The Outside Boy by Jeanine Cummins is a novel about an Irish gypsy boy's childhood in the 1950's.
Booklist Editors’ Choice: Adult Books for Young Adults, 2010
School Library Journal, Best Adult Books 4 Teens, 2010
See information at Amazon
Author's website
Please post a comment about the book and whether it would be suitable for the SJSU Campus Reading Program. Thanks.
2 comments:
I found this book a great read and very entertaining. The author's voice is very lively and fierce, and the importance of storytelling, both to the author and the characters in the book, is clearly felt.
It's not especially resonant with the campus community-- it's set in 1950's Ireland and is about a 10-year-old boy who comes from a culture that's pretty rarely seen in the United States. If relevance is really important to us, this might not make the cut. However, it's an excellent book, emotionally rich without being schmaltzy, and nobody's time would be wasted in picking it up.
With the caveat that I was once a 10 year old boy who idealized my irish roots, I thought this was a great book.
It examines issues that other books under consideration touch on (self identity, group identity, discrimination, othering) but from the perspective of a 10 year old boy.
It examines a divide in irish culture, but instead of the usual Catholic/Protestant conflict it focuses on the Pavee (the Irish gypsies) and their shrinking role in irish culture.
Thoroughly entertaining, with an emotionally resonant story, probably just not quite right for the CRP. To echo sandy's point, I think the relevance to our student body is where it falls short and prevents this from being a contender.
-SG
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