Surviving the Applewhites

Rating:
Summary: Online Book Review Assignment for KU
Review: The book Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan has characters and a setting that is unique and believable in that it describes the turn of events that some preteens or even teenagers might face while growing up. Jake, one of the main characters, is a juvenile delinquent who wants to do his own thing and is sent to Wit's End for a last chance. E.D., the other main character, is all about organization and structure and feels she doesn't fit in with the creative side of her family. Is Jake going to blow his last chance and end up in Juvenile Hall or is E.D. going to be able to fit in and feel like apart of her family? This is the major dramatic question in the story. "The most important thing you're going to learn while you are here is who you are and what you're made of." Tolan uses an array of figurative language to express the creativeness of the characters in the book. "A radiant light being, that's what you are. A radiant light being! And don't ever let anyone tell you different." The mood and tone facilitate suspension of disbelief because you want to know the outcome of the characters. You can't help but to relate to the teenagers in the story. Jake and E.D. both have a conflict that they need to resolve, and that is surviving the Applewhites. The end of the story has an interesting point-of-view and that is that throughout the story you feel as is Jake needs to survive the Applewhites, but it is actually E.D. who has to survive the Applewhites and Jake he has to survive the Semples, his own family.
This book is directed towards the 12 to 13 year old audience. I think most teenagers can sympathize with the characters and can relate to some of the conflicts that they face in their everyday lives. I would use this book in a classroom to give students a piece of mind and maybe to help them cope with their own internal conflicts.

Rating:
Summary: Exciting
Review: The book Surviving the Applewhites is a good book. If you like exciting and fun books you will like this one. Jake Semple is a really cool character. This book is mainly about Jake. Jake has got kicked out of every school in his state. There is one place left to except him, and that is the Applewhites. They are a bunch of weird, funny, and exciting people. This is the only chance left for Jake to have a school, will it work, will Jake survive those people. Read this good book and you will find out.

Rating:
Summary: Find your talents and express them!
Review: The major dramatic question (one of the important factors in choosing a book with literary merit) in Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan is whether or not Jake will once again be a model citizen and find what his purpose is in life. The reader first gets the theme in their head when Jake reads the motto in the schoolroom: "Education is an adventurous quest for the meaning of life, involving an ability to think things through." Jake is a juvenile delinquent who has been sent to a home school called Wit's End. A family runs it by the name of Applewhite, and they are not your normal, run of the mill family. Each family member has a unique characteristic, and they are illustrated in the book by either the things that the children learn at school or the jobs that the parents hold. E.D. is the girl that Jake has to study with, and she is not like the other members in her family. One might think that this book is told from the point of view of Jake and his adventure to "finding himself", but it is actually told from E.D.'s point of view. The reader finds out that Jake is not the only one with identity problems. Tolan shows the reader two aspects of the phrase "fitting in." Because there are so many characters, the dialogue between them helps the reader to learn about each of the character's unique characteristics. At breakfast, when Jake is meeting the family, Destiny, the youngest Applewhite, starts asking him all kinds of questions. "'How did you get your hair that color?' he asked. He went right on, leaving no room no time for Jake to squeeze in so much as a syllable...Lucille put a plate of bacon and toast in front of Jake. 'Don't mind Destiny. He can go on like that all day.'" As the book moves on, the reader can slowly see that Jake's life is starting to turn around because of the encounters that he has at the Applewhites'. Tolan plants little hints along the way of what the theme is, like the motto in the schoolroom, and lets the reader find out for themselves how Jake and E.D.'s lives are going to end up.
Surviving the Applewhites is a great book for any child that doesn't feel like they fit in. It can show them that every person has their own unique abilities and that those abilities are needed somewhere in the world. This book would be great for a fifth or sixth grade student who is trying to "find themselves" and to figure out where their talents can best be used in the world. The students could put on their own play and designate a job for each person in the classroom based on their talents, or have a talent show. If your school doesn't have the means to put on a play, have the students write in a journal about their special talents and share it with the class. Find a way to make every student in your classroom feel special by expressing his or her uniqueness.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing Book for All Ages
Review: Thirteen-year-old Jake Semple is somewhat of a legend around the state of North Carolina. Rumor has it he's burned down schools in the past, and at this point, no school wants to take a chance in enrolling them into their classes. Except, of course, a homeschool program run by the Applewhite family called The Creative Academy. So that's where Jake's grandfather brings him, in the hope that it will not only reform him, but get him off his back for awhile, while his parents are in prison. Jake is shocked that the entire Applewhite family, a clan of crazy artists, even put up with his antics of cursing, smoking, etc. But what's even more shocking is that E.D. (short for Edith) is an Applewhite. E.D. is what every Applewhite isn't. Smart, organized, and sensible. That's why she can't stand Jake Semple. Especially when he starts showing his true self, which might not be as bad as he'd like everyone to think.

