abigailbat's review
4.0
Max used to be friends with Roddy Nash before something terrible happened to him in middle school and Roddy disappeared. Now they're in high school and Roddy is back, taller and calling himself Rick. Can Max pick up where she left off with him?
Max is a cartoonist and an artist and some of Max's cartoons are included in the book, which was a nice way to break up the text a little bit. Max is dealing with a LOT here... her cousin is gay and having issues with his closeted star football player boyfriend. Her best friend would rather get high than hang out with her (so she thinks). And now Roddy's back in the picture and Max has to figure things out with him. There's a lot going on in this novel. Max was a likeable character and she grew and changed by the end of the book.
Max is a cartoonist and an artist and some of Max's cartoons are included in the book, which was a nice way to break up the text a little bit. Max is dealing with a LOT here... her cousin is gay and having issues with his closeted star football player boyfriend. Her best friend would rather get high than hang out with her (so she thinks). And now Roddy's back in the picture and Max has to figure things out with him. There's a lot going on in this novel. Max was a likeable character and she grew and changed by the end of the book.
dodie's review
4.0
Alarming look at "the quiet kid" who has a secret hobby - revenge. A recommended read for all teens, particularly those that may have a friend that seems to be harboring angry thoughts that may turn into action.
tashrow's review
4.0
Maxie is a person who looks at the world through her cartoon lens as she draws pictures of everything around her. Her family is large, boisterous and close and little has happened to challenge her security. Except that incident with Roddy her friend in grade school whom she abandoned when things got tough. Now Roddy, who calls himself Rick, has returned to the community, high school and Maxie’s life. Maxie is confronted on many fronts by how her own choices and her familial security have kept her blind to many complex situations right in front of her.
It is a joy to watch Maxie make realizations and change in believable and interesting ways without losing what makes her herself. Schmatz writes with an intriguing mixture of forthright plot-based writing and occasional glimpses of poetry and musing. Maxie is an intriguing character who is neither pretty nor ugly, girly or tomboyish, lonely or popular. She is what most teens are: somewhere in the middle but also very special and talented in her own way.
The book is also very timely in its subject matter. Readers will get to explore the issues of being gay, bullying and violence in a book that takes each of them seriously and offers hope and solutions. The homosexual characters in the book are far from stereotypical and offer a look at how modern families have adapted and grown to not just accept but embrace all family members. This is done very believably and lacks any heavy-handedness. The tone is perfection.
Appropriate for ages 14-16, this is a clever, interesting and often surprising novel.
It is a joy to watch Maxie make realizations and change in believable and interesting ways without losing what makes her herself. Schmatz writes with an intriguing mixture of forthright plot-based writing and occasional glimpses of poetry and musing. Maxie is an intriguing character who is neither pretty nor ugly, girly or tomboyish, lonely or popular. She is what most teens are: somewhere in the middle but also very special and talented in her own way.
The book is also very timely in its subject matter. Readers will get to explore the issues of being gay, bullying and violence in a book that takes each of them seriously and offers hope and solutions. The homosexual characters in the book are far from stereotypical and offer a look at how modern families have adapted and grown to not just accept but embrace all family members. This is done very believably and lacks any heavy-handedness. The tone is perfection.
Appropriate for ages 14-16, this is a clever, interesting and often surprising novel.
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