I've never come so close to giving up a book that I later turned out to LOVE! The first few chapters seemed unbearably shallow; simplistic; vaguely funny but unsubstantial...you know, typical pre-teen humor writing. The main reason I didn't give it up is that I was listening to it on the IPod and I didn't have another book loaded behind it. It was either that or NPR's Marketplace.
Since I don't have any money and am therefore not concerned about stocks or bonds, Marketplace lost and The Wednesday Wars won. And so did I!
When they started Shakespeare's The Tempest the plot turned around and a story that was simply so-so--this happened and this happened and she said this and he said that--it suddenly turned funny and portentuous and the plot started to thicken like treacle. I was hooked. And then the cream puffs! And Caliban and Sycorax! And the yellow tights with white feathers on the.....
Soon the laugh-out-loud funnies were mixed in with cry-your-eyes-out saddies. And the too-good-to-be-true's alternated with the why-does-it-have-to-be-this-way's. And I wept for Holling, for his sister, his sad, sad Father...and even Mrs. Baker.
So to quote Shakespeare, The slings and arrows of outrageous fate hit poor Holling hard...and he endured. If you like YA literature, read this--or may
toads,
beetles,
bats,
light on you!
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