Author Amy Sarig King (also published under A.S. King) writes about middle schoolers from their perspective – and does it with empathy and talent. Both of these books focus on pre-teen aged boys who are strong enough to know who they are and go against the social ethos of fitting in at any cost.
In Me and Marvin Gardens you meet Obe Devlin, an 11 year old boy living through the suburbanization of the farm land his Great-Grandfather drank away. He is getting nose bleeds daily, started by the sucker punch from his former best friend to prove Tommy was “cool enough” to hang with the new kids that moved in. Obe’s new best friend is “putrid Annie”, another person the new boys don’t like. Obe stands up for Annie when she is kissed without consent and calling it inappropriate as it should be, even when adults don’t get it. Obe goes on to find a surprise on his property that becomes his friend. As he works to save the new friend from encroaching modernization and society, Obe finds a way to stay true to himself while also learning to accept that time moves on.
In Attack of the Black Rectangles you again meet a pre-teen boy – Mac – who is dealing with a father that calls himself an alien, a crazy teacher that covers words in a book (as though the word “breast” would be something that boys will giggle at when in context of a girl being lead to a Nazi shower in a concentration camp), and a town with rules that creep in to meet one person’s view of how the world should think or act. Again, Mac stands up against the injustice of censorship even when adults don’t care. He finds a way to do the right thing without compromising his own view of right or wrong. And he learns to face the reality of what his father truly is.
Both books show determination and the strength of knowing right from wrong, and when to ask for help from adults. It also shows that adults don’t always get it right. Well written and engaging, with lessons for all ages.
The Source 4 Books 