{"id":40639,"date":"2022-03-26T21:49:34","date_gmt":"2022-03-27T02:49:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=40639"},"modified":"2022-03-26T21:49:34","modified_gmt":"2022-03-27T02:49:34","slug":"review-of-punching-bag-by-rex-ogle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=40639","title":{"rendered":"Review of Punching Bag, by Rex Ogle"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Punching Bag<\/em><\/p>\n

by Rex Ogle<\/p>\n

Norton Young Readers, 2021. 207 pages.
\nReview written January 6, 2022, from a library book
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

In Punching Bag<\/em>, Rex Ogle continues to tell about his life. Free Lunch<<\/a>\/em> told about the difficulty of being poor when he was in middle school. In <\/em>Punching Bag<\/em>, he\u2019s in high school and his family is no longer desperately poor, but he gets frequently beaten by both his mother and his stepfather.<\/p>\n

The book is framed with a story about coming home from a summer away when he was seven years old. His mother tells him a baby sister was born while he was gone. But she died. She tells Rex that it\u2019s his fault because he left.<\/p>\n

Then we flash to high school. When things get rough, Rex imagines his sister watching him, helping him cope.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, he\u2019s got his actual little brother with him, to help, to entertain, and to try to protect. Rex doesn\u2019t want to turn to violence like his mother and Sam do, but sometimes it all wells up inside him.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s lots of humor in this terribly sad book. His style gives us a taste of how surreal the situation must have been for a teen and how trapped he must have felt. The book is powerful, but painful. I\u2019m so glad I read it.<\/p>\n

Let me pass along the Author\u2019s Note at the front of the book:<\/p>\n

This is a true story. This is my story. It happened to me.<\/p>\n

And as painful as it was for me to write, it may be equally or more painful for you to read \u2013 especially if you\u2019ve lived through something similar.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not ready to read this, then don\u2019t. Please, go enjoy some sunshine, watch a funny movie, or buy yourself an ice cream. This book will be waiting for you when you are ready.<\/p>\n

But know this: I lived this, I survived. You survived your past too, or you wouldn\u2019t be here reading this. We are both alive. We may have a few more scars than we\u2019d like \u2013 inside or out \u2013 but we made it through. No matter how dark the past, or even the present, the sun will always come up tomorrow. There is hope.<\/p>\n

This story (and that ice cream) are waiting . . . whenever you\u2019re ready.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

nortonyoungreaders.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Teen_Nonfiction\/punching_bag.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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