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War And Watermelon (2011)

by Rich Wallace(Favorite Author)

3.36 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0670011525 (ISBN13: 9780670011520)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Viking Juvenile

review 1: In the summer of 1969, Brody is dreading junior high while looking forward to playing on the football team. His older brother, Ryan, has just graduated from high school and is stocking shelves at a grocery store, which makes Brody worry that Ryan may soon be drafted. The brothers attend Woodstock, follow the popular rock songs and the Mets baseball season, and try not to have too many generation gap fights with their (shocking!) mother AND father. Brody and his friends also spend a fair amount of time hanging out at the swim club checking out the girls, and the dance there is a highlight of the season. As the summer draws to a close and junior high looms large, Brody realizes that the summer, while busy and filled with some difficult moments, has helped him prepare for his... more future.Strengths: Rich Wallace writes fantastic sports fiction, and this book makes it clear that his writing is so good because he remembers clearly what it is like to be a junior high school student. The historical details are spot on in this one, but set against a more interesting story line than a lot of other 1960s books. Boys will pick this one up for the baseball, football and girls and not even care that it is "historical". If books like this won awards, more children would read them! Has a sports book ever won a major award?Weaknesses: There's almost too much going on, and I wish that Brody had not eaten the chicken salad that had been out all day and missed the moon landing! I would have loved to read Wallace's description of that, although maybe he, too, had some bad chicken salad that day! I barely remember being allowed to stay up to watch that; I had just turned 4!
review 2: War & Watermelon felt like a well worn shoe, comfortable. I lived these events and angst. Will middle schools find it appealing? Time will tell.Book Talk:(Music: The Times They are A'changin) Men walked on the moon. Woodstock. The Mets the worst team in baseball is about to flying into first place. Girls are a mystery to me, but my best friend Tony is trying to hook me up with one. And my home front is a minefield. If my dad and brother aren't arguing, it must be because they're not talking to each other. If by brother doesn't go to school soon, he'll be drafted and sent to Vietnam. less

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