Overview

Like the surge of tidal flood waters that come right before a hurricane, angry feelings about the Steven Gilleys of the world began to rise inside me, and that's when it happened. The sound of an angry voice, the universal voice of the sixth-grade girl fed up with the pestilence of male immaturity, began to form in my head. I sat down and wrote my first poem. Open Christina's scrapbook and enter a world where girls rule and boys drool, where hormones rage, and where poetry captures the impassioned, lovesick, humiliated, and hilarious voice of the middle school student. College-bound Christina Curtis scrapbooks her years in middle school as a memeber of the Digital Poets, a group of students who find their voices through verse. Weaving her own narrative into the poems of her peers, Christina tells the story of her friendship with Steven Gilley, the obnoxious girl-teasing, and ""unbearably immature"" boy who incites her to write her first poem. But Steven holds a secret that makes him wise beyond his years, leaving Christina to wonder if there isn't more to this ""unbearable"" boy than meets the eye. From best friends and crushes, to underarm hair, and an all-out battle-of-the-sexes poetry war, the varied voices of the Digital Poets reflect both the humor and angst of middle school students coming of age in the Hormone Jungle. Featuring color art by actual middle school students.

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9780996466578

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Grade 5-8-Eleven classmates become Digital Poets after a school librarian encourages their writing, which began as a girls vs. boys poetry slam. The book is designed to look like the scrapbook of Christina Curtis, one of the students, who is now about to enter college. The 68 poems are divided by school year, from sixth grade through eighth, and illustrated with photos, drawings, and graphics from an actual middle school class. They are accompanied by Christina's running commentary on the events and on her fellow classmates. The result is a portrait of adolescence. In particular, it is about a special, life-changing friendship between Christina and Steven, who has leukemia. He and his philosophy-professor father turn to poetry as a way to cope with his illness. His love for Christina is also pure and respectful-Just above the trees, /There burned a star so bright, /That all the others seemed dim./And it made me think of you, /Christina strong and tall/Of all the girls who ever lived, /The brightest star of all. While the poems and characters aren't memorable as individual creations, the book as a whole may motivate readers to get a blank notebook and start recording their own observations about their lives and friends.-Kathleen Whalin, York Public Library, ME Copyright (c) Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Hormone Jungle is a recipient of the prestigious Mom's Choice Award. The Mom's Choice Awards honors excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. An esteemed panel of judges includes education, media and other experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors, scientists and others. A sampling of the panel members includes: Dr. Twila C. Liggett, Ten-time Emmy-winner, professor and founder of Reading Rainbow; Julie Aigner-Clark, Creator of Baby Einstein and The Safe Side Project; Jodee Blanco, New York Times Best-Selling Author; LeAnn Thieman, Motivational speaker and coauthor of seven Chicken Soup For The Soul books; Tara Paterson, Certified Parent Coach, and founder of the Mom's Choice Awards. Parents and educators look for the Mom s Choice Awards seal in selecting quality materials and products for children and families. This book/product has been honored by this distinguished award. --Mom's Choice Awards

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