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Read Someday Angeline (1998)

Someday Angeline (1998)

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Genre
Rating
4.09 of 5 Votes: 3
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ISBN
0688160875 (ISBN13: 9780688160876)
Language
English
Publisher
harpercollins

Someday Angeline (1998) - Plot & Excerpts

Louis Sachar is possibly best known (in the UK at least) for the amazing Holes, but he has also written for younger readers. Someday Angeline has the aspects of Holes that I really enjoyed: the fantastical elements, well drawn but not over-described characters and a fast moving plot told in short chapters.Angeline Perspolis is 8. A gifted child, she's placed in 6th grade rather than with children of her own age, to challenge her. However, despite Angeline's intelligence, she struggles socially and emotionally: she sucks her thumb, cries easily and is teased by her class mates. Mrs Hardlick, her teacher, is unsympathetic and uninspiring. Angeline's father finds it hard to communicate with his daughter. He is a widower and doesn't seem to know how to talk to her.Angeline is saved by her friend Gary Boone, who tells dreadful jokes, and his teacher, Miss Turbone, who has tropical fish in her classroom. They, and Abel Persopolis's workmate on the garbage truck, help Abel and Angeline connect.Fish, aquariums and the ocean are reoccuring motifs in this novel, in unobtrusive and skillful writing. It's a fabulous book. I'd read it to Y4+ and definitely use it for guided or independent reading in Y5 and 6. It would be very useful to discuss bullying, inclusion, difference and families. I also love that Angeline and Abel's family is working class. Sadly, this seems to be becoming increasingly rare in children's literature.

Wow, do I love Louis Sachar (and yes, we say Sacker!)My own quirky smart 8 year old greatly enjoyed getting to know Angeline and has demanded I track down the sequel (Dogs Don't Tell Jokes). I appreciate that Sachar's writing is so fluid and mostly timeless, sticking to a few settings that haven't changed much over the last couple of decades: Angeline's apartment, her school, the city busses, and the aquarium. The story is simply about the interactions between people, which are also about the same as always, with oddballs finding it hard to fit in, but finding kindred souls here and there on the journey.A disturbing detail is that the disturbed Angeline repeatedly runs away from school (not without justification), fearlessly navigating her large, oceanfront, unnamed city (roughly San Francisco, I presume?) and occasionally befriending random adult strangers. Instead of freaking out about it, I used this as a teachable moment to secure a promise of never even considering such behavior from my increasingly resourceful offspring.

What do You think about Someday Angeline (1998)?

Un livre sensible sur la différence : une fillette qui connait tout sur tout (littéralement, pas par suffisance !), un garçon solitaire qui aime faire des jeux de mots, un homme (le père de la fillette) blessé par la disparition de son épouse, qui a du mal à communiquer avec sa fille trop brillante pour lui (croit-il).Malgré un contexte tire-larme (une orpheline de mère, un évènement dramatique vers la fin), ce n'est pas un livre sinistre, au contraire : l'auteur place des jeux de mots et des plaisanteries (niveau cours d'école), fait preuve d'optimisme et délivre un message positif, sans pesanteur ou moralisme. Les élèves sont cruels (comme beaucoup d'enfants de cet âge) mais pas tous.Le récit court est mené en finesse, avec une évolution progressive des personnages et des situations.Pour une fois, c'est ma fille qui m'a recommandé un livre, et elle a bien fait ! :-)
—Philippe Lhoste

I want to say that this book is like Roald Dahl's Matilda, but I feel like that would be misleading because Someday Angeline is quite different from Matilda (lacks the bite & fantasy of Dahl's book). Perhaps I should say that this is a book best appreciated by the type of reader that felt some sort of connection to Matilda, the protagonist. Angeline, the title character in Sachar's book, is a girl genius, but she is not at all annoying or precocious as fictional kid geniuses tend to be. Though she can tell that people think she's weird, she doesn't fully understand why people consider her such a freak. She's just a smart, earnest 8 year-old trying her best to make some friends and be happy. NOTES for CHASE ACADEMY The vocabulary and sentence complexity is on par with the EL 410 reading, but I think Angeline's introspection, relationship between characters, and themes are more appropriate for discussion at the El510 level. This book is more character-driven than plot. The humor in the book might be considered corny by some, but I hope that EL510 students will find the jokes fun and endearing.
—Anna

I loved this as a kid. I read it so many times I'm surprised it didn't disintegrate. I could almost recite it. I don't know what I'd rate it as an adult, but my child self would give this 5+ stars! I found it to be a great, funny book. Angeline makes a best friend, gets along with adults more than other kids (I related) and is goofy. I loved that she liked peanut butter and lemon jello sandwiches. I loved that her dad was a super sweet trash man. I thought it would be fun to ride in one of those trucks too. Most of all, I loved that Angeline liked to read.
—Brandi

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