K. A. HoltRecensioni

Representation: N/A
Trigger warnings: Bullying
Score: Six points out of ten.
Find this review on The StoryGraph.

I saw Rhyme Schemer circling my recommendations a few months ago and soon after, I saw that one library I went to had this one so I immediately seized the opportunity to get it by picking it up. Afterwards, I picked it up and read it but when I finished it I only thought it was an okay piece of literature.

It starts with the first person I see, Kevin, whose last name remains undisclosed who spends the opening pages thinking about who will he bully, much to my dismay. I took a immediate disliking to him at first but eventually he is not what he seems to be at first glance. Soon enough the school suspended Kevin for his actions and I thought he deserved that but after I read a few pages Kevin shows a side I previously knew nothing of: his poetry. He likes to take words from existing texts and make new creations out of it which I found fascinating. Rhyme Schemer shines in its character development involving Kevin and the engaging pacing which never made me put the book down. However, the author didn't give as much attention to the other people in Rhyme Schemer, which was such a missed opportunity as I wanted to connect with them as well. The ending is dramatic.

I usually enjoy books in verse - however I found this one difficult to get into. However, I am an adult and this is not who K.A. Holt is writing for. Once I got to know the characters a bit better, I was fully invested to see how each changed over the course of the book. At the end, I was rooting for everyone, including Ms. J, to find their best selves.

I think this novel about four learning "divergent" kids trying to get through summer school and pass a dreaded standardized test will appeal to a lot of young readers - especially those with a love of Minecraft or those who find reading a challenge. This is an honest and heartwarming look at middle school and how students find themselves in an education system that doesn't have their best interests at heart.

The format of the book -- with a variety of fonts, layout and graphics -- does a wonderful job expressing a unique voice for each character.

I am disappointed that once again a middle grade book has unfortunate adult characters who just don't get anything about these kids at best or who are the source of the students anxiety and self-doubt. For example, while the teacher is sympathetic and tries her best to engage these students, she can't address a student by the name she requests to be called nor does she apparently have any idea that one of her students has a stutter. As a parent of three, I am always searching for at least one adult that I like.

I absolutely love this book. I have never felt more seen and understood and it has never made me want to cry more. It’s a beautiful thing for a book to be able to make me equally happy and sad. 10 out of 10 will read again.

Told in prose - this middle grade novel explores two girls growing feelings for each other. Kate is a prim and perfect cheerleader. She's popular and has her sights set on being cheer captain. Tam is a volleyball star - she has one best friend and but knows everyone. She doles out high fives like it's going out of style. When the two notice each other for the first time they wonder how it was possible they've never met before. A few casual conversations turns into lunch hangouts, texting, and then seeing each other play at games. The two become inseparable. And as they do their friendship starts to deepen into a little more. But is that what they both want? Emotional and wonderful - a great coming of age story about the complications of discovering your true identity.

I had made assumptions about this book based on the title, and I avoided reading and purchasing this novel in verse. I wish I had read this book earlier so I could have shared it with my students, it's a worthwhile read!

CW: Father abandons family, physically unwell child, unkind nurse.

A heartfelt verse novel about 12 year old Timothy who is caught after stealing a wallet. We are told the story through the court mandated journal entries that he writes over the course of his year under house arrest. Timothy loves his unwell infant brother, Levi, so deeply that he stole the wallet in order to help pay for Levi’s life-saving medicine. This is a beautifully written and moving story that drew me in and I desperately wanted things to work out for the family. I adored James. Everyone needs a 'James' in their lives. The bittersweet ending left a tear in my eye. A wonderful middle school novel.

A story told through text messages about a day in the life of a middle schooler and what happens when there’s a lockdown. Holt is able to convey the students fears of the unknown, the what ifs , should something happen while throwing humor into the mix to diffuse some of the stress. Parents and students who have encountered lockdowns can empathize with the characters. One for the middle school library collection.

Really well done — appealing both in the way it portrays reluctant readers and how it appeals to them. Loved the characters and how they are each dealing with some big stuff in behind their connection to sandbox, and how they use the platform to take care of each other. The audio book reader is pretty extraordinary, too. Great stuff!

Lee la reseña en: El Extraño Gato del Cuento

Cuando leí And We Stay dije que se me hizo difícil entender toda la poesía que había entre capítulo y capítulo, por más que lo intenté mi cerebro no quiso registrar nada de lo que decía entre verso y verso.

