L G R Y A L E - early, ale, all, gall, gel, leg, real, gear, largely, lag, gale - A L L E R G Y
Thus begins the first chapter of the book Word Nerd, an official selection for the Red Maple Awards voted on by Gr. 7 and 8 students. Each year, teachers at my school are asked to volunteer to present a book talk to students to inspire them to read books in the Red Maple program. This year, only two books were left when I visited the library and this was one of them. The title attracted me immediately since I happen to love words, whether in books, crossword puzzles, jumbles or especially games like Scrabble. In fact, each chapter begins with scrambled letters and I have enjoyed trying to figure out the title of the chapter before starting to read.
The second coincidence, which I discovered upon reading the inside book flap is that the main character, Ambrose, lives in the basement apartment of a house owned by Greek people, the Economopoulos family. Being of the same background, I formed an immediate connection. In fact, growing up, my parents were friends of the Economopoulos family, obviously different than the one in the story. References to Greek food and pastries, family life and mannerisms remind me of many families in my culture. The description of Mrs. Economopoulos could be any one of my older Greek relatives.
The beginning of the story is quite sad. Ambrose is bullied at school and nearly dies when The Three Stooges, a trio of bullies, put a peanut in his sandwich, knowing that he has a deadly peanut allergy. This sets in motion a series of events that will change Ambrose's life forever, bringing people into both his life and his mother's life that inspire them to move ahead and improve their own destinies. The relationships are mutually beneficial, each bringing to the other a new sense of purpose and acceptance that was previously lacking.
Full of issues pertaining to teens, this touching story is replete with connections to our own adolescence, reminding us of the feeling of uncertainty and our longing to find a place in the world.
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