For her senior capstone project, Pip researches the disappearance of former Fairview High student Andie, last seen on April 18, 2014, by her younger sister, Becca. Pip has known and liked Sal since childhood he’d supported her when she was being bullied in middle school. There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.Įveryone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago-except Pippa Fitz-Amobi. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters.

The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.Īutumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart their mothers are still best friends. Paul’s quest for understanding seems heartfelt and real, though there are times when the story slows down as characters discuss their views.Ī novel that will provide teachers and others a relevant tool for introducing and discussing a complex subject. “Because the rules don’t work for everybody, and so they don’t go for everybody.” Myers, the recently named National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, has crafted a provocative exploration of social philosophy and shows how it can resonate in the lives of the young and the disadvantaged. Paul never had much of a relationship with his father, described as “forty-two-year-old Richard DuPree, underemployed ex-felon, ex-drug addict, father of one.” Keisha, high-school dropout and mother of a little girl, needs Paul’s help to fulfill her dream of professional basketball. Paul is skeptical but tries to apply the concepts to questions about his recently deceased father and the teen mom he is mentoring. He believes he is fulfilling the “social contract.” As Elijah trains Paul, he urges him to consider his ideas.

Elijah sees himself as doing more than filling bellies. At the soup kitchen, he meets Elijah Jones, the project’s driving force and resident philosopher. Paul DuPree has taken on two jobs: work in a soup kitchen and the required mentoring of a young basketball player.

Until he met Elijah, 16-year-old Paul never considered how one person’s decisions and actions might affect the entire community.

The right stuff book review