Paul GriffinBesprekingen

Paul Griffin does not disappoint with this sweet and touching middle grade fiction.

good mystery, male narrator's character fairly well developed, but everyone else is very thin, including the girl who was burned.

Eleven-year-old Lorenzo's father was killed fighting in the army. He lives with his mother and grandfather on a struggling orchard, where both adults work extra jobs to try to make ends meet. They sell off their only pig after she had piglets to make some money and get rid of the mouths to feed. But the runt piglet gets missed, and ends up being raised by the family's dog, who has a litter of puppies the day after the pigs are gone. Lorenzo names the piglet Marty, and wants to keep him as a pet. Mom is clear that Marty will end up weighing hundreds of pounds, and they can't keep him as a pet, as soon as he's big enough, he'll have to be auctioned off for his meat.

Lorenzo, his grandfather, and his best friend and neighbor Pal, all start trying to figure out ways to keep Marty, while Mom keeps telling them all that just isn't possible.

There is also an important underlying story about Lorenzo's father. There is a mystery about his father, who he always has viewed as a hero, though he never met him, and Lorenzo grows more and more determined to find out what that secret is.

This is a good middle grade novel on themes of making responsible decisions, even when they're hard, and about grief.

CW: Self-harm

2.5 Stars

My tween daughter and I sometimes like to read the same book on our own and then have our own little "book club" discussion about it. I saw this book with the dog on the cover - we are both obsessed with dogs - and thought this might be a good one for our next reading. However, I thought this book was just awful. It was filled with over-the-top melodramatic manipulation. There was not only one tragedy to deal with but at least 4 deaths of important people to the main character as well as abuse, abandonment and alcoholism all glossed over in about 200 pages. Any single one of those events would have been enough fodder for an entire novel much less all of it. Oddly enough, it is also told in a rather upbeat style which made me feel like there was no gravitas to the events taking place in this 12 year old's life. I know it has gotten lots of 5 star ratings but I think that's because the author does write very likeable characters and pulls at your heartstrings but that is its point, and its only point that I can see, which just made me angry at being manipulated. I would have appreciated a more thoughtful, focused approach to such mature topics, especially for a children's book where it may be the first time a lot of the readers are introduced to such subject matter. I won't be recommending this to my daughter.

Working my way through the Truman and Gateway nominees for this year. This one was decent enough.

This story is told from the POV of a misfit high school senior. He falls in love with a girl who was the beautiful high school queen but only after she has been horribly scarred in a hate crime. He decides to find her attacker because he thinks the police aren't working fast enough. The main method he uses in hacking and evidently he's the whiz to end all whizzes at it.

The biggest problem with the book for me was that the characterization was not quite there. Everyone seemed almost a caricature of high school types with no real depth. The mystery was so so.

Overall a middle of the road story.

A good, non-standard YA read. While a little bit of suspension of disbelief is required, the situation, details, and survival tips are accurate and realistic - good to know if you're ever stranded at sea!

The characters are a little flat (and John's motivations are never exactly clear, nor what exactly makes Dri so great), but the breakdown of "civilized" behavior in times of stress is well-portrayed, and the ending is refreshing in that things don't get tied up perfectly.

Skyjacked is a thriller for teens who don't like to read with short chapters, alternating narrators, and lots of plot twists. It definitely kept my attention, although it is not that well written and would not be of interest to teens who like more character development and complex.

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Egy ​regény, amely egyszerre facsarja ki és melengeti meg az olvasó szívét.

Egy fiú találkozása egy loncsos kiskutyával felejthetetlen barátsághoz vezet ebben a mélyen megindító történetben, amelyben a főszerepet maga az élet, a veszteségek és a család valódi jelentése kapták.
Ben Coffin mindig is kívülállónak érezte magát. Örökbefogadott gyerekként folyton kerülgetnie kell az iskolában az őt szekálókat, délutánonként pedig sci-fi könyveket olvas a könyvtárban. Ez azonban hamar megváltozik, amikor rátalál egy Flip nevű kóbor kutyára és összebarátkozik a könyvtáros lányával, Halley-vel. Ben életében most először érzi, hogy tényleg tartozik valahová. A lány meggyőzi Bent, hogy írjanak együtt egy regényt. De ahogy a történet kezd kibontakozni, Ben élete egyre jobban összekuszálódik, miközben megpróbálja felfedezni magában az igazságot a barátságról és az otthon valódi jelentését.

„Lendületes, nevettető, elgondolkodtató és szívhez szóló. Paul Griffin az a fajta író, akit mindenkinek ismernie kellene, de legszívesebben inkább magunknak tartanánk meg.” – Markus Zusak, a Printz Honor díjas „A könyvtolvaj" írója

Heartbreaking.½

Clearly, this book should not be nominated for the YA Golden Sower. It's for children, not teens. If I had read this thinking it was for elementary/middle schoolers, I would have enjoyed it a lot more. Although with the number of deaths, it could be a bit hard on elementary aged kids, but the writing will most likely not appeal to older children.

Ben Coffin has never been one for making friends. As a former foster kid, he knows people can up and leave without so much as a goodbye. Ben prefers to spend his time with the characters in his favorite sci-fi books...until he rescues an abandoned mutt from the alley next-door to the Coney Island Library.

