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Book Cover |
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Excerpt |
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Panic
The sun
streams through my window. Samantha's singing in the shower. Mom is
making breakfast. Rob has already gone to work. Monday morning. My
karate magazine slides off the bed. I can't go to school. My head hurts,
hurts, hurts.
Mom is
not interested in my headaches. "Nonnegotiable," she says. "School's
on."
It
starts ion the school bus. "Butt Head. Butt Head. Butt Head," echoes
along the aisle as boys walk past. There are a few thumps on the way.
George Hamel isn't even on the bus. Anna isn't either. She's probably
helping in the Napoli's Super Delicioso Fruitologist Market. Samantha's
frightened and I force her to sit in the back. She doesn't want to. I
make a mental note that I'll get up early tomorrow and walk to school.
How do I get off the bus when it stops? I can't stand up now because
I'll get sandwiched between the guys in the aisle. That's dangerous.
Maybe I'll finger jab one of them in the kidneys. Ohhh, my head really
hurts. The bus jerks to a stop. I make a dash for the door, shoving as
hard as I can. Suddenly there's a big surge forward. I lose balance. I
stumble down the bus steps trying to grab onto the sides. I half make it
and land on my knees ripping a hole in my pants. It stings, but I'm out
and I run.
There is
no way I'm going through the school gates today. Then I see her. The
librarian walking to the side gate. I race towards her and offer to
carry her books. "That's nice of you, Jack." She chats about good books
to read, while my heart's throbbing like an enormous blind pimple. The
library is open every recess, every lunchtime. "There's always someone
here to help you find a book. A librarian and an assistant." I stand
close to her as she unlocks the library door. It's like a revelation.
Sunlight floods the big room with its shelves of books alphabetically
ordered. Tables and chairs are neatly placed in the center of the room.
There's an alcove with computers and another alcove with the photocopier
and audiovisual tapes. Paper ducks flap from the ceiling and posters
hang between shelves. A safe house. The throbbing subsides. I've found a
place to hide. A safe place.
I stay
in the library until the bell and until the librarian says I have to go
to class. I wait until Mr. Angelou flies in. Ha. Ha. Get it, flies in.
Like and angel. Flies. I know I must be feeling a little better if I can
make a joke.
Christopher pulls at my shirt as I go to my seat. He looks at his desk
when he whispers, "Can't play handball with you anymore, Jack. Paul
can't either."
I
swallow hard but I understand. Maybe Christopher could stand up to
George Hamel, but it's everyone else. Even nice guys. It is like they
don't know I'm Jack anymore. I'm the guy with the weird mother and no
dad and the guy Mr. Angelou puts in detention and I'm just Butt Head.
Butt Head. "That's okay, Christopher." |
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Synopsis |
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Jack is eleven years old and
lives with his mother, hippie, and his sister, Samantha, who is a year
younger than he is. At school, a bully named
George Hamel is always picking on him
and other kids. Jack wants to tell his mother what is going on, but the
time never seems right as his mother is distracted with her own life.
One day,
George Hamel and Jack play a game of handball, and Jack wins. George
Hammel is a jock and a bully and starts calling Jack "Butt Head."
Unfortunately for Jack, the name sticks. Pretty soon, everyone is
calling him by this horrible nickname and his friends are forced to not
play handball with him during recess anymore. The only friend who sticks
by his side is Anna. Anna and Jack have been best friends since they
were five years old and they walk home every day with Samantha after
school.
As the
days pass, the tension within Jack builds and he is barely able to
function with the headache he has. Everyone is picking on him and he
doesn't know why. When Anna finally tells her father what is going on
with Jack, Anna's father informs Jack's mother. Jack's mother marches
down to the school and reports what is going on . . . and she is very
upset. Neither the principal nor Jack's teacher, Mr. Angelou, knew that
any bullying was going on in their school. They promise to do some
investigating while Jack takes a few days off from school.
No
matter what they find, Jack doesn't want to go back to that school. His
mother has promised that he wont' have to. If Jack goes to a new school,
he won't be with his sister or his friends anymore. He has a hard
decision to make soon, and he isn't sure if he is up to it.
I Am Jack is a
realistic fiction, early chapter book by Susanne Gervay. The book is
illustrated by Cathy Wilcox. This book is intended for early chapter
readers ages 8 and up.
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Review |
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I Am Jack is a book
about a boy who is picked on by the local bully at the elementary school
he attends. The story is told from Jack's point of view. He doesn't
understand why this is happening to him. What has he done to cause
George Hamel to hate him
so much? Is this because he beat a jock in a game of handball?
Susanne Gervay does a wonderful job of
describing what Jack is going through. She wrote this story after her
son, Jack, won his own battle with a local bully. In the book, Jack
tried to handle the situation on his own by ignoring it. This didn't end
up helping at all. In fact, it makes the situation even worse. After
Jack's mother finds out, Jack comes to the realization that he should
have told her sooner. Because she found out, Jack has the support of his
mother, Rob (his future step-father), Anna, Anna's father, the
principal, and especially Mr. Angelou. Everyone works hard to get this
situation resolved for Jack and for the school, where bullying should
never be tolerated. Children need to learn that is something like this
is going on, they must tell an adult about it.
Man, I was torn up inside
while reading I Am Jack. I was never really picked on as a kid,
but am sensitive enough to understand how this could affect someone if
it were happening to them. After all, I have a daughter that is still in
school and I worry about her all the time. I work for a school district
and have stopped a few disagreements between students over the years. I
know that I will keep my eyes open a little wider now because of what I
learned in this book
The illustrations by Cathy
Wilcox are a nice touch. They are drawn very well and will help early
chapter readers imagine what is happening in the book. Boy oh boy,
George Hamel sure
looks like your typical thick-necked bully. It is no shocker that he
can't even write. Maybe this is why he is so angry and has such a low
self-esteem. This is probably why he picks on kids that he feels are
either better or smarter than he is.
Overall, I Am Jack is
an excellent tale about a young man struggling to overcome a situation
he didn't cause. This is an excellent early chapter book for children
because it teaches many lessons that they should know. The story
also has an underlying message that you should always treat other with
respect, even if they are different from you. Wonderful story.
I rated this book a 9 out of
10. |
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