Tangerine (1997)

hopefully the last book i'll read for my materials talk...

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Wow, one of the best YA books I've read in a while. Really well written (what a novel idea!). Not the biggest surprise ending ever, but enough character development to keep it interesting all the way through, and the end is *satisfying*. I particularly appreciated the not-so-veiled critique of housing developments, socio-economics, environmentalism (or lack thereof), education, and athletics. This book has a lot going on and I tend to agree with most of the criticisms, so thumbs up. ( )

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Spectacular read about a boy bullied by his older brother, as well as discriminated against by his school environment. It also has themes of racism and immigration that are presented really well. ( )

This chapter book is about a boy who is in 8th grade and has bad vision. Throughout the story he struggles with discrimination and bullying, while also being harassed by his older brother Erik. He struggles with the vision loss and he can't remember how it all started. His family moves from Houston to Florida and are too wrapped into his older brother's football career to see the terrible things that he does to him. When he begins his school, a teacher confronts his parents and tell them that he may be legally blind. So he is put on an IEP and can no longer play soccer. But, he begins to make friends in his new school and develops a support system. And he eventually is able to prove himself on a new soccer team and is able to build his name. In the end of the story his parents know the truth about Erik and the proper actions are taken against him, and he is able to go about his life fine and continues to enjoy soccer. The reading level of this book is for grades 3-5 and this book can be used in an ELAR classroom to talk about characters and different elements of the story that is found throughout the novel. ( )