The Boy on Cinnamon Street

Stone, Phoebe.    The Boy on Cinnamon Street    Arthur Levine Bks see Scholastic Books    2012  234p  $16.99      978-0-545-21512-1           

 ms    E-BN      Conflict   

Louise is a 13-year-old girl who has recently lost both her parents and has faced bullying in her middle school, and is trying to find a place for herself in the world.      When The Boy on Cinnamon Street begins, Louise has just quit doing the one thing she loves ... gymnastics.  As we get to know her story of loss and hurt, we see the things that are motivating Louise to act as she does, losing herself in fantasies of what life should be like.  This story of a young girl coming to terms with her mother’s suicide, her father’s desertion, her victimization at school, and her own physical problems is beautifully told, layer by layer, and the reader is drawn in gradually.  It is highly recommended for middle-school children who have suffered a loss in their lives.       

E-BN Carol Kennedy         Death of a parent, Friendship, Bullying