Starred review from August 8, 2016
Writing in five-line tanka poems, Grimes (Words with Wings) weaves a heart-wrenching story about a boy who isn’t the jock his father dreamed he would be. Garvey loves books and, despite his father’s efforts, cannot get excited about sports. He eats to mask the pain of his father’s disappointment and is teased at school for his size. Help arrives in the form of friends Joe and Manny, an albino boy who embraces his difference, but when Garvey risks joining the school chorus and lets his voice soar, he learns to become proud of what he can do, instead of focusing on what he can’t. In simple, searing language, Grimes captures Garvey’s heartache at his father’s inability to accept him as he is, as well as the casual but wounding teasing Garvey endures at school (“The change bell always/ sinks fear into me like teeth./ Ugly name-calling leaves me with bloody bite marks:/ lard butt, fatso, Mister Tubbs”). Garvey’s journey to self-acceptance is deeply moving and will linger with readers long after they finish this brief, incisive verse novel. Ages 8–12.
Starred review from July 15, 2016
Written in poignantly poetic tanka verse, Grimes' newest follows a young black boy searching for his own unique voice, lost among his father's wishes and society's mischaracterizations. This compassionate, courageous, and hopeful novel explores the constraints placed on black male identity and the corresponding pains and struggles that follow when a young black boy must confront these realities both at home and in school. Garvey has a complicated yet caring relationship with his family: "Mom's got a talent / for origami, but she / can't fold me into / the jock Dad wants me to be." Garvey copes with his father's disappointment by binge eating and, more positively, escaping into science fiction. Readers see the deep, loving friendship Garvey shares with classmate Joe, the only one with whom he can share his secrets. Through his father's lament that Garvey isn't "normal" and other clues, Grimes leaves the possibility open for readers to see Garvey as a young gay boy, which reinforces the connection the novel establishes between him and Luther Vandross, who struggled with both body image and being closeted. Garvey eventually finds himself in the school chorus. "I feel unwritten / like that song says... / I can't wait to sing my song, / croon my own untold story." This graceful novel risks stretching beyond easy, reductive constructions of black male coming-of-age stories and delivers a sincere, authentic story of resilience and finding one's voice. (Verse novel. 8-13)
COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Starred review from July 1, 2016
Gr 4-8-Grimes's latest is a sensitively written middle grade novel in verse that takes its syllable count from Japanese tanka. Garvey is an overweight boy who is teased at school and whose father constantly prods him to be more like his athletic older sister, Angie. But Garvey has a best friend (Joe), an open heart (which leads him to a new friend, Manny), and, as readers learn midway through the book, a talent for singing, which lands him a coveted solo in the school's chorus concert. Through that talent, Garvey finds a way to connect with his father and combat his bullies' rude remarks with a newfound strength of purpose. Those who thought Planet Middle School's Joylin was a remarkably lifelike portrait of an angsty yet kind adolescent will fall hard for Garvey, a tender, sincere boy who dislikes athletics. Grimes writes about adolescent friendships in a way that feels deeply human. VERDICT A short, sweet, satisfying novel in verse that educators and readers alike will love.-Abigail Garnett, Brooklyn Public Library
Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Starred review from June 1, 2016
Grades 4-6 *Starred Review* Garvey is tired of his father's attempts to turn him into something he's not: an athlete. Avoiding outdoor activities, he comforts himself with food and music. Inevitably, he gains weight, but it isn't the physical discomfort of climbing stairs at school that bothers himit's the teasing about his size. His best friend encourages him to join the school chorus, where he learns, in addition to music, how to deal with name-calling, how to use his exceptional tenor voice, and, ultimately, how to connect with his father through a genuine shared interest. Garvey's growing confidence gives him a different perspective and even leads him to take up running. A Coretta Scott King Author Award winner and the recipient of the 2016 Virginia Hamilton Literary Award, Grimes returns to the novel in verse format, creating voice, characters, and plot in a series of pithy tanka poems, a traditional Japanese form similar to haiku but using five lines. While the story ends on a hopeful note, Grimes is clear that it takes work and time, as well as insight and determination, to create real change. Written from Garvey's point of view, the succinct verses convey the narrative as well as his emotions with brevity, clarity, and finesse.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)
January 1, 2017
Garvey is an overweight boy tormented by name-calling at school: "lard butt, fatso, Mister Tubs." His life changes when his best friend suggests he join the school chorus. Employing the Japanese poetic form of tanka, Grimes reveals Garvey's thoughts, feelings, and observations; the spare poetry is a good vehicle for a young man's attempts to articulate the puzzle that is his life.
(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
September 1, 2016
In a little book of little poems, Grimes tells a big-hearted story of Garvey (named after Marcus Garvey), an overweight boy tormented by name-calling at school: lard butt, fatso, Mister Tubs. Of his size, he says, My mom, dad, and sis / could fit inside my shadow / and -- poof -- disappear. Garvey yearns for a better connection with his father, who wants him to play football and stop being so soft, but: Mom's got a talent / for origami, but she / can't fold me into / the jock Dad wants me to be. Employing the Japanese poetic form of tanka -- five-line poems (or, here, stanzas) with haiku-like syllable counts -- Grimes reveals Garvey's thoughts, feelings, and observations, the spare poetry a good vehicle for a young man's attempts to articulate the puzzle that is his life. Garvey's life changes when his best friend suggests that he join the school chorus: Your voice is choice. / You should let others hear it. Not only does Garvey find his voice as part of the chorus, he finds new friends, pride in who he is, and the power to stand up to others who would tease him. He also forges a new relationship with his father, who does a quick turnaround at Garvey's recital: Dad stands to the side / beaming pride like a nova, / lighting up my year. An author's note explains the poetic form, which will be useful to classroom teachers. dean schneider
(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
December 1, 2016
Gr 4-8-Garvey can't quite live up to his father's traditional expectations of masculinity. He would rather sing and ponder space travel than undertake any athletic endeavor. But a chance chorus recital presents a turning point for their relationship: "I stand before the mirror, /smiling at a boy/whose frame is familiar/but changed, unfinished-all me." Using tanka, Grimes expertly crafts a family life that is deeply intimate yet inviting-a story of small but powerful transformations.
Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
January 1, 2023
"Why can't he put those books down, play football or basketball?" Garvey's father wants to turn him into an athlete, like his sister Angie, but Garvey would rather get lost in a book, listen to music, or dream about galaxies. In addition to pressure at home, he faces endless taunting at school for his weight. When Garvey meets the "skim-milk boy" Manny, who has albinism, he asks how Manny stands the teasing. "I look strange. No changing that. / Is there more to me? / Sure. Kids yell 'albino boy.' / I don't turn around. / Choose the name you answer to. / No one can do that but you." Per Grimes's author's note, this graphic-novel adaptation leaves two-thirds of the original book's (Garvey's Choice, rev. 9/16) tanka poems intact, with only small changes to the rest of them. The verses are given a new visual life with excellent page designs and clever illustrations, including the closing spread showing Garvey singing into a mic and his father playing the guitar, with floating musical notes uniting them in song. An unusually effective use of the graphic-novel format to bring poetry alive.
(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)