Sachar, Louis. Small Steps

[Mary]

It’s interesting that Sachar would take one of the lesser characters in Holes as the primary character of his latest book. Very different in tone from its predecessor, this title could easily be read and enjoyed by someone who has not read Holes. Strong elements of humor and social commentary punctuate the book. I found some of the situations entirely unbelievable, but the well-drawn characters and growing relationships are strengths which compel the reader forward. I think we should include this book on our Mock Newbery reading list.

[Estonian Dancer]

I just arrived home now from a long-haul flight from New Zealand (amazing! amazing!) and I read the first 100 pages of this book on the flight.
I find the mix of serious issues (life after juvenile detention, disability and social inclusion, racial and economic divides within cities) to be arranged well in this book but without a great deal of substance.
The characters, though well drawn, seem to not live up to realism....Armpit is just too responsible, too nice, too thoughtful. Would boys (pre-teen or teen) connect with his character, I would like to know.....

[Estonian Dancer]

I just finished this book to the end.
I was impressed how Sachar is was able to keep this story going in my imagination and I was surprised by the unexpected crisis a the end of the book ( the attemped murder by El Genius on Kaira).
I wonder, however, if this book is "out of date" even though it was published in 2006. For example, at one point (Chapter 33) Kiara is watching Gilligan's Island on the television.....now come on! Would a famous pop star be watching Gilligan's Island re-runs in 2006??? I thought that was odd, and I wonder if Sachar was careless in his thought process (using that as just one example) when writing this book.
Sachar is, by many, in the premier league of American fiction fo children. I would expect his writing to be flawless and innovative.
Any thoughts?

[kmg365]

I didn't have any problem with the Gilligan's Island reference. That character's life seemed to be so achingly empty that she'd watch anything on tv to fill the void.

I am curious as to what makes this a Newbery candidate (as opposed to Printz). The themes certainly seemed to have loads of teen appeal. Not that I think the book is inappropriate for children, just that the tendency seems to label anything remotely "young-adultish" as teen, teen, and only teen.

I loved the fact that Armpit was such a responsible young man. Imagine a character who's been on the wrong side of the law (and is from the wrong side of the tracks) who actually learns from the experience, and is determined to make something of himself. What a concept!

[Mary]

kmg365 brings up an interesting point with the comment "I am curious as to what makes this a Newbery candidate (as opposed to Printz). The themes certainly seemed to have loads of teen appeal. Not that I think the book is inappropriate for children, just that the tendency seems to label anything remotely "young-adultish" as teen, teen, and only teen."

The Printz and the Newbery Awards are selected by two entirely different committees. Because of their eligibility requirements and definitions, it is likely that some titles will be considered by both committees.

According to the Printz requirements, (www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/printzaward/aboutprintz/michaellprintz.htm) “To be eligible, a title must have been designated by its publisher as being either a young adult book or one published for the age range that YALSA defines as "young adult," i.e., 12 through 18. Adult books are not eligible.”

According to the Newbery requirements, (www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/newberymedal/newberyterms/newberyterms.htm) “The book displays respect for children's understandings, abilities, and appreciations. Children are defined as persons of ages up to and including fourteen, and books for this entire age range are to be considered.”

There is an overlap between the two committees... both committees look at books for kids ages 12 to 14. Interesting, isn't it?! It will be equally interesting to see if this is a title that our Library's Young Adults Services department puts on their Mock Printz list!

[Estonian Dancer]

I forgot to mention... these two teen boys trying to sell concert tickets in the parking lot to people who have read their ad in the newspaper was a little unbelievable to me. That route of selling the tickets was just soooo labour intensive, wasn't it? For a teen like X-Ray who wanted to make money fast, quick and easy it just does not suit his character to do all of that work in 2006 to sell tickets.
I think in 2006 (which is the year this book was published) most/many teens would think of using good-old E-bay to sell the concert tickets. I was amazed that E-bay was not even mentioned in the book.

[Interested Reader]

The omission of Ebay was something I noticed as well. As a seller, you would certainly have a wider audience with EBay.

[kmg365]

But... would two impoverished teen boys have easy access to computers with internet connections? Sure, they probably could have done it at the local public library, but I doubt the library was foremost on their minds.

And... eBay demands a credit card or a PayPal account to sign up for a seller's account. I know X-Ray was under 18; can't remember if his "partner in quasi-crime" was underage as well-- the newspaper ad was admittedly low-tech, but probably the path of least resistance.

Honestly, I think Sachar knew what he was doing.

[Estonian Dancer]

Armpit has money. Being the very sensible, responsible, organized and orderly teenaged boy that he is ( ) in this novel, I would think that he would have a bank account. Wouldn't Armpit have the ability to get a cash card/debit card to draw money? Then, could the details of a debit card be used to sign up an e-Bay seller's account?
I have never sold on e-Bay, I do not know if a debit card could be used to help a seller get started.

I would have to hope that the public libraries in the area of Austin where he lives has put Internet access terminals in his local branch, just like there are probably Internet access terminals in the upmarket areas of Austin. Racial and economic divide within cities is touched on slightly in the book, and I am glad that Sachar does make an effort with that theme.

[kmg365]

Yes, Armpit has money, which I believe Sachar refers to him stashing in hiding places in his bedroom, not going to the bank to deposit. I won't go into banking fees for small-potatoes depositors.

I'm not suggesting the public libraries in Texas don't have internet access, just that the public library is not part of these characters' world.

