Trash Can Days
A Middle School Saga
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
Jake Schwartz is not looking forward to middle school. Having his older sister Hannah there is no consolation. The only saving grace is that Danny Uribe, his lifelong best friend, will be by his side. Or will he? The two barely have any classes together, and since Danny's summer growth spurt, there's been a growing distance between them. Meanwhile, Hannah has her own problems -- being Queen Bee is not easy. The other girls are out for blood, and boys are so...exhausting. Danny surprises her with his maturity (and kissing skills), but she knows Jake would be devastated if he knew about their relationship. Dorothy Wu couldn't care less about school politics. But when she joins the writing club, she meets a young lad with heroic potential. In the course of a year at San Paulo Junior High, these four lives will intersect in unique and hilarious ways. Friendships will grow and change. Reputations will transform. And maybe one of them will become a man.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Four middle-school students narrate this exploration of friendship, relationships, and class in California. Jake Schwartz is nervous about starting seventh grade, but at least his best friend Danny Uribe, whose parents live and work at Jake's family's mansion, will be at his side. But Danny decides he wants some space from Jake, both to reconnect with his Latino cousins and to pursue Hannah, Jake's older sister. Eighth-grader Hannah, meanwhile, is obsessed with gossip until she becomes the subject of it, and socially awkward, unrepentantly geeky Dorothy Wu lives vicariously through the fantasy stories she writes while pining for Jake. Debut novelist Steinkellner uses IM conversations, Facebook posts, school bulletins, emails, and text message exchanges to flesh out the kids' complicated lives, pulling in everything from gang pressures and ethnic tensions to hurtful gossip and even the administrative pushback their new English teacher is facing. In a story that's funny, crass, painful, and optimistic, Steinkellner skillfully juggles a large cast, giving even minor characters distinctive voices and making their disappointments and growth feel real. Ages 10 14.
