Summary:
We first meet Bud as he is dealing with a panic attack. As an Iranian/American boy, he has been bullied endlessly by his classmates and his parents and school have not been helpful in resolving those issues. This has increased his anxiety as well as made him depressed. While trying to fit in with a new culture, but still keep where he's from in mind, he is sent to a new school to start fresh. At his new school, he begins to make friends and try new roles on for size. This leads him to doing some things that are a little out of character, but help him grow as a person. Everything seems to be looking up, but his past is coming to haunt him. He's getting blamed for things that are happening in his new school and he needs to find out why before it goes down on his permanent record.
My thoughts:
Bud is a delightfully engaging character. We read the book through his eyes, which really gives us a perfect view into his psyche. His vulnerabilities are on display and his motivation behind actions are very clear. Stella's development of Bud is fantastic. If you like a lot of characterization (especially in a non-conventional manner) then this book is for you. I also loved the newly immigrated status of our main character. As a teacher of students who come from immigrant families, I love having novels like this in the classroom. They can clearly identify the mix between cultures. Most of my students are from rural China, so America (especially Los Angeles) is a culture shock for them. Trying to fit in but not lose what you had is a difficult identity making process. The benefit my students have over Bud is that there are a majority of students around them that have made the same journey. Bud is alone.
Another aspect of this book that was unexpected was the amount of humor involved. There were several times that I laughed in front of the class while reading (we have silent reading time and it's the only time I get to read books for fun). With a book that deals with identity, depression, anxiety, bullying, and some other serious topics, I did not expect it to be so funny sometimes. Of course this means that the moment I finished it, several students already wanted to read it. I'm happily passing it around because Stella did a top shelf job!
We first meet Bud as he is dealing with a panic attack. As an Iranian/American boy, he has been bullied endlessly by his classmates and his parents and school have not been helpful in resolving those issues. This has increased his anxiety as well as made him depressed. While trying to fit in with a new culture, but still keep where he's from in mind, he is sent to a new school to start fresh. At his new school, he begins to make friends and try new roles on for size. This leads him to doing some things that are a little out of character, but help him grow as a person. Everything seems to be looking up, but his past is coming to haunt him. He's getting blamed for things that are happening in his new school and he needs to find out why before it goes down on his permanent record.
My thoughts:
Bud is a delightfully engaging character. We read the book through his eyes, which really gives us a perfect view into his psyche. His vulnerabilities are on display and his motivation behind actions are very clear. Stella's development of Bud is fantastic. If you like a lot of characterization (especially in a non-conventional manner) then this book is for you. I also loved the newly immigrated status of our main character. As a teacher of students who come from immigrant families, I love having novels like this in the classroom. They can clearly identify the mix between cultures. Most of my students are from rural China, so America (especially Los Angeles) is a culture shock for them. Trying to fit in but not lose what you had is a difficult identity making process. The benefit my students have over Bud is that there are a majority of students around them that have made the same journey. Bud is alone.
Another aspect of this book that was unexpected was the amount of humor involved. There were several times that I laughed in front of the class while reading (we have silent reading time and it's the only time I get to read books for fun). With a book that deals with identity, depression, anxiety, bullying, and some other serious topics, I did not expect it to be so funny sometimes. Of course this means that the moment I finished it, several students already wanted to read it. I'm happily passing it around because Stella did a top shelf job!