¿Leer TODO un libro escrito en verso, uh?

Quizá me esté equivocando en llamarlo "verso", no recuerdo muy bien como se llamaba, en el colegio siempre me quedaba en blanco cada vez que empezaban a hablar sobre poesía, lo cuál es irónico porque la única forma en la que aprobaba mi curso de literatura era escribiendo poesía :P Tuve engañado a mi profesor tantos años :D

Créanlo o no, AME este libro, está escrito y dirigido para lectores menores que yo, así que la manera en la que está escrita por muy complicada que pueda parecer es amigable y amena. Todo el libro está en verso, es espectacular, no tienen idea. Recuerdo que una vez leí una historia corta de Ellen Hopkins, que también escribe parecido, y lo único que me pareció fue que le gustaba escribir de ladito, pero en Rhyme Schemer no, quiero decir, entendí lo que decía entre rima y rima. ¿Qué tan genial es eso?

Una historia actual

La trama es sobre bullying, como dice la sinopsis, Kevin pasa de ser bullyador a ser bullyiado (como diríamos coloquialmente). Ya de por si es graciosa la idea de que un acosador escriba poesía. Si eres alguien que fue acosado en el colegio ¿te imaginas a tu acosador escribiendo poesía? ¿Si encontrarás pruebas sobre eso que hubieras hecho? Rhyme Schemer es una historia bastante tierna y real. ¿En qué sentido? En qué siempre hay una razón del por qué ciertas personas actúan de cierta manera, buena o mala. Siendo un libro Middle Grade el tema es tocado bastante inocentemente, sin embargo no por eso deja de transmitir muchas emociones

Rhyme Schemer otra mis lecturas memorables del año.

Paul is annoying

Twitter || Blog || Pinterest || Tumblr || Instagram

This is a wonderful book that explores the vast imagination of children, encourages youngsters to be in touch with their imaginations, and to ponder their many questions. I especially love this book for mid- to upper elementary school levels because it's around fourth grade that I've noticed children beginning to keep their wonderings "quiet" for fear of being "judged" by others. (I've noticed it in my students and in my own children). I think any book that encourages children to keep that imagination fresh and flowing are great!

******reviewed from uncorrected ARC*****

children's diverse middlegrade novel in verse (two 7th grade girls fall into 'like' and come out to their families and schoolmates)

sweet, very relatable story dealing with the awkward uncertainties of middle school and girls learning to speak up for what makes them happy. I think a lot of kids will benefit from this very readable, very accessible story.

An interesting concept using haiku to tell a junior high zombie romance. I found it different. I found it a little confusing because I had to fill in the blanks between haiku verses but I liked it. Loeb, a zombie, like likes Siobhan who is a human. That is a big no-no in society. He thinks she is making fun of him and he has to show he is not the stereotype. It's fun as he devises a way to find out.

A series of wonder-filled questions from author K.A. Holt - what if the ocean were one huge water bottle? are boy ladybugs called boybugs? could there be a galaxy inside my belly button? - is paired with lovely artwork from illustrator Kenard Pak in this imaginative picture-book, which concludes with an answer to the question of why we wonder so much. And that is, of course, because we are wonderful...

I liked the idea behind I Wonder, which is clearly a celebration of the role of curiosity in a young person's life, offering a series of questions that feel as if they could have come straight from the mouth of an inquisitive child. I also liked the artwork from Kenard Pak, whose paintings here are quite charming. That said, there isn't really much to this one, from a storytelling perspective - it's not really a story at all - and I doubt that it will prove that memorable. Tastes vary, of course, so I'd still recommend this one to picture-book readers looking for titles meant to encourage curiosity and questioning in young children, as they explore their world.

This book would be great for primary grade levels. This is a very imaginative story that peaks into some of the curiosities people may have about the world. It would be a good choice for units about art or creative writing. It is a good source of descriptive vocabulary.

