Reviews

• 児童文学の名作

  いろんな経験をした4人の子供が１つのクラスの中で関係を築き、知識を競う競技に参加する話。人にやさしさや思いやりを教える内容とのことだが、小説としてもとても面白いものになっている。

• アリスと紅茶を愛する人へ

  舞台はアメリカですが、ルイス・キャロルのアリス（不思議の国＆鏡の国）が重要なモチーフとなっています。英文は平易ですが、４人の子供と先生の視点で交互に彼らの物語が語られる複雑な構成なので、英語初心者には最初難しく感じるかもしれません。読み続けると、次第にひとつの物語へと収束していき、後半は読むのをやめられなくなると思います。読後感が爽やかで優しい気持ちになれる本です。上質な紅茶を飲みながら読むのにお薦めの本です。

• 子供の気持ちに沿った物語

  上級生たちのライバルチームを次々破り、Academic Bowlへの出場を果たした４人組の６年生チーム「The Souls」。 クラスメートではあっても、一見無関係に見えた４人が仲間になり、完璧ともいえるチームを作り上げていく過程を、Noah、Nadia、Ethan、Julianの４人それぞれと、彼らを指導した車椅子の女性教師Mrs. Olinskiの視点から描いた物語です。 特に物語の前半は、時間軸や語り手がめまぐるしく入れ替わるので、混乱するかもしれません。 しかし各自の独白が入ることで、結果として物語の後半、４人の人物像がより鮮明に浮かび上がってきます。 お話自体はシンプルで分かりやすいですが、ディテールが結構凝っています。 話の筋だけ追って、するするっと読むと見逃してしまうかもしれません。 いじめっ子役の少年があんまりいいとこなさすぎで、ちょっとかわいそうなので、星一個減らしてしまいましたが、本当は５つ星あげてもいいです。

• Read for my book group. Teenage high school story about synergy. Touching but trite.

• Great book definitely recommend this! I tried this for my son and he absolutely loved it! Five star book right here!

• I picked up this book because it was on my son's required Summer Reading list and I wanted to read it along with him. (I will admit that it was probably not the best pick for a 12 year old boy who is partial to Harry Potter and Alex Rider collections. But I'm glad he got to read it.) The book is absolutely beautiful, and will stay with me for many, many years. Without being preachy, this story teaches the value of silence, of being quiet with oneself, of letting go of negativity and hatred in order to open oneself to kindness and beauty, and of the importance of friendship. It is a very simple story, with complex layers of meaning and plenty of room for projecting your own self into the themes. In my opinion, only a sophisticated middle school reader will appreciate this book on his/her own. But with group discussion, it is sure to become a favorite, remembered long after middle school ends.

• This book is about four sixth graders, Noah, Nadia, Ethan, and Julian. They call themselves The Souls. They became friends even before Mrs. Olinski chooses them for her Academic Bowl team. They have to face some hardships as well as victories. However, no sixth grade team has ever beaten the eighth grade teams before. Can they be the first? I really enjoyed this book. If you haven't read this, you should if you like the book Wonder, for instance. It is not the same, but similar in some ways. It is realistic fiction and humorous. However, I only gave this four stars because it was first published in the 1990s, so it gives some references that are not well known to people who weren't born at that time. Still, it is a good book that realistic fiction-lovers will like.

• I can't believe it has taken me so long to learn of this book. A friend suggested it to me a month or so ago, after I'd complained about the series of cruddy bestsellers I'd sludged through recently to no ultimate satisfaction. I was a bit skeptical, it seemed to be formatted and written for a younger set - indeed, it concerns a group of sixth graders in a sort of educational state competition. I am currently 24, and tend toward books with decidedly different central topics. But this is now my favorite book that I can remember reading. Such simple ideas, but written so entertainingly and beautifully that you fall in love with every page turned. Honestly. You can't help but love the characters. And you'll without a doubt learn an interesting fact or two along the way... about sea turtles, calligraphy, magic... This book should definitely be added to your reading list. It's a quick read and will leave you will a sense of betterment and a smilier outlook on the world and people around you , all of them leading their own interesting lives, and struggling their own struggles. And I found myself looking back at little, scared 6th grade me and wondering how my life my have been different if I'd had a group of friends like these cuties.

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