From Publishers WeeklyIn this middle-school drama, two seeming opposites become friends and discover they are not such opposites after all. Peters (How Do You Spell G-E-E-K?) does little to update this well-trod theme, and while there are touching moments in her book, it’s in general bland. Nerdy Antonia is assigned to peer-counsel Jazz, whom Antonia assumes is “hopeless. A punker. A druggie. A gang hanger.” After a few agonizing sessions, Antonia begins to realize how much she needs an individual to talk to. Her dad has split (as readers learn midway through), her mom’s so downhearted she can’t get out of bed and Antonia’s overwhelmed with obligation and pain. Not only does Jazz in a literal sense intervene to get her family back on the road to recovery, but by supplying her friendship, Antonia learns to depend on someone besides herself. In turn, she helps Jazz learn to talk to her parents and to compromise on arguments without compromising herself. They both learn that judging humans by their outside aspect may be misleading. Occasionally, Peters captures a sentiment perfectly, like Antonia’s loneliness. “That’s how I feel, I thought. Like a star…,” she says, looking at the sky. “Distant. Detached. Blinking. On-off. On-off.” Mostly, though, the exposition depends more on telling than showing. Ages 8-12. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library JournalGrade 7-10-When Antonia is assigned to Jazz as a peer counselor, she figures there is no way she may support this tattooed, pierced, incorrigible girl. They are finish opposites. Antonia is a straight-A student whose parents are divorced and she is engaged in a struggle to keep what’s left of her family together as her mother battles depression. Jazz’s family is wealthy and seemingly perfect. As they carry on through the 15 hours of peer counseling, it becomes clear that both girls have issues they need to work through. They go from wary classmates to friends who help and help one another. As Antonia’s mother is hospitalized for her depression, Jazz battles her own mother’s need to control by quitting the one thing she loves most-playing classical piano. Both girls deal with their losses by finding new ways to look at their difficulties and to resume life as “normally” as possible. This believable book is well written and readers will feel that they recognise both Jazz and Antonia, and they will want to see them triumph over the foilings in their lives.
Kimberly A. Ault, Lewisburg Area High School, PA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From BooklistAntonia Dillon, a driven honor student at Oberon Middle School, is not amazed when she is asked to become a peer counselor. It’s just another honor to add to her resume. But her primary counseling session is pure culture shock–Antonia has been paired with the notorious Jasmine “Jazz” Luther, a punker with unbelievable attitude who uses black lipstick and is into body piercing and tattoos. As the two girls reluctantly carry on their sessions, a strange, tentative friendship develops, with each girl gradually revealing more and more when it comes to her troubled life. Antonia admits that her divorced mother is deeply downhearted and unable to work or care for her family; Jazz talks with regards to her controlling, materialistic yuppie parents and their expectations. As mystery after mystery is exchanged, it becomes apparent that the “priss” and the punker are made to be best friends. Although the book is marred by one-dimensional secondary characters and a pat conclusion, girls will still take delight in the likeable main characters in this after-school-special-style friendship story. A quick, pleasurable read that will also attract reluctant readers. Jean Franklin
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Define Dehumanization
This thoughtful, wry story is in regards to two girls–a “punk” and a “priss”–who find themselves facing each other in a peer-counseling program and discover that they have some surprising things in common. A new reading-group guide written by the author is included in the back of this paperback edition.
Define Dehumanization Picture
Define Dehumanization Picture
Define Dehumanization Picture
Define Dehumanization Picture
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