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Abstract: Ally, Bree, and Jack meet at the one place the Great Eclipse can be seen in totality, each carrying the burden of different personal problems, which become dim when compared to the task they embark upon and the friendship they find.
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 322 pages
Abstract: Ally, Bree, and Jack meet at the one place the Great Eclipse can be seen in totality, each carrying the burden of different personal problems, which become dim when compared to the task they embark upon and the friendship they find.
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 322 pages
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6 comments:
I hope many people get a chance to read this title before our discussion in January. It is a beautiful story of an unlikely friendship among a group of teenagers who are thrown together for a very short period of time. The characters are so clearly drawn that you really feel you know them. The setting is perfect. And the science is painlessly and elegantly presented.
Last night I noticed the stars. And I credit this book! (I’ve already jotted 8/21/2017 in my PDA so I can make plans to see the next eclipse in the United States.) Thank you Wendy Mass!
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are my own, and do not represent the opinion of the Cybils panel as a whole.
But...what about the typo? Somewhere around page 47 there is an "I've" where there should be an "I'm". Or maybe it is the other way around.
I haven't finished it yet, so will withhold any other comments that I may have. I am just really caught up on the typo. Is it disqualified because of this?
That's a great question, Heather. One I wonder about too. I know finding a typo in the text really sways me negatively. Is it less of a point in a chapter book as opposed to an easy reader? If an error jars the reader from the story to such an extent that they can't forget about it, then, yes, I think it certainly affects how the book is judged. It should not disqualify it, though, if the strengths of the book outweigh that mistake.
I hope it doesn't seem that I am picking on this title, because I AM engaged in the story. The characters are interesting and well developed. But last night I was pulled out of the story again, though not by a typo.
A detail. The crankshaft. Did it bother anyone else? Replacing a crankshaft is not a minor repair. Where did the driver get a replacement? It would have taken time to find one and get the bus running again, but after the mention of the driver under the bus, it was over and the trip continued as though he had merely needed to tighten a screw.
I hate being so picky, but it really took me out of the story.
And isn't there also a typo on p. 318 involving the word 'night's' as well? If I'm right, that's two typos, which seems egregious for a Newbery contender.
I found this book to be engaging, and was pleased that it covered science in such an inviting manner. However, I was not thrilled with the somewhat stereotypical view of homeschooling. I also found Bree's character to be over-the-top frivolous, even though she did change as the book progressed. I don't think the characterizations had to be so boldly delineated to be powerful.
Well, there was one more typo, though my memory of where and how is long gone. That brings the typo tally to 3.
I didn't see the homeschool stereotype. I did think that the "younger sibling" cardboard character made a few appearances.
I enjoyed how absolutely over-the-top Bree's character was because I was then surprised when I cared about her and -dare I say- understood her a little.
I do think that the lack of a voice for the 4th teen is a huge hole in the story.
After all of that - I will admit - I didn't finish it. Why? Crankshaft. Can't get over it. All of that astronomical detail and a major mechanical error :(
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