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CM . . .
. Volume X Number 19 . . . . May 21, 2004
excerpt:
The Prank is written, "as a journal. Just for the record, this isn't a diary. There is no lock or little golden key. It is not pink. It's just a plain notebook" (p. 8). It follows the trend of young female "diary" books. The plot of this novel is simple and linear. It uses the classic novel structure which would make it very easy for students to write critical reports after reading this book. The main premise is that each year a group of boys in their last year of middle school pull a giant prank; it's tradition. Previous pranks have included: putting a tire around the flagpole, letting a pig loose at the Halloween dance, and putting plastic wrap on the toilets. The key to these pranks is that the perpetrators mustn't get caught and no one must know who did it. Nate, the main character, is a grade eight student at Emery Public School. He has the "typical" issues of a "typical" teenager. The problems with his skateboard fitting in the locker, stuff disappearing from his gym locker, and a bratty younger sister who's at the same school and loves to interfere in her older brother's love life are realistically portrayed. On every page of the "journal," we see Nate's doodles. These doodles enhance or further the plot and give the reader something else to contemplate. Nate and his friends want their prank to be good. The prank has to happen at the Halloween dance, and it is made even more difficult because the teachers are expecting something. The setting of the story is suburban, middle class society. That is not to say it is a solely white or black middle class. The author has obviously tried to put the urban multicultural atmosphere into Emery Public School. Suspense is kept up by effectively dropping hints and clues as the rising action builds to the main climax. The nature of the prank is not revealed until the very end. As a teacher of children the same age as our characters, I found there to be many realistic truths throughout the story. I have loaned my copy of the book to a couple of my "reluctant" male students, and they haven't wanted to put it down. Another group of children who would benefit from this book are our 'English as a Second Language' students who come into our schools and need to better understand "typical" North American teenage culture. Boys at the grade six to nine level will be willing to read this book due to its size and "cool" presentation. This book obviously sets up a series of Nate's Journals. It covers only the first two months of school, and I'm sure that the remainder of the year with Nate will be just as interesting to read. Highly Recommended. Gillian Bernard is a Junior High teacher with the Calgary Board of Education.
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