One of my all-time favorite genres to read is mystery/children’s fiction. In grade school I was one of those kids who went crazy over I-ready points. I-ready was basically a platform where grade school children and teachers tracked how many points a child earned through reading.
So, the more books you read, the more points you got, and I really wanted those points. So, I ended up reading a lot. Me and a friend of mine would recommend each other good books and series, and some of these books I still read today.
The books I’ll be talking about in this blog have stuck with me since grade school and have influenced my life in so many ways. I really loved reading these books back then and I still love them now. So, I’ll be talking about a few of them here.
Freak the Mighty:
Freak the Mighty is written by Rodman Philbrick and it’s a story about a 13-year-old boy named Maxwell who has low self-esteem due to unresolved trauma involving his parents and because he genuinely thinks he isn’t smart in any way.
He lives with his grandparents, Grim and Gram, and sometimes he overhears them talking about his father, Kenny Kane or Killer Kane, who is in prison for murdering his mother, Annie.
Next door lives a boy named Freak who suffers from Morquio syndrome, a life shortening condition that affects the development of his bones and organs. This syndrome impairs his ability to walk, and to get around he must wear a set of crutches.
When Freak loses one of his many gadgets in a tree Maxwell swoops in and helps him, and this marks the start of their unlikely friendship. Together they become Freak the Mighty because of their obvious size difference and their ability to compensate for one another’s shortcoming.
This novel is very colorful, a little sad, and a whole lot of interesting. I always love reading this because the writing is so humorous. It’s the kind of story where the narrator is a little unreliable and it’s clear through the manner he tells the story.
I also love the trope of an unlikely friendship. I remember reading this back then and thinking that Maxwell and Freak could never become friends, but then they do and it’s heartwarming to see.
Holes:
Holes is written by Louis Sachar and it’s about a 14-year-old boy named Stanley Yelnats who is convicted of a crime and is sent to serve a sentence at Camp Green Lake, a boys detention center where the boys dig holes all day to ‘build character’.
Throughout the book Stanley claims he is innocent; however, no one truly believes him.
He blames his horrible luck on his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing great grandfather. He also blames his grandfather for his father’s failed career as an inventor.
At Camp Green Lake he meets other boys with unique nicknames like Zigzag, Armpit, and Zero. When the guards tell Stanley to report if he finds anything while digging, he starts to wonder if they have an ulterior motive for making them dig the holes.
Could the guards be using the inmates to search for some mysterious underground secret? Stanley and the other inmates team up and embark on a journey to discover the mystery of Camp Green Lake. He also embarks on a journey to prove his own innocence.
Although this novel tackles a tough subject like injustice, it’s still very humorous and it’s a joy to read. This book has plenty of hidden secrets, and the story is told at the perfect pace for all these secrets to unfold. I truly love how unique the characters are, and how much fun they add to the story.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime:
This book is written by Mark Haddon, and it’s about a 15-year-old boy named Christopher Boone who discovers a dead dog, Wellington, in his neighbor’s front lawn. After he wrestles with his own conscience, Christopher vows to uncover the mystery behind the dead dog and to hopefully bring it justice.
He starts to investigate his neighbors. During one instance of his investigations, the police are called. Christopher’s father, who deeply opposes the entire investigation, warns him to leave the murder mystery alone.
Although Christopher receives a stern warning from the police he continues the investigation in his own way. He writes down his thoughts in a journal, which is the book we are reading, and he also uses it to keep track of his findings.
After another dispute with his father regarding the murder, Christopher is close to giving up the investigation until he finds something appalling under his father’s bed. In a box, there are letters from his mother who he assumed had died of a heart attack two years ago. And not only that, but there are clues that link his father to Wellingtons death.
If you can’t tell, this book has plenty of twists and turns. The first time I read it, it reminded me of the Girl on the Train, which is another thriller/psychological fiction novel, because it unfolds in this really creepy yet surprising way that you would never expect, but it was kind of your face. This was one of the first novels that got me into reading murder mystery, and I really enjoyed it because it takes the identity of a murder mystery and spins it in this childlike way.
Anyways, I love all these stories. They give me so much joy and inspiration. Bye.
