Video

by Karen Romano Young

When Mr. Lincoln gives his eighth-grade class an observation project, it sounds roll-your-eyes dumb to Janine and Eric. Especially since Janine can't come up with anyone interesting to observe and Mr.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0688165176
• ISBN13: 9780688165178
• Release Date: October 1999
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 1.01 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.4" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 and higher

Customer Reviews

Better Than Beetle

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!

Suspenseful, moving

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.