you remember-what were particularly memorable ones?

I remember Ramona's. And a birthday where a kid got a pony. (as a horse mad young girl I was in love with this book, heh). But why are all others escaping me?

When I was a kid, it seemed like I could begin again on my birthday. With my new cool (insert present here) I would save the world.

Have all those books gone? Is there a particular character's birthday that you remember?