Video

Rating:
Summary: Suspenseful, moving
Review: A bully of a girl who doesn't understand the changes in her social circle, a boy flooded with disappointment, a video camera, and a handsome stranger -- these elements are woven together in a believable suburban setting that is immediately recognizable. The kids, with the class assignment to observe another person and keep a journal of their observations, are caught up in a frightening series of events that had me glued to the book until the final page. Karen Romano Young paints complex portraits of her young characters; they are each a pain in the neck in some ways, but each touching and sympathetic in others. A fine novel.

Rating:
Summary: Better Than Beetle
Review: I enjoyed this book more than The Beetle and Me. I won't go into plot much because the above reviewer has covered that well enouh. The book is told from three seperate points of view. The first, an unlikable 8th grader named Janine. The second, Eric, a boy in a leg cast who has been away at school for three years and now finds himself in public school with kids he has lived near but doesn't know. The third voice is used sparingly. It is an omniscient voice that opens each chapter and at first, I found myself confused (but intrigued) trying to guess what this was all about. The omniscient POV is used rarely and each time it is used, you seem to peeking ahead to a final conclusion. I liked it as a plot device. I also liked how the author was able to take this mean and nasty little girl and make me care about her--that is a difficult task. Well done!

Rating:
Summary: Better Than Beetle
Review: I wanted to like Video more than I did. Initially, the plot sounded intriguing: an 8th grade teacher assigns his students the project of observing another person in order to hone their skills as observers (for science and writing, I think). Eric is assigned to observe Janine Gagnon, a peer with an attitude problem. Janine can't choose anyone worth observing (in her opinion) so she chooses herself as the focus of her studies.

Eventually, Eric come across information about Janine that may account for her attitude and her anti-social behavior, which is driving away her friends. He sets out to do something with he information he has found.

The plot was not as compelling as I had hoped, and the subplots, such as they were, confused the issue and did not seem to enhance the main storyline. Janine was such an unlikeable character that I wasn't interested in seeing her problem solved. The alternating points of view, including some confusing third person portions at the beginnings of the chapters, made the story more confusing. I loved The Beetle and Me, the author's previous book, and recommend it highly. This one, however, is less appealing.

Rating:
Summary: Wanted to like it more than I did
Review: I wanted to like Video more than I did. Initially, the plot sounded intriguing: an 8th grade teacher assigns his students the project of observing another person in order to hone their skills as observers (for science and writing, I think). Eric is assigned to observe Janine Gagnon, a peer with an attitude problem. Janine can't choose anyone worth observing (in her opinion) so she chooses herself as the focus of her studies.

Eventually, Eric come across information about Janine that may account for her attitude and her anti-social behavior, which is driving away her friends. He sets out to do something with he information he has found.

The plot was not as compelling as I had hoped, and the subplots, such as they were, confused the issue and did not seem to enhance the main storyline. Janine was such an unlikeable character that I wasn't interested in seeing her problem solved. The alternating points of view, including some confusing third person portions at the beginnings of the chapters, made the story more confusing. I loved The Beetle and Me, the author's previous book, and recommend it highly. This one, however, is less appealing.