I often shy away from books that have won the Newberry Honor Award, seeing as I haven't liked many of them in the past, but SURVIVING THE APPLEWHITES caught my eye, and by the end of the story, had captured my heart as well. As someone who has been in Independent Study (it's like homeschooling, only I teach myself) for over 9 years, I was very excited to see homeschooling as the subject of an entire book. I found that Stephanie S. Tolan did an amazing job in describing how homeschoolers make up their own curriculum's, and spend their time, etc. I found that the characters were enjoyable (my personal favorite was E.D., as I found that I related to her the most), and the crazy things that happened to the Applewhite family were absolutely hilarious. Children and adults of all ages will enjoy reading about this artistic family and their crazy life, and homeschools will enjoy reading about other kids their age who share their schooling situation. A must-have book for all.

Erika Sorocco

Rating:
Summary: A book with a with humorous story and a good plot.
Review: This book has a discriptive, humorous, and fun plot. There are many fun, loving characters. I liked many things about this book but there is one thing that made me pull this book from a five star to a four star. The ending is very sudden and sort of leaves you hanging. If Tolan makes a second I will have no doubts about rating it a five star.

Rating:
Summary: surviving the applewhites
Review: this book is about a sixteen year old boy by the name of Jake.
one day his parents stop a car outside their house. they asked the person driving it if they had any drugs, and to their surprise, it was an undercover cop ! oops, bad idea! anyway, the cop read them their rights and off to jail they went. so with his parents in jail, jake was sent to live with his grandfather and his grandfather lived with this wierd family , the applewhites.after awhile, jake gets tired of being bored so,
he decides to get into a little trouble! so, he gets aciggarette and smokes it ! if you want to find out if he gets into trouble , read the book.

Rating:
Summary: Why Do You Have to be So Bad????
Review: This book is as much fun as winning the lottery. The main character is a kid who was kicked out of every school in his whole state. Since no school will except him, he was sent to a place called Wits End. Wits End is a place that turns bad kids into good kids. After you read this book you'll want to visit Wits End.
Critic: Anthony

Rating:
Summary: Surviving the Applewhites
Review: This book was a "good book" in terms of literary merit and my opinion. First of all, Stephanie S. Tolan is a very skilled writer. She has a very successful career and has won many awards. Tolan also uses a variety of characters that are unique and believable. Some of the characters include Jake Semple, E.D., Aunt Lucille, Archie, Cordelia, Randolph, Destiny, and Zedediah. Jake and E.D. are total opposites. "Not an original bone in his body, E.D. thought. Just a plain ordinary delinquent." E.D. is referring here to how Jake was kicked out of many schools and how he is just a delinquent in her eyes. Although they were opposites, they both shared one thing in common. This was to literally "Survive the Applewhites". Also, the setting in the book is in modern times. This makes the story very believable to its readers. The sentence length is varied, which makes it quite easy to read. The events are also organized efficiently so the plot can be followed and understood. The plot also depicted major dramatic questions that engage the reader to read on with the story. This question is whether or not Jake Semple will survive the Applewhite experience and get back on his feet again. Also, another major question is whether or not the family can pull together to put on the "sound of music" show after all of the problems that were encountered in its production. Figurative language is used throughout the book. For example "Education is an adventurous quest for the meaning of life, involving an ability to think things through. Z. Applewhite " (page 27) was hung on a banner in the schoolroom. This same figurative language is also portrayed on page 215 which is near the end of the book. Jake reacts to this language by saying "He was beginning to get some idea of the value of thinking things through."

I think the audience would range from upper elementary (5th) to middle school. It would be a really good book for troubled youths or children who need a self esteem boost. This book basically portrays an image that you can succeed even if you have messed up before. I think it could be used in a classroom as motivation for students. I also think that the book can be taken the wrong way by some readers. I believe that some children might think that they can mess around and get thrown out of schools and it will be alright to do so. Then they will get the idea that this alternative school is an easy way out. We cannot give kids this easy way out option. I know this alternative school really doesn't exist, but some kids may get this impression. On the other hand, I think this impression on the children all depends on how the book is presented in the classroom and how it is used.

Rating:
Summary: Emotional content without fear and death
Review: This book was fantastic. Very few books move me to review them, but this one definitely did. Like almost all Newbery books, this book shows adolescents changing in their lives. Unlike most, nobody had to die or be abused to do it. I have a very difficult time finding books my extremely sensitive child can read, because most have cruelty or pain that he is not emotionally mature enough to handle. Ms. Tolan has created a book where the change and growth in the adolescent's life is caused by love, tolerance, and acceptance, rather than the death of a best friend, racism, or being stranded alone in the wilderness for years. THANK YOU!

Rating:
Summary: Surviving
Review: This book was interesting because it alternated between Jake and E.D.'s point of views. I'm looking forard to reading more books by Stephanie S. Tolan. I only wish the book had been longer.