User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler was one of my favorites when as a youngster; I know I read the book two or three times at least. So when Mom hijacked my library account (hi, Mom!) and put this one on hold for me, I was eager to read through another Newbury-award-winning novel by E.L. Konigsberg.
Here's what I found on page one:
"They called themselves The Souls. They told Mrs. Olinski that they were The Souls long before they were a team, but she told them that they were a team as soon as they became The Souls."
Right, chicka-what? I had to read that a few times, and even then I still didn't get it. There were chapters full of things like that, referencing events that had already happened ...
... But never fear, the flashbacks are here.
Through these chapters, we got to see how four sixth-graders grew to become friends, how they were chosen to represent their school in the Academic Bowl. Except the flashbacks, though fine little stories, didn't seem to mesh as well in my mind as Konigsberg insinuated they should be meshing, nor were they as profound as I expected them to be. (And, fact: I found Noah-as-narrator to be funny for about a page, but then he just became annoying, and further fact: I still don't exactly get why he was included, let alone "the first chosen" for the bowl team. Was it because he re-gifted his "treasured gifts" to retirees? Should Post-It notes really be considered a treasure??)
I did find the differences in perspective interesting. I loved reading about Ethan and Julian especially, and I found Mrs. Olinski's perspective intriguing, as well -- especially in comparison to the students'.
But at the same time, issues were mentioned but not addressed to my satisfaction -- not even in quick summary. What about Ethan's insecurities regarding his brother Lucas? What about his love of the stage, and do the Souls even know about it? Was Julian ever bothered by people thinking he was Native American rather than Indian? Does Nadia really "get over" her parents divorce just by saving a bunch of sea turtles?
I guess we are led to believe that the kids overcome all these issues by being friends with one another, even if they never seem to talk about their problems with each other (too busy learning calligraphy, sipping tea slowly, etc.)
Instead of wrapping those kinds of issues up, we're left with chewy bits like this:
"The Souls were waiting. They opened the door for her. And that is when she knew that they knew that she knew." (p. 160)
I suppose it was supposed to be clever, this kind of writing style, but to me -- well, it just felt like the author was trying too hard.
Rating: really liked it
We found this one to be tough going for my literate 9-year-old, and even for me at times. Ultimately, we read it aloud together for book group. There were a lot of things to like in this book, but ultimately the complicated time structure got in the way of the story.
Others have observed that the characters were interesting and quirky, lovable partly because they cared for one another. I agree.
One thing made me uncomfortable: the image of a noose became a positive symbol for the team. Tee shirts are printed up with a noose on them, because of a grammatical error that the principal from the opposing team makes vis-a-vis "hung" versus "hanged". At another time, a student brings an actual noose to a competition. None of these wise, interesting people, who apparently know thousands of historical anecdotes and facts, have any awareness that the noose in America is synonymous with the era of lynching, and is wildly inappropriate as a whimsical metaphor for tromping in an academic challenge. Reading it with my daughter, I had to explain to her why hanging was not funny, and how I was disappointed that their beloved and wise teacher had not explained why. Certain bad students were soundly chastised for cruelty for being a naughty and loud audience during a play, but carrying a noose to a competition is portrayed as endearing. My best explanation is that Ms. Konigsburg just loved grammar so much, that crimes against grammar (hanged/hung) trumped other concerns. All of the characters except the Singhs were white, so maybe the presumption is that no one would mind?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the book is racist. It's more tone deaf on race.
Rating: really liked it
A classic, as timeless as Konigsburg's Mixed-Up Files. This is a beautiful story about friendship, family, kindness, and wonder. The joy of simple things, like slowly sipping tea with friends. The wonder of new journeys, of knowledge, of tiny baby turtles crawling out to sea. The miracle of finding friends, of family connections, and the families we create for ourselves as well.
Rating: really liked it
E.L. Konigsburg's The View from Saturday weirdly morphs in my memory from time to time. I didn't read it as a kid so it's not nostalgia based. It morphs the way childhood memories do, in some weird way I can't quite explain to myself based on my moods. It's probably all depending on if I'm feeling moody and reclusive, anyway, even at the time. I'll get back to that, maybe. Sometimes I see it on my bookcase and groan, "You were so annoying!" and other times I'll sigh, "That's the cute loggerhead book!"
