It Wasn't Me

It Wasn't Me by Dana Alison Levy
It Wasn't Me
by Dana Alison Levy (Goodreads Author)
308512
Jennifer Grant's review Nov 21, 2018 · edit
it was amazing
bookshelves: best-book-of-2018, middle-school, young-readers, mystery

I will admit that I approached this book cautiously because the cover reminded me of "One of Us is Lying" (my favourite book of 2017) and I didn't want to read another poor retelling (there are a lot out there, unfortunately). But as soon as I finished the first chapter, I was sucked in and I read the entire thing in one night, when I was supposed to be studying for an accounting exam. Oops.

This book was fabulous! I can't tell you how much I loved it. It is the best book I've read in 2018 and I can't wait to get to work show more this weekend because I need to order a bunch so I can convince every parent and grandparent that this is the book for Christmas.

It's the story of a boy who takes photographs and when his art is destroyed while hanging in school, he and the five main suspects are forced to give up their breaks to participate in a Justice Circle. My problem when I read books like this is that I want to find out who did it so much and the rest of the story doesn't hold my attention so I immediately go to the ending and then stop reading. This story kept my attention all the way through. Each of the six characters has a distinctive voice and narrative is hilarious. There is no crazy twist at the end that defies logic. You just cheer for the six characters and hope that everything works out.

Please pick up a copy for the middleschooler in your life! show less

When Theo's photography project is mysteriously vandalized at school there are five suspected students who all say "it wasn't me." Theo just wants to forget about the humiliating incident but his favorite teacher is determined to get to the bottom of it and has the six of them come into school over vacation to talk. She calls it "Justice Circle." The six students—the Nerd, the Princess, the Jock, the Screw Up, the Weirdo, and the Nobody—think of it as detention. AKA their worst nightmare. That is until they realize they might get along after all, despite their differences. But what is everyone hiding and will school ever be the same?

Inspired by The Breakfast Club and restorative justice practices, It Wasn't Me takes six kids who can be pigeonholed - the Nerd, the Princess, the Jock, the Weirdo, the Screwup, and the victim - and puts them together in a room with teacher Ms. Lewiston during school vacation week to get to the bottom of what happened and, as much as they can, make it better.

Theo, the "victim" whose photographs were vandalized, likes Ms. Lewiston but is skeptical of the process. But as he gets to know Andre, Molly, Erik, Alice, and Jax (Family Fletcher crossover), Theo's problem gets more complicated: he starts to like most of them, and if someone he likes could do something so horrible...what does that mean?

Revelations do come throughout the week, and show more each day begins with each day's "Assessments" and each student's answers, which change throughout the week even as the questions stay the same.

Quotes

"'Be kind, for all of us are fighting unseen battles.' Think about it. Think about what you might not know about each other, and what others might not know about you." (Lewiston, 42)

Is there anything at all you'd like to share confidentially with Ms. Lewiston?
This isn't a school where people feel safe telling the truth, I don't think. (Alice's answer to an assessment question, 65)

"Even when you know something is coming, it doesn't make it any less awful when it happens. You still have to live with it every single day." (Theo to Molly, 121)

"The goal of the past few days has been to get you six to see each other with new eyes, to question your own assumptions about each other, and to learn to trust one another....Some things to think about before we proceed. One is that intentions are often different from results...Another is that we often don't know everything about why someone took the actions he or she did." (Ms. Lewiston, 161-162)

"...if there's one thing I know, it's that you have to go through something to get to the other side." (Theo's mom, 189)

But the thing is, the more you don't tell, the more you CAN'T tell. (Jax, 295)

I guess I never really thought about it, but everyone can be the victim, the bystander, or even the perpetrator, depending on the day. (Theo, 299) show less

After Theo's photographs and a photography projects are destroyed, a group of students end up spending their school break working through a Justice Circle. During this process they learn much about each other and finally get to the bottom of the incident, forming new bonds along the way. The characters are quirky, likeable, and defy stereotypes. A quick, entertaining read.

In this middle grade who-dunnit 5 kids are brought together by a school counselor in a week long restorative justice circle. Theo's self portraits were vandalized & covered in graffiti & the school goody two shoes (Molly), the silent geek (Andre), The basketball Jock Bro (Eric), the disengaged screw-up (Jax) and the bizarre artist (Alice) are the kids found at or near the scene - so now they will spend a week getting to know each other & trying to get to the bottom of who would want to destroy Theo's art not just once but 3 different times. In a story modeled after Breakfast Club Theo discovers that he doesn't really know his classmates at all.

Students from different backgrounds are brought in for a "Justice Circle" to get to the bottom of someone's photographs being destroyed. Five of them belong to the typical 7th grade groups. One is the victim. As the week progresses they learn more about each other than just their "labels". They also experience another vandalism. Finally, they discover the truth and that things are not always as they seem. Fits the middle school world with how we think we know who people are and what they do. Opens your eyes to the fact that we don't always know the whole truth.

WHen students who bully a student as all sent to spend vacation week together they end up friends or foes?