Bluefish

by Pat Schmatz

Overview

“An ode to the significance of reading in the lives of young people. . . . Unique and original, believable and poignant, this is a book with power of its own.” — The Horn Book (starred review)

Thirteen-year-old Travis has a secret: he can’t read. But a shrewd teacher and a sassy girl are about to change everything in this witty and deeply moving novel. Mr. McQueen is a rare teacher whose savvy persistence has Travis slowly unlocking a book on the natural world, while Velveeta’s wry banter and colorful scarves belie some hard secrets of her own. With sympathy, humor, and disarming honesty, Pat Schmatz captures the moments of trust and connection that make all the difference.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763663414
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	08/06/2013
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	257,270
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.80(d)
Lexile:	HL600L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 Years

About the Author

Pat Schmatz is the author of three previous novels for teens. She lives in rural Wisconsin.

Editorial Reviews

A lovely, understated book that celebrates the possibility of a kind and humane friendship between an eighth-grade girl and boy...this novel is also an ode to the significance of reading in the lives of young people and to a teacher who knows the power literature can wield. Unique and original, believable and poignant, this is a book with power of its own.
—The Horn Book (starred review)

Readers seeking emotional warmth, congenial humor, and an affirmation of forgiveness and friendship will cozy up to these characters.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)

Despite the weighty problems the characters face-grief, alcoholism, and bullying among them-Bluefish is a lively, often-humorous, and ultimately hopeful page-turner. It has all the hallmarks of a classic contemporary young adult issues novel. It's packed with memorable and believable characters and powered by the prospect of redemption and just a hint of romance.
—School Library Journal (starred review)

A young teen loner gradually learns to accept the friendship of an outspoken girl in this problem novel filled with likable, idiosyncratic characters.… A story rife with unusual honesty and hope.
—Kirkus Reviews

What makes Bluefish compelling is the unorthodox way the characters reveal their secrets and ultimately join forces to break hurtful social labels. Readers will identify with the middle school setting and the well-written characters.
—Library Media Connection

The story is well written and deals realistically with issues that plague many teens.
—Booklist Online

This inspiring novel demonstrates how two teens with survivor instincts and a little guidance from a couple of perceptive adults choose a different path than the one they were born into. Schmatz keeps their situation realistic while also emphasizing the importance of seizing opportunities when they present themselves.
—Shelf Awareness

From the Publisher

Thirteen-year-old Travis can’t read and just wants to be left alone, especially after he transfers to a new school in a new town. But brassy, sassy Velveeta refuses to accept Travis’s silence as rejection and insists on being his friend. Luke Daniels’s soft-spoken, soothing performance is well suited to portray the introverted, illiterate boy who struggles with self-confidence. Daniels also makes his voice crack, enhancing the social awkwardness of Travis’s youth. For Velveeta’s hyper, extroverted personality, Daniels raises his vocal pitch and speaks quickly in tones of determination, persistence, and confidence. Kate Rudd complements Daniels’s performance by narrating Velveeta’s private diary entries in a thoughtful, halting tone, adding complexity and depth to this sweet story. A.R.H. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2011 - AudioFile

A young teen loner graduallylearns to acceptthe friendship of an outspoken girl in thisproblem novel filled with likable, idiosyncratic characters.

Travis is filled with sullen resentment toward his recovering alcoholic grandfather, who moved them away from their old house despite Travis's devastation having to leave behind his lost dog, Rosco. At his new school, Travis is surprised to land on the radar of confident, kindVelveeta, and he increasingly looks forward to her friendly overtures each day, even as he worries that she might discover a secret of which he's deeply ashamed.In the meantime, Velveeta struggleswith familytrouble of herown and with the loss of a dear friend. A cast of richly developed characters peoples this work of contemporary fiction, told in the third person from Travis' point of view, with first-person vignettes from Velveeta's perspective peppered throughout. An ongoing reference to Markus Zusak's The Book Thief (2006) serves the themes of this novel well. Both teens have adults outside of their families whom they are able to trust, but at times these adults feel a little too heart-of-goldidealized—sadly, it's somehow hard to picture a public librarian actually givinga key to the building to a kid whose home isn't a safe place. Fortunately, these clichéd moments are brief.

A story rife with unusual honesty andhope. (Fiction. 12-16)

Kirkus Reviews