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Ebenezer
Jun. 3, 2007
The Wednesday Wars
Little did I know 15 years ago that the slightly-built man in the barn coat leading me and my fellow Calvin College English majors around Boston in subzero weather, describing all the literary heroes who hailed from there as "astonishing," would become a Newbery Honor winner. In the early 1990s, Gary Schmidt had (to my knowledge) just started putting out quality children's books such as his retelling of Pilgrim's Progress and his teen novel The Sin Eater, but I don't think he'd gotten popular acclaim yet. I knew him as the energetic co-leader of the month-long New England Saints off-campus class, my History of the English Language prof, and the chair of the department who had to write me a few recommendation letters for grad school applications.
His book Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy won a Newbery Honor in 2005, though, and now he's in the pantheon of authors whose books for young adults are considered timeless classics. Perhaps I'm wearing rose-colored glasses (or maroon, since we're talking about the Calvin connection), but I've been completely engrossed by every book of his that I've read.
Today I read The Wednesday Wars in one sitting. While not as complex or serious as Lizzie, there still was depth to this comedy -- and I probably could appreciate it even more had I learned more Shakespeare.
Loosely based on a time in his own childhood, and set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, the book details the 7th-grade year of Holling Hoodhood, the only boy left in his class on Wednesday afternoons when the rest go to catechism or mitzvah classes. His teacher originally resents having to find activities for him, but soon sees an opportunity to push Holling into exploring his own life circumstances by having him read some of Shakespeare's plays. She becomes a mentor, and he discovers (this being a young adult novel, after all) who he is beyond his father's expectations and the middle-school environment.
Schmidt's books are innocent enough for all ages, but (as I've said in a previous entry) there's more to be gotten from this book if the reader is Holling's age. Adolescent romance is not only handled appropriately, but in a way that even models what those relationships should be like. Adults in the community step up where Holling's parents fail him, but it's not heavyhanded -- you still feel as if Holling loves his parents even though they are clueless about their children. Schmidt's sense of the feelings and ideas of young people rings true, and shows that he has a great deal of respect for youth. On the one hand, it's a secular book ;on the other, it's certainly informed by Schmidt's faith as shalom is wrought in Hollings' relationships. And it's funny. It's also getting Newbery buzz.
Here is a link to an article about Schmidt in Calvin's alumni magazine. He's a fascinating person who cares for his students. Factoid: He bangs out his novels on a manual typewriter.
Gary Schmidt at Calvin
And here's an interview from Publisher's Weekly:
Schmidt interview
And just for fun, here's a link describing that New England Saints class -- a great trip:
New England Saints
OH! and I forgot to add that he dedicated the book to the ladies who own my very favoritest bookstore here in town: Pooh's Corner !
Also, I read another interesting young adult novel in the last few weeks which I'm mentioning here both to recommend it and to remind myself to write about it later:
Ordinary Miracles by Stephanie Tolan, about a son-of-a-fundamentalist-preacher who befriends a dying Nobel-winning scientist and struggles to reconcile his faith with his scientific observation and innate ideas about ethics. |
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