M-Smiles+to+Go

Smiles to Go  author- by Jerry Spinelli  genre- young adult literature  length- 248 pagesrecommended grade range- 5-7  year published- 4/29/08

SUMMARY The characters in " Smiles to Go" are very unique because you never know what crazy stunt they will do next or how they will react to what someone has said or done. In this story there were three main characters: Will; BT; and Mi- Su, I think that BT is the best character because he is very unpredictable in most cases, but maybe you will like Will or Mi- Su. Tabby is a minor character in this story who is Will's annoying little sister, trust me I know what I am talking about when I say annoying little sister. A boy named Will Tuppence, just an average kid doesn't realize his life is about to change in many ways right before his eyes. Scientists discover that there has just been a proton decay and Will goes crazy over this, but something else gets his mind off of this subject and this is that Mi-Su kissed BT at a star party. Will now thinks he is in love with her so he decides to ask her to a freshman dance but a boy named Danny beats him to it. Will also likes to play chess so every year he enters a tournament to win but his expectations aren't too good this year because his annoying little sister Tabby gets into a skateboarding accident during the tournament and is sent to the hospital. This is what happens in the story... Did you actually think that I was going to tell you if Will gets over this proton death, does he get the girl of his dreams, and does his little sister ever get better? Well, I think you're going to have to find out for yourself.

REVIEW To me this was a very special book because I have never read a book that seemed like the characters were real people. I'm sure that there are people in the world that are like that. The plot was very adequate and the story kept itself moving, there were no boring parts in the story and I think this would be a very good read aloud because you could stop and ask your class what they think would happen next. I did like this book because the characters were very real and I loved how the story didn't drag along like most books. The vocabulary was not the best but alright, but there was something that I really didn't like, it was the transitioning in the story that I have a pet peeve about. In the story when I was reading sometimes the setting would be at Will's house and then it would be at school, but in the end it doesn't seem like much.

RECOMMENDATION I would recommend this book for a lot of people 5th grade or higher because 4th and under might not understand what is happening and why. I mentioned earlier that this would be a great read aloud because you could have fun and see what answers the kids might have for you and sometimes this book can be funny so I liked it because I'm a huge fan of comedy.

Other books by this author: Maniac Magee; I can be Anything; love; Journal; and Eggs.

FINAL RATING 7 out of 10