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Summary
Summary
"Every reader will find some piece of themselves in Levy's sharp, humorous, and heartfelt novel. A twisty mystery with quirky, unforgettable characters and a positive message to boot."
-- JOHN DAVID ANDERSON , the critically acclaimed author of Ms. Bixby's Last Day and Posted
The Breakfast Club meets middle school with a prank twist in this hilarious and heartwarming story about six very different seventh graders who are forced to band together after a vandalism incident.
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?
*PW Best Books * Winter Kids' Indie Next List * JLG selection * Three starred reviews
"What at first seems like a novel solely about bullying becomes a story about six kids who find their way to true friendship and fierce loyalty , and why restorative justice is worth the time and effort it takes." --Publishers Weekly, starred review
"A timely, introspective whodunit with a lot of heart ." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"Levy writes in an easy style with laugh-out-loud humor , offering characters that slowly reveal deeper complexity ." --School Library Journal, starred review
Author Notes
Dana Alison Levy was raised by pirates but escaped at a young age and went on to earn a degree in aeronautics and puppetry. Actually, that's not true--she just likes to make things up. That's why she always wanted to write books. She was born and raised in New England and studied English literature before going to graduate school for business. While there is value in all learning, had she known she would end up writing for a living, she might not have struggled through all those statistics and finance classes. Dana was last seen romping around with her family in Massachusetts. Visit her website or find her on Twitter and Instagram @danaalisonlevy.
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
When Massachusetts seventh-grader Theo's self-portraits are vandalized with gay slurs in the student gallery, and someone destroys his long-exposure pinhole cameras shortly afterward, it seems that someone is out to get him. In a Breakfast Club-like scenario, teacher Ms. Lewiston calls Theo and the bystanders of the incident-as Theo narrates "the Over-achiever, the Jock, the Nerd, the Weirdo, and the Screw-up"-to a five-day "Justice Circle" during school vacation. Framed by daily reflective assessments written by each bystander and told through Theo's eyes, Levy (The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher) subtly takes the reluctant group from anger and suspicion to a moving level of friendship, vulnerability, and trust as the kids open up to one another. Adults are virtually invisible, save the venerable Ms. Lewiston, which successfully creates an all-kid dynamic peppered with laugh-out-loud moments. What at first seems like a novel solely about bullying becomes a story about six kids who find their way to true friendship and fierce loyalty, and why restorative justice is worth the time and effort it takes. Ages 10-up. Agent: Marietta B. Zacker, Gallt & Zacker Literary. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Having reluctantly agreed to exhibit his self-portraits in his schools art gallery, seventh grader Theo is devastated when the photographs are defaced and destroyed. With trepidation he joins the five students suspected of committing the vandalism in a Justice Circle, hoping to understand how one of them could be so cruel. The suspects seem predictable typesa jock, an overachiever, a weirdo, a class clown (Jax Fletcher from Levys Family Fletcher books), and a stayer-below-the-radarwho are introduced in the novels opening pages through the first of the written assessments they are required to complete each day. As time goes on, they start to shed defensiveness, show vulnerability, and gain an appreciation for one another through their shared experience. As for Theo himself, through his introspective first-person viewpoint we see him dealing with hurt, anger, confusion, empathy, and compassion as the culprit is slowly revealed. Levy delves into sensitive topics that are both timely and of great importance to middle-school readers while also providing plenty of entertainment and humoryoga-ball soccer, anyone?with this winning school story. monica edinger (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Having to go to school over break stinks, but circumstantial evidence surrounding vandalism brings six unhappy seventh-graders together for a justice circle facilitated by a favorite teacher. Like The Breakfast Club, each student carries a label by which they are automatically judged (the nerd, the princess, the jock, the weirdo, the screw-up), and this experimental gathering seeks to discover not only who destroyed Theo's photographs but why. Despite a slow start, the story becomes as much a whodunit as an examination of judging others based on assumptions. Each day, the five possible perps fill out a questionnaire, offering readers a glimpse into the characters' personalities and thin layers of clues. Meanwhile, the six learn about each other's backgrounds, passions, and commonalities, leading to surprising results. Told primarily via Theo's first-person narrative, readers join him as he discovers what happened and feel his ever-changing emotions about the events. Plenty of laughs and loads of interesting introspection help drive the story. Fans of Levy's Family Fletcher books will love that Jax is one of the suspects.--Jeanne Fredriksen Copyright 2018 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-7-Photographer Theo, overachieving popular girl Molly, death-metal drummer Andre, basketball jock Eric, hipster screw-up Jax, and goth Alice, who is obsessed with special effects, are gathered together to figure out who vandalized Theo's photographs. Their teacher believes in restorative justice, so the seventh graders are spending their school break talking and learning to break down the stereotypes they have held about one another. Through the sensitive narration of Robbie Daymond they come to life, especially Theo. An ensemble cast voices the other characters. With its nod to The Breakfast Club, but for middle graders, this should be a hit for students and their parents. VERDICT Recommended for those who have enjoyed Avi's Nothing But the Truth, and John David Anderson's Posted.