Jake Semple has been kicked out of every school he's ever attended -- in fact, it's rumored that he burned one of them down. Now, his only options are juvie or the Applewhites' Creative Academy. The Applewhites are like nobody Jake has ever met: a multigenerational conglomeration of artists who believe in creativity and independence. And then there's E.D., who shares none of her family's creative genius, but is instead the only one who appears to be capable of organization and administration. When Randolph Applewhite, E.D.'s father, agrees to direct a local production of The Sound of Music, it at first just seems like another layer to the chaos -- until Randolph hears Jake singing one day and insists that he has the voice he needs to fill an empty space in the cast. Jake gets his first taste of being part of a larger endeavor, but then the show is in peril when the technical staff walk off en masse, and the entire Applewhite clan dives in to lend a hand.

I would have read this book a lot sooner if I'd known it was about community theatre, you all. As it is, I rescued it from the discard pile at my library because it's a Newbery Honor book and gave it a perfunctory read. I love a story about a big, quirky, creative family (Hilary McKay's Casson Family series being my favorite example), and the Applewhites are that in spades. Plus, as stated earlier, books about theatre are catnip to me, so this was bound to be a hit. Even if those things aren't your specific jam, the plot, characters, and setting are bound to draw you in. Highly recommended to readers of middle grade fiction. ( )

I Pearl Ruled this book at page 60. I don't like any of the characters, and even eccentric characters should be somewhat likable. The Penderwick and Blossoms (Betsy Byars) series have likable, 3 dimensional eccentric characters, so it can be done well. It wasn't here.

What really amazes me is this book won a Newbery. I don't see how. ( )

A cute story about an eccentric, creative family and their unschool.

I enjoyed reading about the kids' various curriculum choices, especially those of E.D. I liked her character and that her "special talent" was being organized.

I didn't care for Jake, one of the main characters. His development seemed a little unrealistic to me... then again, this is a children's book, so maybe I'm being too harsh.

The pet parrot who was always swearing was an undesirable (and totally unnecessary) addition to the story. Even though specific curse words were not shared, I think just mentioning profanity will get a kid's mind thinking about which curse words they know - and it's better to put good ideas into their minds. ( )

Award winning book. Very good. I would recommend this book. ( )

There is a boy that accidentally set a school on fire name Jake.He pretended he did it on purpose his parents get arrested for trying to drug a cop. He has two choices go live with the Apple white or Juvenile detention. That is where the real bad kids are. He decided to live with the Apple whites. The apple whites are doing a play of The Sound of Music.Jake decides to join the play. He gets rid of all his piercings and cut his red hair. He stopped smoking and Jake realized that was the the real me.
In my opinion this book was amazing but they had a lot of characters so I got some of Them confused ( )