Scruffy little Flip leads Ben to befriend a fellow book-lover named Halley--yes, likethe comet--a girl unlike anyone he has ever met. Ben begins thinking of her as "Rainbow Girl" because of her crazy-colored clothes and her laugh, pure magic, the kindthatmakes you smile away the stormiest day.

Rainbow Girl convinces Ben to write a novel with her. But as their story unfolds Ben's life begins to unravel, and Ben must discover for himself the truth about friendship and the meaning of home.

I finished this book before Christmas but failed to write the review. I enjoyed parts of this book, but it was very predictable and spent too much time, for me, in having the kids write their story. Having said that, it's exactly the kind of thing that like-minded kids will get immersed in. I preferred the story about how the dog helped poor readers. An often touching story.½

Terrible story, well told. I liked it so well, I immediately ordered another book by this author.

First of all, Ben's mother's death was completely obscure. I quote from the book, "...It looked like she died in the middle of putting on her sneakers....-her health. Her heart acted a little fluttery in the New York winter." the book simply dismisses it as an unnamed, unheard of, health condition. Also the thing is, she didn't even show any clues leading up to this. She simply died right then and there. Also, Ben's reaction to his mother dying was rather outrageous to me. Ben was angry, and I don't understand that at all. Ben's romance with Halley also seemed pretty rushed. They were simply friends, as said by Ben and Halley and out of the blue, the pop out feelings. Also, Leo's behavior doesn't land him in jail for some reason. I'm pretty sure that hitting Ben and kicking Flip is considered abuse and should at least land him a few months in jail. However, Leo simply gets therapy as if he's the victim. Other than these things, I don't exactly see anything else wrong with this book.

Narrated by the author. Lorenzo is 11-years-old and over 6 feet tall. He met his best friend Pal, a Korean-American girl, at folk music camp. He accompanies her singing on his late father's guitar. He never knew his father, who died working as a military medic in Iraq? Afghanistan? Lorenzo raises a runt piglet named Marty even as his mother threatens to sell him to the butcher. Double Pop is Lorenzo's grandfather. As Marty's growth becomes more problematic for the household, Pal's star rises and Lorenzo learns things about his father that cause him to doubt his heroism. Griffin narrates his own work, performs on guitar and Sarah Whelan sings for Pal. There's a rumbling warmth to this production even though Lorenzo comes off sounding more like a man than the 11-year-old he is.

young boy faces hardships growing up

This book was a beautiful story of a boy who overcame so much! A true story of love and friendship. It was funny, dad, infuriating, and wonderful!! Good for 5th grade and up!

I read this novel a couple years ago and was petrified of the idea of one's life being completely changed in such a horrific way. I've never read a novel about a certain event like this, but in today's society we have people actually doing these types of acts to other people. I like the idea of a mystery/thriller, the not knowing part of what I'm gonna find out next, or is this person really capable of--(SPOILERS) throwing acid in someone's face? When I read this novel I dissected each character and thought up all the possible scenarios of why or how. Whenever reading any book, I always guess what's gonna happen next and sometimes actually end up being right, but I found with this novel I was constantly guessing. I strongly enjoy a males perspective in any novel. I highly recommend this novel because I enjoyed it and would re-read it anytime just for a good read.

What a truly beautiful book and one I could not put down. Ben is a former foster kid who has been taken in by a social worker as his Mum after her partner dies. He is very smart, loves reading and basically hides away to try and avoid being bullied by other kids at school because he is slightly different. One of his favorite past-times is going to the Library and tucking himself away in the corner. On one such expedition he is followed home by a tiny dog he calls Flip. Flip causes him to meet the Librarian's daughter Halley who is battling an aggressive cancer - a larger than life character who wears outrageous outfits and brightly coloured wigs to hide her chemo bald head. Ben and Halley train Flip to be a Reading Dog and it is through this friendship Ben comes to be part of a real family.
At times heartbreaking....I had to grab the tissues twice....this is a wonderful book for younger readers. Highly recommended.

Ok, I'll admit it - I don't understand how this book is receiving such good reviews I loved the premise, but the actual story left me cold. I never connected with the main characters, Ben and Halley. They were not very likeable and they never felt authentic. The only person I really liked was Mrs Lorentz, Halley's mum and Ben's school librarian. I found her caring and warm-hearted. Even Flip, the stray dog who adopted Ben didn't totally win me over which is unusual as I usually love the animals featuring in books.

I felt the author tried to fit too much into his novel, determined to pull at his readers' heart strings. However, the book ended up being totally unrealistic and formulaic. Yes, I did finish "When Friendship Followed Me Home", but not a single tear was shed; just a big sigh of relief that I had finally reached the last page.

I loved this book! It is a story about friendship, love, loss and being found again. Ben Coffin, a former foster child, has finally found a home with his adoptive mother. He prefers to spend his time with the characters in his favorite books at the library until he rescues an abandoned dog and makes a new friend--Halley, the daughter of the librarian. They become fast friends and begin to write a book together, where they slowly reveal their innermost feelings. Things begin to unravel when Halley's leukemia treatments stop working and Ben's adoptive mother suddenly dies. I can't say enough about this book. It made me smile, cry and hope. A definite read aloud for grade 5 or for my better independent readers.

Total lovely tearjerker about a boy and his dog.

"When Friendship Followed Me Home" is a moving story about some very remarkable people.