-David Faucheux, Lafayette, LA © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Six seventh-graders in small-town Massachusetts reluctantly spend school vacation week participating in a restorative-practice justice circle in hopes of identifying a vandal.Amateur photographer Theo is the victim of a hate crimehis self-portraits in the student gallery defaced with "scribbled threats [and] gay slurs" and followed by a seemingly related incident in the darkroomyet none of the five students who were in the gallery at the time admit culpability. A "non-horrible" teacher brings Theo and the five suspects together in a radical approach to conflict resolution, reminding them that "all of us are fighting unseen battles." Told primarily through Theo's first-person present-tense perspective, punctuated by daily assessments completed by his classmates, the book resists casting any one character as the obvious perpetrator. In true Breakfast Club fashion, the time spent together is sometimes hilarious and sometimes tragic, and it leaves secrets revealedone student recently lost a sibling, several are navigating cultural expectations and stereotypes, Theo's dad split last yearand intimate connections forged. Fans of Levy's Fletcher Family series about two white dads and their adopted sons will recognize Jax Fletcher. Of the five suspects, Jax and Andre are African-American, while Alice Shu appears Asian, and Molly and Erik are identified as white along with Theo. Both refreshingly and frustratingly, Theo's sexual orientation is never made explicit; the text emphasizes the impact of the harassment rather than the relevance of its content.A timely, introspective whodunit with a lot of heart. (Fiction. 8-14) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Excerpts
Excerpts
Day One Assessments Shipton Middle School Please fill out the following questions as honestly and completely as you can. There are no wrong answers. Date: Feb. 18 Name: Molly Claremont What happened and what were you thinking at the time of the incident? I have LITERALLY NO IDEA. I was waiting to be picked up and I wandered into the student gallery, which isn't a crime, last I checked. And the photos were totally ruined, which was really surprising and, you know, upsetting. Because of course our school is no place for vandalism and bullying. But I just walked in there. And the next day, when someone opened the darkroom door and ruined Theo's stuff again? That was horrible, and I feel so bad for him. Our community definitely needs to come together and make this a Bully-Free Zone. I should bring it up with student council. Maybe we can do a bake sale for Theo. Anyway, I realize I don't have an alibi, but why would I touch his stuff? I can't see how it has anything to do with me. What have you thought about since? Well, to be totally honest (because we're supposed to be honest here, right?), I'm mostly thinking how RIDICULOUS it is that I'm being blamed for ruining Theo's photos. I'm sure it feels terrible for him, having his work destroyed like that, with people writing such horrible, embarrassing stuff. The whole school can't stop talking about it. But still. It's NOT MY FAULT. What about this has been hardest for you? Again, if I'm being honest, I CANNOT BELIEVE I HAVE TO SPEND AN ENTIRE WEEK HERE IN THIS DETENTION ROOM (or Justice Circle room, or whatever). I get that this is a big deal, but it wasn't me. What do you think needs to be done to make things as right as possible? We'll obviously need to establish a better Say No to Bullying campaign. I'll definitely be bringing it up with the student council. We don't want vandals and criminals in the school. But it has nothing to do with me. NOTHING. Is there anything at all you'd like to share confidentially with Ms. Lewiston? No. Name: Andre Hall What happened and what were you thinking at the time of the incident? I dropped my bag off in the student gallery and went to the bathroom before going home. I didn't want to bring my bag in with me because that bathroom floor is nasty. So I left my bag, then on the way back realized I had forgotten my lab notebook. It was fifteen minutes before I got back to the gallery, and by then Theo's photos were totally ruined. Whoever it was, they weren't playing. It was bad. But like I keep saying, I wasn't even there. When I walked back to get my bag, there were a ton of people in the gallery, all freaking out. What have you thought about since? It was pretty intense. I've never seen anything like it at our school before. I mean, that was some severe destruction. And some rude stuff written on the photos of Theo. I'd want to transfer schools if that happened to me. And then the very next day someone messed with his stuff in the darkroom? It seems like someone's got it in for him. But I don't know . . . does he have enemies or something? I barely know the guy. It's not like he talks to me. And like I keep saying, I wasn't even there until after. What about this has been hardest for you? It's a bummer that no one even noticed that I wasn't there, and that it was only my bag sitting on the bench. Though maybe whoever did it figured it would be better to have more suspects or something. I was planning on spending vacation week practicing a ton with my band, and now I'm stuck here. And since my bandmates go to a different school, it's hard to get rehearsal time. We have some big stuff coming up, and we were counting on this week. But it's obviously worse for Theo. I mean, he must be freaking out. I know I would be. What do you think needs to be done to make things as right as possible? I guess catch the guy who did it and make him apologize? Not really sure since I didn't have anything to do with it. Is there anything at all you'd like to share confidentially with Ms. Lewiston? Just . . . how could nobody notice that I wasn't there? Name: Erik Estrale What happened and what were you thinking at the time of the incident? I don't really remember. I had a huge game against Greenfield that night, and I was mostly thinking about whether I'd be starting point guard. (I was. I scored 19 points. It was a totally sick game. Coach gave me the Golden Jockstrap.) What have you thought about since? I don't know. I didn't do it, so I just want to get out of here. What about this has been hardest for you? I was supposed to do a full-day basketball camp this week with the whole team, and Coach was seriously mad when he heard I can't make it. He said I shouldn't expect to start if I get in trouble at school. What do you think needs to be done to make things as right as possible? I don't know. I mean, I figure Theo must have made someone really mad. Like, is he in a fight with anyone? I feel really sorry for the guy. But I don't know what to do for him. Is there anything at all you'd like to share confidentially with Ms. Lewiston? What happens if no one confesses at the end of this whole thing? Will it all go away? Excerpted from It Wasn't Me by Dana Alison Levy All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
