A review by jlennidorner
Double Negative by C. Lee McKenzie
5.0
I really enjoyed this book. I'm a "Catcher In The Rye" fan, so mentioning Holden Caulfield instantly wins bonus points with me! And I'm from PA, so the mention of Hershey's candy gets my chocolate heart all melty. But that's stuff that appeals to me, personally.
The characters are all written and developed with care. The reader is smack dab inside Hutch's messed-up head. He's a kid with problems. (Drunk, abusive mom, absentee dad, poverty and hunger, reading issues largely due to a need for eyeglasses, etc.) All the teens in this book have problems, some which are only hinted at. How his friendship with Nyla began, that right there makes him a hero. I imagine some of the Nylas of the world (smart teen girls who prefer books to make-up and are outcasted because of it) reading this book to a few of the Hutchs (who would get all defensive and say it isn't like their life, but it probably is).
If you enjoyed the movie Dangerous Minds, and would like a book told from the point of view of one of the students, here you go!
I'd also suggest requiring everyone in politics to give this book a read. Increase literacy! Reduce crime! The ideas for the making a better society might slip in their minds.
There's a lot of wisdom in these pages.
If I'd change one thing about this book, it would be at the end... I'd add "Maggie's suggested reading list."
The characters are all written and developed with care. The reader is smack dab inside Hutch's messed-up head. He's a kid with problems. (Drunk, abusive mom, absentee dad, poverty and hunger, reading issues largely due to a need for eyeglasses, etc.) All the teens in this book have problems, some which are only hinted at. How his friendship with Nyla began, that right there makes him a hero. I imagine some of the Nylas of the world (smart teen girls who prefer books to make-up and are outcasted because of it) reading this book to a few of the Hutchs (who would get all defensive and say it isn't like their life, but it probably is).
If you enjoyed the movie Dangerous Minds, and would like a book told from the point of view of one of the students, here you go!
I'd also suggest requiring everyone in politics to give this book a read. Increase literacy! Reduce crime! The ideas for the making a better society might slip in their minds.
There's a lot of wisdom in these pages.
If I'd change one thing about this book, it would be at the end... I'd add "Maggie's suggested reading list."