Slob by Ellen Potter 12 yr old Owen is overweight and one point shy of being a genius. Owen has a difficult time at school one of his biggest tormenters is his gym teacher Mr. Wooly. Owen tolerates everything at school in silence until someone steals his Oreo cookies. Owen believes the thief is Mason, a new student, with different colored eyes, who is rumored to carry a blade in his sock. Owen begins to set traps to catch Mason. However bad school is, Owen has other things to worry about like finishing building Nemesis a machine he’s being working on for a year and half. Owen has put all of his hope into Nemesis’s fixing everything that happened on an unforgettable day. Owen’s younger sister Caitlin, goes by the name Jeremy. Jeremy is a member of sixth grade club know as GWAB. Girls Who Are Boys. The eight members all go by boys names, wear boys clothes and have their hair cut short. Jeremy did everything but cut her hair short. GWAB fight to be referred by their boys names in school. It was a good secondary story line and there aren’t many middle grade novels that deal with gender non conformity. Owen’s weight is not the soul of Slob, its the old ghost he must contend with. In Owen, Potter's created a character young readers can't help but care for, his voice is honest and real. Towards the end when Owen refuses to allow his gym teacher to get the best of him again, it’s beautiful. He doesn’t magically become someone else; he simply finds some deep down courage to stand his ground. I really enjoyed Slob and Potter's writing is wonderful. Slob will be released May 14. Ages 10 up More Reviews
2 comments:
I will never reduce the size of my tbr and wish list as long as I come here. Loved your review.
Thanks Susan. You should check out the kids review, it really cute.
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