Messed Up

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Overview

Emotionally riveting and suspensful, Messed Up is the touching portrait of R. D., a Latino teen who keeps the death of his guardian a secret so he can stay out of foster care. The author, a New Yorker short story writer, has given R. D. a strong and authentic voice that will captivate teen readers.

With his father out of the picture and his mom in prison, fifteen-year-old R. D. has been living with his grandmother and her boyfriend, Earl. He's been held back in school for skipping out or being on suspension, or maybe just for being Mexican-American, but, at heart R. D. is a good kid. Then, as if he hasn't had enough tough breaks, R. D.'s grandmother ...
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More About This Book

Overview

Emotionally riveting and suspensful, Messed Up is the touching portrait of R. D., a Latino teen who keeps the death of his guardian a secret so he can stay out of foster care. The author, a New Yorker short story writer, has given R. D. a strong and authentic voice that will captivate teen readers.

With his father out of the picture and his mom in prison, fifteen-year-old R. D. has been living with his grandmother and her boyfriend, Earl. He's been held back in school for skipping out or being on suspension, or maybe just for being Mexican-American, but, at heart R. D. is a good kid. Then, as if he hasn't had enough tough breaks, R. D.'s grandmother takes off with a new boyfriend and Earl unexpectedly dies. Heartbroken, but determined to stay out of a group home, R. D. takes charge of his own life. He keeps Earl's death a secret from his school and, for the first time ever, has an incentive to do his work and stay out of trouble. But how long can R. D. keep up the front?

Editorial Reviews

Children's Literature
R.D. discovers that his delinquent teenage ways will not get him anywhere in the real world. When he is suddenly left alone due to his guardian, Earl's, death and his grandmother's decision to run off with a new boyfriend, R.D. is faced with living on his own at fifteen. He learns how to grocery shop and cook his own meals and even has to navigate making funeral arrangements. When he meets Jeanette, he gets an inside look at how life could be and how he could change his. His life has never involved marshmallow rice squares or band rehearsal, but rather indifference and disappointment. In the dark world of gangs, deception, bad decisions, and betrayal, R.D. finds his own way, although unconventional, and he starts earning his freedom on his own terms. This book presents a raw look at what seems like a hopeless cycle of despair; where some fall victim to their environment, there are those that fight and sustain a quality of life. Reviewer: Renee Farrah
VOYA
Fifteen-year-old R.D's life is pretty messed up—he lives with his grandmother and her boyfriend Earl because his mother is in jail, and he is repeating eighth grade. Things get worse when grandma leaves R. D. with Earl to run off with someone new, but Earl dies. Although R. D. tries to do the right thing, he does not want to go to a group home. He decides to not tell the school, his friends, and family, or Earl's car repair clients that Earl is dead. As the days pass, R. D. must navigate increasingly confusing and difficult adult responsibilities—paying bills, buying food, cooking, researching car repairs to take over the business, and dealing with the bank. At the same time, he is trying to stay out of trouble at a gang-filled school so that no one will notice he is living alone. Eventually it all falls apart but some unexpectedly kind strangers help R. D. manage to continue on his own. R. D.'s slang-filled, first-person narrative stays clear and sounds believably mixed with hope, pessimism, sarcasm, resignation, and determination to find a better life. He is a likeable youth going through a difficult situation with good motives but also with typical teen carelessness. Although most of the story stays plausible, the resolution happens very quickly, with a fairy-tale ending of all wishes granted. Still the enjoyable narration of one messed-up life mostly makes up for the end. Reviewer: Teresa Copeland
More Reviews (2) Fewer Reviews
School Library Journal
Gr 6–9—Fifteen-year-old R.D., part Mexican, part Cheyenne, lives in the San Joaquin Valley with his grandmother and her long-term boyfriend, Earl, until she splits town with a new man. Meanwhile, R.D. gets suspended his first day repeating eighth grade when he stops a fight between two "brown girls" wearing rival gang colors and doesn't correct the assistant principal when he assumes otherwise. Then Earl suddenly dies. The teen's mom is in prison, and his migrant, Mexican father is MIA, so, in order to avoid a group home, he decides to cover up the fact that he is now living on his own. On the surface, Lynch paints a story that could appeal to reluctant readers. However, R.D. has none of the discernable life skills a boy in his situation might pick up, such as doing laundry, and this unrealistic portrayal could be a plot killer for many readers. Also, his bad decisions—like forging the signature on and depositing Earl's Social Security and pension checks—are brushed aside, and things are neatly resolved when the executor of Earl's will helps R.D. avoid criminal consequences and secure his independence.—Adrienne L. Strock, Maricopa County Library District, AZ
Kirkus Reviews
R.D.'s life is messed up. He's repeating eighth grade, his mother's in prison for dealing crack and his father is a Mexican citizen, location unknown. R.D. was being raised by his grandparents in a neighborhood gone to hell, but his grandmother has run off with a trucker named Harry and his grandfather Earl has died, so R.D. is left to fend for himself. Lynch's first-person narration is lively and immediate, sensitively delineating character and setting and expertly tracing the transformation of a young man readers will care about. After much floundering, R.D. cleans house, learns to cook, does laundry and even starts doing his school work. It turns out that underneath R.D.'s cynical and disaffected facade resides the intelligent and brave Richard Diaz, learning to do the right things in life. As his teacher, Miz Trueblood, says, "You're going to get along in this world just fine, R.D." A memorable story of grit and survival, and helping hands along the way. (Fiction. 12 & up)

