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Resumen
Resumen
"The shrinkadinks think I have a screw loose. Ain't playing with a full deck. Whacked-out wiring. Missing marbles." Irreverent, foulmouthed seventeen-year-old Cricket is the oldest ward in a Catholic boys' home in Maine--and his life sucks. With prospects for the future that range from professional fighter to professional drug dealer, he seems doomed to a life of "criminal rapscallinity." In fact, things look so bleak that Cricket can't help but wonder if his best option is one final cliff dive into the great unknown. But then Wynona Bidaban steps into his world, and Cricket slowly realizes that maybe, just maybe, life doesn't totally suck.
Reseñas (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up-In present-day Maine, Cricket Cherpin is the oldest resident at the Naskeag Home for Boys. Since he arrived at age 10 with a scar in the shape of an "X" marring one side of his face, he has been both trouble to the nuns who raise him and a godsend to the Little Ones who look up to him. Taught to box by the caretaker of the property, Cricket protects the younger kids from bullies, one school-yard fight at a time. But it comes at a cost. He is one fight away from expulsion and eight months away from his 18th birthday. His request to remain a boarder at the home is denied, and Cricket must decide where he will go when the nuns can no longer protect him. The way he sees it, he has three options: go from collecting fees for a drug dealer to dealing himself, take Caretaker's advice and box for real, or choose the easy way out and end his life. Throughout this first novel, Cricket evolves from an angry young man into the role model the younger boys believe him to be. His internal dialogue evolves as well. The beginning pages are wrought with sarcasm and teen speak that will likely be as difficult for some teen readers to decipher as it is for adults. However, as the character changes, so does the writing. This is a truly original work, and fans of Sherman Alexie may find a new favorite in Blagden.-Jennifer Furuyama, Pendleton Public Library, OR (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Reseña de Publisher's Weekly
Blagden's debut, a fast-paced story of a teen trying to figure out his place in the world and his sense of morality, frustrates even as it charms. Cricket has lived in a Catholic church-run orphanage for years, and now that he's a senior, he's not sure if his future lies in being a drug dealer, a boxer, or in ending his own life. Other than sparring, Cricket is only motivated to watch old movies and watch out for the younger kids in the orphanage. Defending them from bullies often gets Cricket in trouble, but his habit of smarting off to authority figures also does him no favors. Nor does his crush on classmate Wynona, girlfriend of school bully Pitbull. There's much to enjoy about Blagden's storytelling, which is why so many things-Cricket's overly goofy language ("Foxy Moxie totally shocks the shiitake mushrooms out of me"), Wynona's undeveloped reasons for dating Pitbull, Cricket's homophobic and unchecked comments about his principal-are letdowns. The result is an exasperating story from an author with potential. Ages 14-up. Agent: Ruben Pfeffer, East West Literary. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Reseña de Horn Book
With no plans for the future and an inability to comprehend a world in which he gets in trouble for standing up to bullies, delinquent orphan Cricket, almost eighteen, contemplates ending it all. However, he starts to reconsider when his longtime crush suddenly begins talking to him. Alternately comedic and tragic, Cricket's profane but inventive narration crafts a heartrending portrait of the antihero. (c) Copyright 2013. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Dear story, you rock. Seventeen-year-old Cricket Cherpin (yes, his real name) has lived in a Catholic orphanage in Maine since he was 8 and his little brother died. He has a deep facial scar, the legacy of a prostitute mother and a drug-dealing father, and he hides an even deeper, internal scar through constant fighting and irreverence for authority (he's not afraid to tell it like it is), religion (he hates Jesus), language (f-bombs land) and sex (he thinks about it a lot). Although Cricket is deemed a bully, his punches keep younger boys and school nerds safe. In this debut, his first-person narration, loaded with biting sarcasm and never-ending nicknames for his oppressors, reveals the push and pull of his soul. Cricket loves old movies, feels comfortable with his feminine side and relishes telling stories to the younger orphans, yet emotions surrounding a potential romance, guilt over his brother's death and an uncertain future make him ready to jump off the local cliffs. While a slow build of hints to Cricket's past helps explain his current state, a sudden chain of events forces him to confront his violence, relationships and the direction of his life. Only fellow classic-movie and -television buffs will understand all of the teen's references, but all readers will appreciate Cricket's complex, lovable character and the strong adults who nourish it. (Fiction. 14 up)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Reseña de Booklist
Cricket Cherpin, 17, is ready to hurt someone. Again. As the oldest boy residing at the Naskeag Home for Boys, he is fiercely protective of the others, the Little Ones. Pick on one of the Little Ones and be prepared for a pounding from Cricket. Mother Mary, a formidable nun who has cared for Cricket since his arrival, eight years earlier, struggles to show Cricket that violence is not the answer. The true source of Cricket's grief and rage is his personal horror story, which left him parentless and with a terrible scar on his face. As Cricket himself relates, I stare until reality morphs into memory, memory into fear, fear into pain, pain into rage, and rage into energy. Cricket's narration is filled with razor-sharp wit and SAT vocabulary words that some readers will find exhilarating, while others may struggle to interpret them. But, through Cricket, Blagden offers a fine masculine viewpoint that expresses the intensity of grief.--Colson, Diane Copyright 2010 Booklist
