Eric Walters

THE KING OF JAM SANDWICHES was a difficult and rewarding book to read. It is the story of Robbie, a thirteen-year-old boy whose family situation is precarious. One of Robbie's teachers asks Robbie to look out for Harmony, a new student with her own precarious living situation. Despite a rocky initial encounter, Robbie learns to trust Harmony — and here the novel gains so much depth and richness.

Author Eric Walters notes that he drew upon elements of his own life in writing this novel, and show more the subject matter certainly cuts close to the bone. Robbie's dad is angry, controlling, and in need of mental health support; the opening scene, where Robbie's dad drags Robbie out of bed in the middle of the night to alternately berate him and show him how to manage the household money in case Dad dies, is uncomfortable verging on brutal. Yet there is tremendous compassion and tenderness in Robbie, which Harmony gradually draws out, despite her own anger and prickliness. Robbie and Harmony could be played as a fun, comedic odd couple — and there are moments of laughter and comedy in the novel — but Walters takes their relationship to a much less clichéd and much more significant place. I found the ending surprising and moving — and hopeful, for those readers who need it.

THE KING OF JAM SANDWICHES recently won the 2020 Governor General’s Literary Award for Young People’s Literature – Text, a well-deserved recognition. If you're trying to build an inclusive and diverse classroom or school library, this is an important book to include. I'm glad I read this novel. show less

Fantastic coming of age survival story which is realistic in its portrayl of what might happen (at least in the USA) if everything that relied on a computer chip and electricity suddenly stopped.
13 year old Jamie is in a plane that is about to take off when everything stops. His plane crashes at the end of the runway and he and the passengers and crew are all okay but are now stranded in an airport 1200 miles away from where they were supposed to be going.
The pilot takes charge and some of show more the passengers, Jamie and other people band together and work out after a few days that there is no communication and they must somehow get themselves home. Together they use an old stair chair (that runs on a solar battery) and some bikes and with the air marshal's gun set off.
They discover that some desperate people have blocked roads and with guns demanded food. Others are kind and share what they have. Along the way there are conflicts and unfortunately deaths but Jamie and the huge stray dog Godzilla that adopts him plough on, mile after mile; with the help of the pilot and a seasoned elderly doomsday prepper. Great story - great characters and lots of philosophical musings by Jamie as he grows up and wonders whether his parents will actually be alive if and when he gets to the end of his journey. show less

The word obnoxious sprang to mind too often throughout 90 Days Of Different.

It’s obnoxious that rather than support her alleged best friend, Ella sides with the ex-boyfriend in bluntly declaring Sophie boring. To me, a genuine friend in the immediate aftermath of their best friend being dumped would have said something along the lines of you don’t need to change who you are for anyone other than yourself, there’s nothing wrong with you, he just wasn’t right for you.

It’s obnoxious show more that Ella so resents her alleged best friend that she revels in any moment where Sophie isn’t at her most beautiful or succeeding. Would an actual friend want you to look bad so they could feel better about themselves? Or mock you for falling and injuring yourself?

It’s obnoxious when Ella tells Sophie she’ll be boring if she doesn’t drink.

I kept thinking surely somewhere towards the end of the book there will be an explanation for Ella’s behavior, something that leaves you with a feeling that going forward their friendship won’t be quite so toxic, but nope, that never happens. In fact, more often than not Sophie's the one apologizing to Ella and thanking her for the awful treatment.

It’s also obnoxious that because Sophie once had a bad experience working in a fast food restaurant, she and Ella take it out on the employees and customers of another fast food restaurant, belittling a man (who was nothing but kind) for being the manager of the restaurant as if that’s a job to be ashamed of, criticizing customers about their weight and making a mess that some other employee would have to clean up. So later in the book when Sophie is on the receiving end of body shaming, I didn’t feel the empathy I was supposed to feel for her, I felt like she got her just desserts. Maybe I’m old-fashioned since I don’t understand why anyone would “like” Sophie’s antics in the restaurant, and I definitely don’t understand a book implying that responsibility and kindness are the last things you should aspire to, while being incredibly disrespectful means you’re fun.

Maybe I could have gotten more on board with the 90 Days of Different premise had it taken Sophie’s revelation about her mother’s death and its affect on her and used that as the impetus for her summer-long quest rather than an ex-boyfriend and (should be ex) friend making Sophie feel so bad about herself that she thinks she has to change. I probably could have enjoyed it more had it been a quest of her choosing, not something she’s been shamed into, not something that’s about changing who she is but instead designed to explore who she is beyond the pseudo mom role she took on, and it wouldn’t have hurt had more of the activities on her list led to character growth and emotion.

The emotion was something I really found lacking in the execution of her activities, it always seemed so much less about what she was feeling and more about the research, the step-by-step of how the activity is done. There’s more telling than showing going on here and the structure (aside from the final few chapters) had such an episodic feel to it that there’s a lack of flow and arc.

I received this book through a giveaway. show less

The first few pages had me wondering if this read would be a better fit for the young adult audience, since the main character is in high school and the tale centers around acts of violence, but it slides wonderfully into the middle grade age group (and even younger YA readers) with a powerful message that will bring food for thought.

Sam's been struggling with life since his parents died in a car accident, leaving him as an orphan in the foster care system. He's changed homes very often due show more to his attitude but has managed to keep his record clean. Until three football players from his latest high school cause trouble outside of a store, and Sam breaks the quarterback's nose before they can beat him up. After they target him in the bathroom in a move for revenge, Sam finds himself in court facing all sorts of charges. Despite the entire incidence being in the gray area of right and wrong, the judge places him in a detention center for the several weeks leading up to the trial. Sam has to be on his best behavior to have any chance of doing well at the trial, but his temper, the guards, and the other residents aren't going to make it easy. When his assigned teacher gives him the 'perfect' book to read, he's sure she's picking on him...but the book might be more of a help than he ever suspected.

First off, it was interesting to have a book set in a juvenile detention center, have scenes in the court with a judge, and see talks with lawyers. It lays out the system for the reader in a grabbing way and gives insight into several of the processes and thoughts of those working within the system. And it does this without much bias, keeping Sam's situation and development at the forefront the entire way through.

Despite Sam's anger issues, he comes across as a likable and understandable character. His past has added baggage to make his attitude understandable, and even when he goes too far, the reasons behind it are laid out to keep him easy to root for. The issues he faces carry enough rawness to grab and add a dash of bite without leaving what is appropriate for the age group. Those around him offer support to add goodness and hope, and other characters bring a few surprising twists along the way. The ending was a bit too perfect for a wrap-up, and that contrasted with the rest of the read, but this also works well with the message of hope and offers inspiration.

The author uses many references to Anna of Green Gables to spice up the plot with a little more wisdom and character arc, which will work better with those, who know a bit about that story (and I'm not sure how many will). However, it's not confusing for those, who don't know about Anna's tale, since the references are explained and are self-explanatory most of the time.

Summed up, this is a grabbing read with sharper edges to draw in and create material for discussions and thought. show less