{"id":37222,"date":"2021-10-11T21:56:51","date_gmt":"2021-10-12T01:56:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=37222"},"modified":"2021-10-11T21:56:51","modified_gmt":"2021-10-12T01:56:51","slug":"review-of-here-in-the-real-world-by-sara-pennypacker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=37222","title":{"rendered":"Review of Here in the Real World, by Sara Pennypacker"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Here in the Real World<\/em><\/p>\n

by Sara Pennypacker<\/p>\n

Balzer + Bray, 2020. 308 pages.
\nStarred Review
\nReview written February 19, 2020, from a library book<\/p>\n

I love Sara Pennypacker\u2019s books. Her kid characters have agency. They don\u2019t always ask permission, but they make their own choices \u2013 some choices better than others \u2013 and live with the results.<\/p>\n

In this book, eleven-year-old Ware is planning to spend his summer at his grandmother\u2019s house, when she has a fall and goes to the hospital with rehab to follow. But his parents are working extra that summer, so they need Ware to be in a safe place. They sign him up for all summer at the Rec Center, despite his objections.<\/p>\n

Ware has spent lots of time at the Rec Center. He knows the drill. And he is not happy about being there again. When the leader has them march around the Rec Center, faster and faster each time, Ware realizes he won\u2019t be noticed if he climbs the tree overlooking the parking lot. He can watch them go around several times and join them at the end.<\/p>\n

But instead, once up in the tree, Ware notices that the church next door to the Rec Center has been demolished. In his new rebellious state, he gets down on the church side of the fence to look more closely.<\/p>\n

But in the lot with the demolished church, there\u2019s a girl named Jolene. She says the wrecked parking area is now her garden. She\u2019s planting things in cans full of dirt. Ware says the lot can be her garden if the church can be his castle.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s how Ware\u2019s summer gets off to a much more interesting start than what his parents planned for him.<\/p>\n

But how long can Ware and Jolene stay on the lot with the ruined church, planting things and turning the ruins into a castle? What will happen when Ware\u2019s parents find out he\u2019s not going to the Rec Center? Surely they\u2019ll find out? And can Ware change himself into a Normal Kid \u2013 the kind of kid his parents want?<\/p>\n

The title comes because when Ware says something isn\u2019t fair, Jolene accuses him of living in Magic Fairness Land. But \u201chere in the real world,\u201d bad things happen. Can Ware, perhaps, even in the real world, find ways to fight injustice and unfairness?<\/p>\n

sarapennypacker.com<\/a>
\nharpercollinschildrens.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Childrens_Fiction\/here_in_the_real_world.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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