What is it with author ladies for young people including an older person that kids can relate to? Every book from Melina Marchetta (that I've read) has done so (no doubt to make her job as a teacher easier. "We can go to her!"). Konigsburg's From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil Frank E. Weiler (I didn't have to consult anything to spell this but I repeatedly misspell Konigsburg) had Mrs. Basil Frank E. Weiler, The Outcasts of 17 Schuyler Place (might've been another address. I don't remember any of my own childhood addresses. This only mattered when doing that "What is your porn name?" internet meme from a few years back) has the uncles (this is her weakest book, in my opinion). [I checked and it is 19. Curse my memory!]
I liked the Mrs. Basil Frank E. Weiler. That's a name you can trust. As someone who was picked on mercilessly for her name I would trust in the character building of name calling (and she chose it as her married name. Right on). She also had tons of books and cool categorizing methodology. I loved the two kids, their penchant for planning and carrying out schemes. I also loved running away fantasies (the time I tried to carry it out is not a fun story. I don't wish to bum out this happy-go-lucky review).
Schuyler Place started out cool. Stick it to the man, and taking over individual art and making every town look exactly the same (those bastards! Let's stick it to 'em!) story. But the whole summer camp part (I related to the girl's intense hatred of it. I have camp horror stories and I only went for two days). Then there was some dumb romance, dumb idealism that didn't fit stick it to the man rather than patting your own butt praise. Yawn.
The View from Saturday is, to me, somewhere between these two books. The four kids are supposed to be shy rejects, according to the book jacket. They were the kind of brainy, did-everything-right kids that I'd eye on grade report days that crowed about how well they did when I'd stare mournfully at my math grades and dread going home (that their parents did most of their assignments for them also seemed unfair. No, not seemed. It was unfair!). There's something about groups like these in stories that feels exclusive. Me at any age gets the feeling that these stories are written for a certain type of reader in mind: the kid that got perfect grades. They won't idle away in angst (maybe not even in the teen years). I'm always going to wallow. That's my cross to bear (sigh).
The parts of the book that annoyed the shit out of me was the teacher hand-picking the cream of the crop for her idyllic saturday meetings of precociousness. If I wanted to read about this I'd pick up the autobiography of the boy band svegali.
I liked it better when they separated and communicated their own lives through letters. The loggerhead turtles were the best. It isn't fair that I've lived in Florida for such a long time and have never seen a loggerhead turtle (troll bait alert! I'm hoping to be yelled at for lamenting my own not seeing a loggerhead as if there aren't different planes of thought capable in a person's mind: "Loggerheads are so cute!" and the more overwhelming desire that they live as well as they ought). The kids worked together better, for me, in their own lives rather than organized hyper "We got better grades than you!" stuff. Does anyone want to listen to somebody else's in-jokes? I wouldn't have respected a kid that trusted adults, anyway. Since I still never found organized adulthood to trust, I still didn't respect it. That side of me is why I can still enjoy some kids books, I think.
High fives are okay. Ass-patting is bad. I'll take a hug.
When in grade school they made us write journals to our teachers. My teacher repeatedly made me start mine over. If there was the thing that anyone wanted to hear, I had no idea what it was. I just asked a lot of questions.
They gave me another weirdo kid in Missouri to be a pen pal with. We wrote letters outside of class because we got in trouble for not sticking to the assignments. Mostly we just talked about how stuff sucked (big surprise). What is the fun in that? Guess we wouldn't have been invited to tea! (Cookies would be nice.)
My twin says that they write in those kinds of adults to counteract those sleazy Nickelodeon type shows when the kids live in a world without adults. Those shows are annoying, this is true. I'd rather read about naturally open relationships that are earned rather than propaganda about magic world of adults of people who know everything. 'Cause I feel like shit 'cause I never entered that world. And it was a letdown back then. Why do that to anybody?
