MONDAY: Troublemaker by Andrew Clements

Summary 

Clay's goal in life is to have fun and play it cool. No fear. He really wants to impress his older brother, Mitch, with his pranks - like drawing a picture of a donkey that looks suspiciously like the school principal.

When Mitch comes home after 30 days in jail for contempt of court, he's been scared straight. And he wants Clay to play things straight, too. Can Clay put his prank-ish and rebellious behavior behind him? Will the adults around him - and his peers - let him?

Review

I am a big Andrew Clements fan. I take note of when a new book is scheduled to release and, more often than not, I buy it. This was a good story, but not a favorite of mine. I would choose Frindle and No Talking and a few others over Troublemaker. 

I thought the change in Clay from the start of the book to the finish was well described. I also liked the change in the family dynamics, even from Clay's dad. Mitch really uses his role and influence over his brother in a good way. And Clay's temptations to revert to his old behaviors were very realistic. The story just didn't capture me like some of the others. Books are like that sometimes - not every book works for every reader.

I was disappointed that the book used the term "jack***" several times. It was like It's a Book all over again (the Lane Smith picture book about electronic devices vs. books that had this same word in it that caused a little bit of a ruckus). I don't feel it would be appropriate to bring this book into my son's school library because many families would find that language inappropriate for younger students. The publisher lists the book for kids in grades 3 through 7. Thinking of students I know in those grades, I imagine there would be a range of responses from not caring, to being appalled that such language was in a book in the school library. (And there would also be the ones who would giggle, feeling like they were getting away with something naughty!)


It is going to be up to parents and librarians/teachers to determine the appropriateness of the language for their own contexts. I give the story itself 3.5 stars out of 5.


Recommended for:Teachers and librarians who are prepared to deal with the issue of the language. Public libraries should add it to their Clements collection as it deals with interesting character issues for Clay and his family.

Cautions: Some language.