A review by shazzerwise
Sasquatch in the Paint by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Raymond Obstfeld

3.0

Three and a half stars.

Busy, busy book. There's coming of age drama, domestic drama, a mystery, a sports team, an academic team, a deceased parent, and some prejudicial tension thrown in for good measure. That being said, I liked it. I think this book accomplishes something that is hard to do for a realistic middle grade novel. Theo, though hardly an anti-hero, is far from perfect. He has hangups, says and thinks things he shouldn't, and goes about certain things in a way few parents would be pleased. But few lessons can be learned from a perfect character, and a person in whom one can find no faults might be terribly boring. Theo is anything but boring. I wanted to wring his neck half the time, but he was never boring, nor were his friends or family. The "villains" of the piece were somewhat one dimensional, and I would love for the authors to explore their motivations (especially Brooke's) in future books in the series.

I already know of a handful of kids who will want to read this, and I'm sure there are many, many more who will find amusement and excitement in Theo's tale.