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780823421855
  • Publisher: Holiday House, Inc.
  • Publication date: 3/15/2009
  • Pages: 250
  • Sales rank: 179,889
  • Age range: 12 - 17 Years
  • Lexile: 780L (what's this?)
  • Product dimensions: 5.80 (w) x 8.30 (h) x 1.10 (d)

Meet the Author

Janet Nichols Lynch, a middle-school teacher and author of an adult novel, teaches English part time at the College of the Sequoias. Her short stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Seventeen, and other publications. She lives in California.

Customer Reviews

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Sort by: Showing all of 4 Customer Reviews

  • Posted December 4, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

    R.D. never knew his father, and his mother is in prison. He was raised by his grandmother, but she up and left him with her boyfriend, Earl, so she could run off with a hairy truck driver. R.D. has promised to clean up his act and get through the eighth grade this year for sure, but it's the first day of school and things aren't starting off very well since he's suspended for fighting by lunch time.

    Earl tries to keep R.D. out of trouble and encourages him to stick with it at school, but he has some serious health issues dating back to his exposure to Agent Orange during his time in Vietnam. Ever since R.D.'s grandmother left, Earl has been having more frequent attacks that leave him gasping for breath and sending R.D. in search of his inhaler. Just a few short weeks into the school year, R.D. gets off the bus and discovers Earl on the bathroom floor, dead.

    With no way to contact his grandmother and no one else to turn to, R.D. decides to try to handle things himself. He deals with the funeral home people, handles the questions from nosy neighbors, and manages through trial and error to keep himself fed and the bills paid. Surprisingly, this forced independence turns R.D. into a more reliable student at school and has him learning things about life he never would have thought possible.

    MESSED UP by Janet Nichols Lynch is a heart-warming and riveting read. R.D. starts out as an underachieving, gangster wannabe who turns his life around through handwork and determination. Readers will learn right along with him as he deals with the everyday, practical aspects of survival. He learns to shop for groceries and clothes and teaches himself how to cook and clean.

    For someone who pretty much let the world just happen around him, he takes on the challenge of making his own way and succeeds. MESSED UP is an excellent addition to any library or classroom collection.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted September 16, 2011

    more from this reviewer

    REAL LIFE

    awsome i can toataly relate to it.
    its true life fo real

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    Posted November 6, 2009

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    Posted July 12, 2011

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