Rating: really liked it
E. L. does it again. This is about a Trivia club at a middle school around a group of 4 6th graders. Our school called this Quiz bowl and I never tried out for it, but I was in the audience each year to watch and learn. I learned so many interesting things. I still remember things like Yoknapatawpha was Faulkner's imagination setting for his novels. It stuck. I have also been on a huge Jeopardy binge since they put it on Netflix's recently and I saw the tournament of champions.
I think this is such an interesting story. I first I really didn't understand what was going on. She tells the past of each of the 4 students and how they all relate. She also goes into the teacher of the group and how she puts them all together. It all wraps up so beautifully at the end and she puts it in this neat bow. I love it.
The kids I hung out with in High School were very smart, funny and intelligent. We were mostly polite and respectful as well. I totally related to these characters. I knew several of these kids in my high school.
Another detail I love about this story is there is a focus on finding a place for kindness and listening. These kids have tea every Saturday and they listen to each other and they are well behaved. They do other fun things too. I love this quality of kindness she brings out in the story. There is a line I can't quite remember, but a character or narrator says that to get along in society, we need a level of kindness and civility that is lacking in much of society today. I tend to agree with this. Jumping to quick judgements aren't the best.
I absolutely loved this story. I loved how the beginning you are trying to piece it all together and how satisfying the end is. What bothered me was at the beginning she would ask a question and then jump into the past of a character and we had to wait to verify if our answer was correct or not. That is cruel. Oh well.
There is also a production of Annie going on during this as well. There is a foreign student or two that I love. I always wanted to me the people who came from outside our culture. This was a fabulous story for me personally. I think it's great for anyone who enjoys trivia and who appreciated being smart in school.
Rating: really liked it
As a testament to how awesome this book is, any time I carry it around the school, a bunch of kids will run up to me and say, "That book was so awesome! The answers are in the back" and then run away.
Rating: really liked it
I think I wasted a good part of life reading this book I don't know why anyone would want to read it. If I were the author I'd be so ashamed of myself for writing such a terrible piece of garbage. I wish I could give it zero stars.
Rating: really liked it
At first this book seemed to be a children's version of Slumdog Millionaire: Four kids take part in a quiz and beat everybody else although they are among the youngest competitors. As in Slumdog Millionaire nobody understands how they know all the answers. So little stories are told showing how they had all this knowledge.
But this book soon takes a different turn. It is most of all the story of a wonderful friendship. I wish I had friends like these four kids!
Rating: really liked it
"So, when he asked her how she had chosen the four members of her academic team, Mrs. Olinski knitted her brow and answered with hushed seriousness. "In the interest of diversity," she said, "I chose a brunette, a redhead, a blond, and a kid with hair as black as print on paper."
Dr. Rohmer was not amused. He gave Mrs. Olinski a capsule lecture on what multiculturalism really means.
"Oh," she said, "then we're still safe, Dr. Rohmer. You can tell the taxpayers that the Epiphany Middle School team has one Jew, one half-Jew, a WASP, and an Indian." (PG. 22)
YA--Newbery Medal winner
On my library search through the YA aisle I have been looking at the spines for the sticker that says Newbery winner. So I grabbed this title without taking out my cellphone and opening up my Goodreads app.
I did not enjoy this novel for a few reasons. My main reason was the lack of diversity from the author. The top quote was distasteful as a reader. It was obvious the author only wanted to talk about Jewish characters while the others that were not had disrespectful names like WASP (had to Google this term) or Indian, but no one asked what nationality he was as he had an English accent. But I kept reading because it was a short book.
Then the nooses came out. The 6th graders are in a competition and a teacher from another school tells Mrs. Olinski they will be hung and she corrects his use of the word to hanged. When the kids win that part of the competition the other classmates come out with nooses as a "joke" to the other school. It was weird. I don't see how a noose in any situation is funny. Mrs. Olinski, being a fabulous teacher, doesn't go out of her way to correct the behavior of the kids. Then the noose shirts are made to support the school. I don't get it.
Overall, the story was about kids and what brings them together. I didn't connect with the characters and I didn't care very much for the story line, but I am not the target audience, in all fairness. I just believe when a book, no matter the age, should be able to connect with all ages.
