Seventh grade is tough enough, but Will Levine has extra complications. He quickly earns the nickname "Turtle Boy" because of a genetic jaw deformity he inherited from a father he barely knew. Will has seen pictures of his father, but the man's chin was covered by a beard. Will was only four years old when his dad went into the hospital for hernia surgery and never woke up from the procedure. Now Will is facing surgery of his own that will require breaking his jaw and wiring it shut for weeks after.
Will is also in the midst of preparing for his Bar Mitzvah. This requires standing in front of a roomful of people, giving a speech, and reciting a passage from the Torah in Hebrew. Will has trouble answering a simple question when asked so how is he going to perform in front of a crowd?
Another reason Will earned the nickname Turtle Boy may be the fact that he knows just about everything there is to know about turtles. He has collected several turtles from the Back 40, an area behind his school used by the science classes. He would rather spend time with his turtles than most people he knows.
As part of his Bar Mitzvah requirements, Will must log volunteer hours in his community. When things don't work out at the local soup kitchen, his Rabbi suggests visits to a boy named RJ who is sick in the local hospital. This definitely sounds like trouble to Will, but he doesn't really have a choice. Meeting RJ ends up changing Will's thoughts about a lot of things, and it does a lot of good for RJ as well.
TURTLE BOY by M. Evan Wolkenstein is a heart-warming story about a boy figuring out how to fit in to a world that makes him feel uncomfortable and alone. TURTLE BOY is the perfect addition to any middle grade collection.
No comments:
Post a Comment