YA Clever, clever, clever! This is a story in free verse. The school year is just beginning for 7th grader Kevin Jamison. Day 1 and he is already feeling tortured. To say he is a non-traditional learner would be sugar-coating things. He is smart and scrappy and tells us his story in his poetry interspersed with some of the Poetry Bandit's antics: he rips pages out of old books and circles words, phrases and letters to convey a message. Clever. Behind the hype, he is hurting. The youngest of 4 boys, (all his older brother has names that begin with P) he is the butt of their taunting and teasing, if they bother to take notice of him at all. Mom and Dad are high-powered busy doctors who also don't seem to have much time for him. Kevin alternately sees himself as stone and as vulnerable -- which will win out? When he is stone, he is cruel to other kids and often in the principal's office. When he is vulnerable he is a poet, and also under the wing of the school librarian Mrs. Little. "You know how when something bad happens your ears feel stuffed with socks, your eyes focus like microscopes, your cheeks catch on fire, time slows down, and no matter how much you wish pray promise beg a hole does not open up and swallow you?" (126) Pretty much sums up middle school.

00015869

Very easy to read novel ( I read in about 2 hours) which details the musings of a boy Timothy who has been put under house arrest for stealing a wallet. Through his journal we discover that Timothy stole the wallet to help pay for his baby brother Levi's treatment, that his father couldn't handle Levi's illness and left; and that his mother is working and trying to care for Levi and his juvenile delinquency has just made everything worse. Through his journal we learn about James his community officer and Mrs (Ms?) B his psychologist as well as his crazy friends' family. The book gets quite emotional and moving in the end, as Tim's mother toys with the idea of putting Levi in a home because she is struggling so much and Timothy will do anything not to let that happen. The book has moments of humour too and was overall an excellent one. (I'm pleased to see that there is a sequel too.)
Middle school boys and girls will find this book moving and very easy to read...its almost a verse novel in the way it is set out.

A quick read written in verse about two girls, Kate and Tam who take notice of each other at the beginning of the school year. Their paths keep crossing, their connection grows, and each of the girls need to decide what that means for her. Tam's mom is supportive as are her neighbors, an married lesbian couple. Kate's mom wants perfection and has a specific idea of success. As the two girls navigate their relationship and feelings about each other the poetry includes conversation and reflections. Between chapters a trio of girls, almost like a Greek chorus, recap and foreshadow about what is happening with the story.

Funny with plenty of twists, solid choice for your fans of [b: The Crossover|18263725|The Crossover|Kwame Alexander|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1390427593s/18263725.jpg|25723388].

A novel in verse about the growing relationship between two middle school girls - a vollyball playing tall jock and a cheerleader.

Amelia's older sister, Clara, drowned in a boating accident at the town's lake a few years ago. Amelia is still struggling with her grief and her own shame of how she and Clara parted on the fateful day of the accident. In her middle school, 6th graders are asked to write a letter to their 8th grade selves, and then the letters are given back to them in 8th grade. But Amelia's teacher accidentally gives her Clara's letter instead of her own. Clara has listed the things she wanted to accomplish by 8th grade. Amelia decides to seek closure by trying to complete the things Clara never got to do. But Amelia is a different person from Clara, and what meant a lot to Clara doesn't necessarily have much meaning for Amelia. Along the way, she is helped by her best friend, Taylor, and Clara's old crush, Twitch.
The concept of the book had a lot of promise, but the execution just fell through in too many places. There were virtually irrelevant side stories. There was a chapter involving a Ouiji board, which felt completely out of place and absurd. Among the problems there:Amelia didn't react the way her character would have and magnets don't attract plastic. As the book moves along the initial aim of completing her sister's list of goals seems to get lost somewhat among other ideas the author wants to get across. By the end of the book we'd been on a scattershot ride all over the place, and the overly happy ending was completely unconvincing.

Kate and Tam are 7th graders starting the school year. Kate is a cheerleader, aspiring to be captain and follow in her (uptight) mother’s footsteps. She is pretty and her house is perfectly maintained. Tam (short for Tamara), is tall, lanky and a volleyball star, looser and informal. Her mother is a hippie. The girls are drawn to each other in an opposites-attract way. But while Tam seems comfortable in her skin, Kate finds herself conflicted about who she is, torn between the expectations of her mother and the cheer squad, and what she is discovering about herself. This confusion threatens to break their new relationship.

Easy-sell premise, quick read, could work as a book club title for struggling readers -- similar to Locomotion (Woodson) or Ghost (Reynolds). Race does not come up at all in this book about juvenile crime (unless I'm misremembering something small?). No judgment one way or the other about that, but it seems important to mention.

lots of things to wonder about, and most of these .... weren't on my list!

Recommended for middle school students.... words are power.