There is still a segment of society that isn't "linked." (Which is why it's so important not only that libraries stay on or near the cutting edge of technology, but that we get the word out that it's available to those who can't afford it.)

The novel was definitely not ruined for me because Armpit & co. didn't tote around laptops and hunt for wi-fi hotspots.

[Estonian Dancer]

I have still been thinking about this book.
Yesterday I got a journal from my professional library association in the mail. There was a great article in it about a project that has been set up in a large urban city (Leeds) called Studio 12 to meet the needs of social excluded young people aged 16-25 from all backgrounds and abiltities to help them gain self-esteem, recognition, employment, qualifications, training, and it is all linked to the area of creative and performing arts (photography, music, computer technology, you name it!). And even better....it is a linked partnership between a public funded public library service and a local visual arts organization!
When I read this article, I just thought about the book Small Steps and how this sort of project would benefit both X-Ray and Armpit so much. They both love music, they both needed training and the chance to develop their skills for the future, and of course this type of project is inclusive of all types of communities and abilities.
Have a look a the website of this project....it is inspiring!
www.studio12.org.uk/home.asp
Click on "About/Info" (on the homepage) for more info about the project as it was set up.

I just "watched" one of the documentaries over the Net from this website called "Immigration to Chapeltown". It was really inspiring and I am amazed to think that young people made such an informative and diverse production.
Have a look! (I particularly was smiling at the input from the Latvian guy in this documentary....it is similar to my family background coming from Eastern Europe!)
I think there is so much more for young people in their communities if partnerships exist for them (through libraries, schools, arts organizations, etc). I think Sachar in his book has too narrow a view of what the present and future could be for teens like X-Ray and Armpit in 2006.

[Diane B]

I loved the book. At first I wasn't thrilled with the ending, I wanted a fairy tale ending. After a while, I realized that the ending was appropriate in real life and it's true...take "small steps"

[Tess]

Perhaps Sachar has friends in the newspaper business and wanted to reinforce that as an outlet of marketing and sales.

I wanted Theodore to be called Theodore throughout the book since he wanted, supposedly, to drop that nickname so badly. I liked the relationship between Ginny and Theodore and wish the small steps of the story could have taken place without the Kaira/X-Ray aspect of it. I liked Kaira and was glad that her character was able to make a comeback.

Thanks for sharing the link to Studio 12, Estonian Dancer.

[Estonian Dancer]

I thought the minor theme of name changing was interesting in this book....Armpit always wanted to re-claim his real name (Theodore) and Kaira always wanting to drop her real name and assuming TV character names whenever she checked into an hotel while touring.

It occurred to me that a teenaged boy working alone digging holes for a company of some sort isn't really the kind of thing that would happen in 2006. I think most teens would prefer to work with others, or in a team of some sort. Is this a reflection on the state of juvenile detention, and life after JD? Teens/children who offend are not motivated to express themselves creatively, to make positive transitions back into their communities, etc.

I did feel for Armpit early in the book, when his father is asking him where he was when he returns home from work or something. His father does not believe his answer and instantly assumes that he out using drugs (or whatever) and asks him "for a sample" quite aggressively. I realized how difficult is must be for parents of children/teens who have been in juvenile detention to help and support their child after they have been released from juvenile detention. Just simply having the power to "sample" their children clearly wasn't helping anyone.

[kmg365]

Estonian said:

It occurred to me that a teenaged boy working alone digging holes for a company of some sort isn't really the kind of thing that would happen in 2006.

Given that this book is a sequel of sorts to Holes, I genuinely was not expecting contemporary realism from this book. The entire plot of Holes, looked at from the standpoint of "Could this really have happened?" is ludicrous. And yet it's one of the best books for young people I've ever read.

I guess I'm looking more at the message Sachar is trying to send, rather than trying to reconcile it with the lives of the teens I know.

[gbishop]

This book was just ok in my opinion. I think my expectations might have been too high. I liked the characters and felt they were well developed. But the book just didn't move me like Holes did when I read it. I loved the suspense of how were the boys going to survive and how would they get help; would help arrive too late. There just wasn't enough suspense in Small Steps. I do think all of us would probably do better if we took small steps each day though, I liked this idea.

It seemed to me there wasn't enough meat to the ending; it needed more of something. And, how could her stepfather have since poor aim with a baseball bat. I'm happy he did but it just didn't fit the scene for me. Theodore saved Kaira's life and no one could even call him or send a thank you card to him. Especially Karia, she couldn't sing, what was she doing. It would have seemed natural that she would write him.

[heather]

This is a VERY interesting discussion. I have been looking forward to reading it (I didn't want to until I had read the book). Now that I have:

Theodore did use a bank to save his money. He told X-Ray that he would be going to the ATM after school to get the $660. This is a silly and small point, but that bothered me because the only ATMs that I have ever known only allow you to take out $300 a day.

Ebay has restrictions on concert ticket sales and how much money you can actually make on them; these vary by state. It seems to me that if the "professional scalpers" weren't using ebay (or ticketmaster.com to buy the tickets) there was probably a good reason for it. And newspapers are still used by scalpers in the real world.

I wasn't impressed with this book. I enjoyed the relationship between Theodore and Ginny, it was moving and I think that Sachar is sending a very positive message with it.

But the rest of it...what message is he sending about crime and making fast money? That it is okay if you didn't really want to do it in the first place and you get away with it in the end? I would think that if the detective knew who he was and had already invested the time and money tracking down and questioning everyone, she would have taken the next small step to at least question him, if not prosecute. Do people get away with stuff just because they are nice?