Seventh-grader Callie Marin is over-the-moon to be on stage crew again this year for Eucalyptus Middle School’s production of Moon over Mississippi. Characters are black by default those few white people in Ghost’s world are described as such.Īn endearing protagonist runs the first, fast leg of Reynolds' promising relay.įrom award winner Telgemeier ( Smile, 2010), a pitch-perfect graphic novel portrayal of a middle school musical, adroitly capturing the drama both on and offstage.
Outfit mathlete vs athlete series#
His three fellow “newbies” on the Defenders await their turns to star in subsequent series outings. He is self-focused enough that secondary characters initially feel one-dimensional, Coach in particular, but as he gets to know them better, so do readers, in a way that unfolds naturally and pleasingly. Ghost’s narration is candid and colloquial, reminiscent of such original voices as Bud Caldwell and Joey Pigza his level of self-understanding is both believably childlike and disarming in its perception. Ghost is surprised to find himself caring enough about being on the team that he curbs his behavior to avoid “altercations.” But Ma doesn’t have money to spare on things like fancy running shoes, so Ghost shoplifts a pair that make his feet feel impossibly light-and his conscience correspondingly heavy. When he inserts himself into a practice for a local elite track team, the Defenders, he’s fast enough that the hard-as-nails coach decides to put him on the team. His dad’s been in jail three years now, but Ghost still feels the trauma, which is probably at the root of the many “altercations” he gets into at middle school. Owen comes across as much less attractive readers may be surprised by the level of his anger and his childish behavior.ĭespite the differing perspectives, though, it’s never more than a superficial exploration of the differences between brothers, enlivened by welcome infusions of basketball.Ĭastle “Ghost” Cranshaw feels like he’s been running ever since his dad pulled that gun on him and his mom-and used it. Russell's chapters are amusing, as he discovers unexpected talents and abilities. Chapters alternate between the brothers’ first-person accounts, providing readers with a nice look at their diametrically opposed thinking. Owen, no longer the sole star athlete in his family, becomes increasingly jealous as his father, who once more or less ignored Russell, begins to focus on both sons. Then the new coach asks Russell to try out for the team because he's tall, and with that height comes a surprisingly satisfying skill in blocking shots.
Russell and Owen don't understand each other's worlds, but previously, it hardly seemed to matter. He's generally regarded as physically inept. Russell, more concerned with academics, serves as leader of his school's Masters of the Mind team, a group that competes against other schools to solve tough mental puzzles. Owen is the quintessential jock: He plays basketball nearly all the time, and when he isn't playing, he's thinking about it. Seventh-grade fraternal twins Owen and Russell are as different as night and day, and that spells trouble when both of them make the basketball team.
0 kommentar(er)
