Grape, Again!

June 1, 2022

Gr 5 Up-It's 1976 and 12-year-old Argentinean Jewish Gabriel, who prefers to be called Grape, is back in this sequel and starting junior high at a regular school instead of the previously threatened Riverwash, a school for troubled kids. He's even enrolled in an advanced English class in addition to studying Hebrew for his bar mitzvah, learning to pop wheelies on his Evel Knievel bike with teens in the park, and going sailing with his parents all while managing the "spiders" in his head with the help of his psychiatrist. The epistolary story, told to his best friend Lou who has moved to live with his dad in New York, chronicles everything from reading Don Quixote for English class to the adventures he gets into with the cigarette-smoking teens, Rusty and Heidi, who live with foster parents. Minor characters appear to be white. The dialogue from Grape's parents is occasionally peppered with Spanish. While many of the words can be deciphered through context, there are some occasions where readers who aren't fluent might have difficulty. VERDICT This coming-of-age story explores the challenges of adolescence in an honest, heartfelt and sometimes humorous way. Quirky kids will see themselves in this sequel as Grape navigates school and new friends.-Sarah Polace

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June 15, 2022
Don Quixote has spiders...just like Grape. Middle schooler Grape, the son of Argentinean Jews, attributes his propensity for trouble to "spiders" in his brain. When readers last saw Grape, he had just finished writing a journal about his history to avoid being sent to Riverwash, the school for "trouble kids." The principal is impressed enough with his reflection that she not only lets him stay at his old school, but recommends him for an advanced English class, where he meets Don Quixote, who, like Grape, has his own "trouble spiders." Just like Don Quixote, Grape's tale is riotously funny yet also concerns deeper issues. Bike riding, sailing, and new friends are woven through discussions of divorce, parental depression and illness, foster care, and coping with trauma. Through it all, the looming specter of Grape's bar mitzvah underscores this transitional period in his life. As difficult as making sense of the world can be, he's never alone. Told through letters to Grape's friend Lou and set in 1976, this sequel to Grape! (2019) provides enough context to firmly situate readers unfamiliar with the first book and delves into somewhat more mature themes. At times there seems a disconnect between Grape's antics and responses and the seriousness of the situations he finds himself in, but it feels like an authentic depiction of a troubled but well-intentioned kid struggling to find his place in the world. A touching, tumultuous journey. (Realistic fiction. 9-12)

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