The Newbery Medal Association makes me rethink what I'm reading. I'm sure there were better books that year but no one ever remembers 2nd or 3rd place.
Rating: really liked it
LOVED this! I picked it up because a) I love Konigsburg's
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankwiler, and b) because it concerns the members of an Academic Bowl team, and I spent most of middle school and all of highschool taking part in such nerdly pursuits.
Konigsburg deftly weaves together the stories of five characters: the Academic Bowl team members, Noah, Nadia, Julian, and Ethan, and their teacher/coach, Mrs. Olinski. There's no plot summary that can do the book justice, because the plot is just a very small element in the actual story, which is about bravery and friendship. The book's also wickedly funny -- Konigsburg, as usual, never missing an opportunity to poke fun at officious figures of authority.
A lot of the reviews on Amazon.com question whether this book actually speaks to the children that form its ostensible audience. It's a good question; it's really a very sophisticated book, and the four sixth-graders are most unusual and wise beyond their years. I don't think it would appeal to all children -- but I don't think the Newberry is really about choosing a book that will appeal to everyone. I think it will find its own dedicated audience who adore it in the same way many of us adored From the Mixed-Up Files. I definitely would have loved it when I was in sixth grade.
Rating: really liked it
This was a Newberry book but the characters and situations didn't ring true so I don't think it is valuable to kids or they would enjoy it. It was a little boring and predictable.
Rating: really liked it
First read in sixth grade for school; then, recently, I picked it up again on a whim, because working in literature education with kids of a similar reading level made me think back to the books I read when they were around their age. I remember finding this book interesting, but a little weird. But my impression of this book seemed to ripen with age until I was convinced it was canonical lit for sixth graders everywhere.
Well, the reread was disappointing. Despite it being written in the nineties, the dialogue already seemed outdated--what was up with the lack of contractions? I thought about it and I don't really think it was a characterization thing because so many of the characters talked that way, without contractions. Back in sixth grade, I thought the Souls were kind of mystical, an elevated species of middle-schooler to be emulated. Now, I just think they're slightly pretentious and contrived. There was falsity ringing from the pages, and it was disappointing for me to discover that the magic I had attributed to this novel may not have been there all along.
Rating: really liked it
I was quite enjoying this, but the character of Mr. Singh bothered me, and the behavior of Mrs. Olinski, at the end of the book, made no sense. Mr. Singh comes off a little too strongly as the mysterious, wise Asian, somehow privy to the whole internal truth of the various character's stories, despite being almost a non-entity the whole of the novel. Mrs. Olinski even has thoughts to that effect when talking to him "I had never told anyone ______" How did he know? How, indeed. Considering that tolerance is one of the minor themes of the book, the stereotype really stood out, in a bad way.
And then there is Mrs. Olinski's bizarre near-breakdown over the colour turquoise. I read that section three times, to see if I was missing something to explain her level of overreaction (fashion-rage?) during what should be a reunion with an old colleague. Could not find it.
Rating: really liked it
Do YOU want a book that goes deep into a plot? Do YOU want a book that is easy to go along with so you can sink into the story? Well, you will not find it here. What I got out of the book: People get smarter when they learn something. If you ask your mother a question, and she answers it, you are getting smarter. Do you need to go into detail about how they learned an answer to a question when it is
just that? Is it really necessary to go into complete frame for frame detail about a person learning calligraphy? Absolutely not. "But thats the entire book!", E.L. Konigsburg, this is your entire book. There is no plot. There is no need for
an entire chapter to be about somebody getting a puzzle. Dear god, do not read this book.
Rating: really liked it
I still don't see what all the fuss is with Konigsburg. Judging from the back-of-the-book synopsis, this novel should tick all the boxes for me: academic teams (I was one of *those* kids), a scrappy group of outsiders who become friends (ditto), and lots of little synchronous details which might be random
but maybe fate? Despite this, I found the characters shallow (with the exception of Julian), Konigsburg's tone cloying, and the denouement extremely disappointing. In addition, I thought Konigsburg mishandled the portrayal of Mrs. Olinski's mobility impairment. Overall, this was a remarkably forgettable Newbery winner.
