A review by claudiaswisher
Secret Saturdays by Torrey Maldonado
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.