If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period

July 16, 2007
The latest from Newbery Honor author Choldenko is an earnest contemporary story about race, set in a California middle school. Told from the alternating viewpoints of Kirsten, the overweight daughter of a doctor, and Walk (short for Walker), son of a striving single mother, the issues raised are spot-on for this age group. Kirsten’s world, micromanaged by her overly involved mother, is battered by her parents’ fighting and her best friend Rory’s newfound chumminess with queen bee Brianna. Walk has been separated from his friends by his mother’s decision to send him to private school on scholarship. One of only three African-American students at Mountain School, his outsider status makes him approachable to Kirsten, whose falling-out with Rory leaves her in dire need of lunch-hour companionship. This under-the-microscope examination of the often cruel, always dramatic dynamics of junior high will be enough to pull many readers through to the provocative if melodramatic revelation about the real connection between Walk and Kirsten. The humor that fueled much of Choldenko’s Al Capone Does My Shirts
is missing here, and her choice to tell Kirsten’s story in first person and Walk’s chapters in third person makes the narrative a little choppy. But the questions she raises about identity, race, prejudice and the true nature of friendship should provide ample food for thought. Ages 10-up.

March 1, 2008
Gr 7-10-Kirsten McKenna, a student at an elite private school, feels that she is a junior high misfit in this novel by Gennifer Choldenko (Harcourt, 2007). Her parents have just spent the summer fighting nonstop, and now must contend with her best friends change of loyalties to popular Brianna. Then theres Walker Jones, an African-American transfer student who is definitely in the minority. When they are both late on the first day of class, they have to serve detention and only Walker defends Kirsten when she gets into trouble. As Kirsten and Walk relate their experiences during these opening days of school in alternating chapters, a surprising twist emerges concerning the relationship between the pair. Ariadne Meyers voices Kirsten and Francois Battiste narrates Walker Joness story. Choldenkos spirited characters have their heads and hearts in the right place and solid values. Meyers and Battiste bring just the right amount of teen uncertainty to their narration as the youngsters learn how to handle their situation. The novel does a good job of covering some serious problems, such as racism and prejudice, but also injects some humor into the telling. Although some plot elements are rather far-fetched, listeners will relate to the issues raised and the honest look at middle-school life. For school and public librariesJane P. Fenn, Corning-Painted Post West High School, NY

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2008
Choldenko's book explores, in two voices, the lives of seventh graders Kirsten McKenna and Walker Jones, whose paths unexpectedly cross on the first day of school. This is a book of twos -- two genders, two races, two worlds -- and the audio gives us two distinct voices to match the author's theme. Kirsten's chatty openness is expertly portrayed by Ariadne Meyers; Walk's young-man reserve by Francois Battiste. Both narrators are able to imbue the story with their character's emotional growth while still finding the humor sprinkled throughout. As the two characters discover their similarities and the surprising link between them, the narrators begin to match pace and tone, bringing the story full circle. A fine example of a book made even better by the reading.

(Copyright 2008 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)