2 out of 4 stars
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Darlene Rennahan's Someone Get the Lights is a book that addresses the issue of bullying for children in elementary school. The book follows the students in Miss Jacks' sixth grade class, and mainly focuses upon the conflict between Mindy Fairchilds and Mitch Gleeson. When the studious, socially awkward Mindy unintentionally embarrasses Mitch in front of the entire class, he vows to get even with her. Along with another bully, Mitch begins a campaign to humiliate Mindy, and refuses to stop until he feels that the score has been settled.
Someone Get the Lights is a well-intentioned book that attempts to illuminate (no pun intended) the truths about why some children become bullies, and how to help them see the error of their ways. The book also gives children some ideas of what to do if they witness bullying, or if they themselves are the victims of a bully. This book has its strong points, as well as some aspects that could be greatly improved upon.
The author makes a good effort to explain the mindset of a child who might be inclined to bully his or her classmates. The reader quickly learns that Mitch is a troubled young man from a home that is filled with anger and aggression, and that he is acting accordingly with what he has been taught. By exploring Mitch's inner workings, the author emphasizes the fact that "troublesome" children are often unhappy and in as much need of caring and support as the children they intimidate. Mitch's behavior is never excused, however, and the lesson of showing forgiveness and empathy toward one's enemies is a valuable one.
I also commend the author for giving examples of students who have the courage to do something about Mitch's bad behavior. On more than one occasion, a young man decides to report the bullying, even though he is afraid of what Mitch might do if he finds out. This act of bravery could encourage a student who wishes to speak up, but might decide not to out of fear.
But despite these good points, there are some major problems with this book. Foremost, I could tell that the book was not professionally edited. The writing is by no means bad, but does contain many small, careless errors that distracted me from the story. The book's weakest point, though, is campy, outdated dialogue used by the students. Having worked extensively with elementary schoolers, and being mother to a twelve-year-old, I can tell you that today's children do not use words like "swell," "buddy," and "missy." There are also some extremely long tracts of dialogue about topics that most sixth graders would be unlikely to take interest in, such as healthy eating. In fact, many of the children in Miss Jacks' class talk like walking encyclopedias!
Sadly, believe that many children would be turned off by the unnatural dialogue of this book. Between this problem and the lack of editing, I can only give Someone Get the Lights 2 out of 4 stars. However, I also believe that this book has the potential to be worthy of four stars with some reworking.
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Someone Get The Lights
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