Copyright Date:
2014
Edition Date:
2014
Release Date:
03/15/14
Pages:
130 pages
ISBN:
Publisher: 1-459-80590-9 Perma-Bound: 0-605-81972-6
ISBN 13:
Publisher: 978-1-459-80590-3 Perma-Bound: 978-0-605-81972-6
Dewey:
Fic
LCCN:
2013954150
Dimensions:
18 cm.
Language:
English
Reviews:
ALA Booklist
(Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)
Angie Kirkpatrick has a rolling address. After her father, an unemployed bricklayer, leaves the family to find work in another city, the 14-year-old, her mother, and her 16-year-old brother find themselves living in their 1982 Buick Skylark. Angie's mom attempts to keep the family routine as normal as she can as they wait for a subsidized apartment, managing a complex maze of ever-changing parking spots and visits to the public library and pool. A chance visit to the family's favorite coffee shop during a poetry slam inspires Angie to write and begin competing. Soon she is able to channel her pain and fear into art and finds something positive to cling to in the midst of the chaos. The story's tidy resolution is foreshadowed in the opening pages, but any teen who has felt like an outsider will identify with Angie's attraction to the coffee-shop scene and be inspired by her family's determination to support one another. The short chapters, simple language, and matter-of-fact narration make this Orca Soundings entry of appeal to reluctant readers.
Horn Book
(Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)
Angie and her mother and brother are living in their car while they wait for public housing and for her absent father to return. When she starts participating in poetry slams, Angie finds some comfort. The solutions to the family's problems are offered too easily, rendering the characters passive; but the resourceful family is likable, and readers will be invested in the story's outcome.
Word Count:
17,004
Reading Level:
4.7
Interest Level:
7-12
Accelerated Reader:
reading level: 4.7
/ points: 2.0
/ quiz: 166298
/ grade: Upper Grades
Reading Counts!:
reading level:5.7 /
points:7.0 /
quiz:Q63547
Lexile:
HL770L
Guided Reading Level:
Z
Fountas & Pinnell:
Z
Angie lives in an old car with her brother and mother. Homeless after their father left to find work, the family struggles to stay together and live as normally as possible. It is difficult though. Between avoiding the police and finding new places to park each night, it is a constant struggle. When Angie discovers slam poetry, she finds a new way to express herself and find meaning and comfort in a confusing world.