Sunday, August 3, 2008

Shakespeare Bats Cleanup by Ron Koertge

Kevin is at a loss. He has mono. That means resting for a very long time. This also means...no baseball! How will he survive? Before he goes crazy with boredom, Kevin decides to take matters into his own hands. He tries to write poetry. Not because he likes it and not because his father is a writer, but because he is bored. But if Kevin is so bored why can't he stop writing in his journal/poetry book? Kevin writes about all kinds of things: baseball (of course), school, friends, make-out sessions with previous girls, the new girl he kinda likes, and his mom...who is no longer around. Before Kevin realizes it, his mono is gone, the girl he likes may like him back, and he can't stop writing poetry! What is going on!

This was one of those books that surprised me because it was very different than what I ever expected. The book is written in novel in-verse, which has Kevin trying different poetry patterns such as sonnets, free verse, haiku, and much more. Kevin is a normal boy, with normal boy activities--girls and sports. But there is more there and the desire to express himself in some way, because of the pain trapped inside, was wonderful to see. The author does a great job of letting the character come out as the story evolves. I really enjoyed this book and I think it can appeal to all types of readers, even those who never knew poetry did not have to rhyme, and it could tell a story at the same time. This was a super quick read as well, so that made it lots of fun!
Gr. 6-9

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