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"The whole world opened to me when I learned to read."... More
Summary: Kyle is an aspiring director. There is an accident, and he wishes he could edit and crop the story of his own life. Kyle tries to rewrite the story with different styles from his favorite directors, but it always turns out in the end of his best friend Jason dying in his shed. For Kyle, the film gets fuzzy at that point, and one question haunts him: did he kill his best friend on purpose? This book is Kyle wrestling with his memories and emotions as he tries to clear the film.
This is a young adult novel/mystery with themes of self-discovery. It has potential as a high interest/low readability title.
Type of Reading: family reading, anytime reading, independent reading, read aloud book
Recommended Age: read together: 10 and up; read yourself: 11 and up
Interest Level: 12 and up
Age of Child: Reviewed by a student at the Renaissance School (Charlottesville, VA) as part of a senior community service project. The review is part our Use Your ABCs initiative.
Little Kid Reaction: The creativity behind the writing is phenomenal. Heidi Ayarbe takes a story and puts it into the perspective of a director, but still manages to keep the storyline clear. Sadly, the storyline is very heartbreaking, and it’s hard to read through the psychological stress the main character faces. This is a book I want to read again. I’m very interested in psychology and film. These two aspects put together into a book was very intriguing.
Big Kid Reaction: Review pending.
Pros: The first chapter is very explosive. Although the story is told in distortion, and yet still tragic, I was motivated to keep reading. It kept my attention.
Cons: I felt like the issue was dealt with in small chunks, even though it's a very big issue. The reading level is meant for a child that probably might have trouble reading about the theme in this book.
Borrow or Buy: Borrow. Although the writing style is very interesting, the reading is quite easy. I would have this book read with a parent, in case the child is confused about the psychological elements. Though there aren’t any scary, intense scenes, the fact that Kyle is trying to recall the fact about whether he killed his friend on purpose or not is quite mature, and parental guidance for this issue might be needed. I would borrow this book first, just in case the child might have some trouble dealing with the issues in this book.
Educational Themes: The main lesson in this book is dealing with death, and I learned that nobody can keep on living forever. Things happens for a reason, and you must keep on living your life.
Literary Categories: Fiction - young adult, YA, mystery, psychology
Date(s) Reviewed: March 2009
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