claudiaswisher's review
3.0
Not deathless prose or a terribly original story, BUT...Justin and Sean live in the projects and go to a pretty tough school. Sean's been following his mother's advice for years: diss or be dissed on. Sean's smart and fast. He uses words as weapons. But Justin, his best friend, and the narrator of the book, sees Sean's playful, loyal side and dismisses the word play.
Something's not right...as 6th grade progresses, Sean takes mysterious trips with his mother on the weekends and then lies to his friends about the trips. He begins to attack classmates with no mercy, always knowing how to wound and draw verbal blood. Then there're the fights. Sean doesn't use his fists -- he uses his words.
Justin, along with Kyle and Vanessa learn Sean's secret after a violent incident at school that leaves Sean taking an enforced 'vacation' after Christmas Break. But now that they know the truth, what should they do?
There are many strengths to this book: the friendship, the gritty school, the realism. I felt, tho, that the story was predictable. I'm not a 6th grader, and obviously NOT the intended audience.
I think this could easily appeal to my struggling readers, simply because they view school through a similar lens as these kids -- school is a siege, a battle. School is where you get picked on unless you find a way to protect yourself. School is not for the weak hearted. That is the main strength of the book -- it tells the truth about what school can be for some kids.
Something's not right...as 6th grade progresses, Sean takes mysterious trips with his mother on the weekends and then lies to his friends about the trips. He begins to attack classmates with no mercy, always knowing how to wound and draw verbal blood. Then there're the fights. Sean doesn't use his fists -- he uses his words.
Justin, along with Kyle and Vanessa learn Sean's secret after a violent incident at school that leaves Sean taking an enforced 'vacation' after Christmas Break. But now that they know the truth, what should they do?
There are many strengths to this book: the friendship, the gritty school, the realism. I felt, tho, that the story was predictable. I'm not a 6th grader, and obviously NOT the intended audience.
I think this could easily appeal to my struggling readers, simply because they view school through a similar lens as these kids -- school is a siege, a battle. School is where you get picked on unless you find a way to protect yourself. School is not for the weak hearted. That is the main strength of the book -- it tells the truth about what school can be for some kids.
arisbookcorner's review against another edition
4.0
The plot of this book is original and then again it isn't. I thought the secret Saturday visits were obvious but that may be because I'm older than the main characters and I think younger readers may not be able to figure it out, but I had two guesses and halfway through the novel I was able to confidently say I knew what would happen. That was really the only thing I didn't like about the book. Along with the fact that some characters were cliches but that was mostly the minor ones, like Sean's crush, Vanessa could have been better developed as well as Sean and Justin's other friend, Kyle. Also, the author oculd have described New York a little better to really help readers visualize the setting (I liked the idea of Grey House though, adding a little creepy/ghost story). The only other thing I didn't like was how I couldn't really relate to Justin or Sean. Not because they're guys, but because they felt too young. I really like in middle grade novels when you can relate to the main character, even if they're younger, that wasn't the case with Secret Saturdays but the novel was still enjoyable.
My favorite aspect of Secret Saturdays is the message. At the heart of the novel is the issue of stereotypes concerning males and how guys have to be tough as Justin's mom says "Boys and men out here think they can't ever be sensitive because that's considered soft or gay. And if the next guy shows some gentle emotion, they say he's soft or gay." (pg. 191, ARC so quotes and page numbers may change). I couldn't agree more. Boys are considered weak if they cry or express emotion and that's so wrong. I think it's endearing and cute when guys show emotion and I respect them for it. I don't want them crying in public over nothing (ahem Brett Favre!) but if something tragic happens (Hurricane Katrina, earthquake in Haiti, family tragedy), I don't have a problem with guys crying in public. To be honest, I think most of these stereotypes prevail in largely ethnic neighborhoods, but it does affect all guys, I just think it affects POC males more.
After finishing Secret Saturdays I had to think about it because my initial reaction was that the book was just ok, but that was largely in part because I needed to work through my own issues. Once I really looked inside myself and acknowledged that maybe this book was right, I felt that I could write a more through and honest review. All in all, I didn't think the writing was the best, but I thought the originality of the plot and the message behind (the pressure of guys to be tough and verbal abuse) the novel is so very needed in today's world that I would recommend it to all young boys (and girls, but guys especially need to read this book). I intend on having my little brother read this book in a year. 6th grade and up
My favorite aspect of Secret Saturdays is the message. At the heart of the novel is the issue of stereotypes concerning males and how guys have to be tough as Justin's mom says "Boys and men out here think they can't ever be sensitive because that's considered soft or gay. And if the next guy shows some gentle emotion, they say he's soft or gay." (pg. 191, ARC so quotes and page numbers may change). I couldn't agree more. Boys are considered weak if they cry or express emotion and that's so wrong. I think it's endearing and cute when guys show emotion and I respect them for it. I don't want them crying in public over nothing (ahem Brett Favre!) but if something tragic happens (Hurricane Katrina, earthquake in Haiti, family tragedy), I don't have a problem with guys crying in public. To be honest, I think most of these stereotypes prevail in largely ethnic neighborhoods, but it does affect all guys, I just think it affects POC males more.
After finishing Secret Saturdays I had to think about it because my initial reaction was that the book was just ok, but that was largely in part because I needed to work through my own issues. Once I really looked inside myself and acknowledged that maybe this book was right, I felt that I could write a more through and honest review. All in all, I didn't think the writing was the best, but I thought the originality of the plot and the message behind (the pressure of guys to be tough and verbal abuse) the novel is so very needed in today's world that I would recommend it to all young boys (and girls, but guys especially need to read this book). I intend on having my little brother read this book in a year. 6th grade and up
allzen_nochill's review
3.0
Giving this three stars because the book's message is well-intended and especially necessary for the target audience (middle-grade boys) but hoo boy does it get heavy handed. Plus touches of homophobia & transphobia. Proceed with caution!
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