The Schwa Was Here
The Schwa Was Here
by Neal Shusterman
I had hear about this book some time back, that it was funny and enjoyable, but kept putting off reading it for whatever reason. Then I decided it sounded like it would be great for my middle school bookgroup. And boy was it every.
The story revolves around a kid living in Brooklyn nicknamed Antsy, and his new-found friend The Schwa. They had been going to school together for quite a while, but Antsy, like many people, had just never noticed The Schwa. He is so invisible to folks, that they start testing this, experimenting and taking dares to see how far it goes. Well, The Schwa starts to fear that he will just disappear someday, and Antsy has to figure out how to help his friend out.
The book also involves a cranky old rich guy with 14 dogs (named after the 7 deadly sins, and 7 virtues), his blind grand-daughter, and Brooklyn (which I always enjoy reading about).
While it is a bit quirky at times and has a touch of magical realism to it, it is also very down to earth and captures human behavior and emotions incredibly well. The family scenes in the book are realistic and eye opening, and you see real growth of Antsy throughout the book.
I thought it was just fabulous, and recommend it to everyone. My teens loved it too :)
by Neal Shusterman
I had hear about this book some time back, that it was funny and enjoyable, but kept putting off reading it for whatever reason. Then I decided it sounded like it would be great for my middle school bookgroup. And boy was it every.
The story revolves around a kid living in Brooklyn nicknamed Antsy, and his new-found friend The Schwa. They had been going to school together for quite a while, but Antsy, like many people, had just never noticed The Schwa. He is so invisible to folks, that they start testing this, experimenting and taking dares to see how far it goes. Well, The Schwa starts to fear that he will just disappear someday, and Antsy has to figure out how to help his friend out.
The book also involves a cranky old rich guy with 14 dogs (named after the 7 deadly sins, and 7 virtues), his blind grand-daughter, and Brooklyn (which I always enjoy reading about).
While it is a bit quirky at times and has a touch of magical realism to it, it is also very down to earth and captures human behavior and emotions incredibly well. The family scenes in the book are realistic and eye opening, and you see real growth of Antsy throughout the book.
I thought it was just fabulous, and recommend it to everyone. My teens loved it too :)