Zander, LaShonda, Bobbi, and Kambui are dubbed "The Cruisers" because they seem to be just going through the motions in this highly competitive school, and the assistant principal, Mr. Culpepper, seems to bear a grudge against them for that reason. He and the principal challenge them to be the peacekeepers in the annual North-South simulation that involves taking sides for the Confederacy or the Union; their continued enrollment in the school is riding on their success. The blurb on the jacket, provided by the publishers, is misleading. It says the students in this story start an alternative school newspaper in response to the eighth-grade simulation. The newspaper already exists before the controversy has begun; the Cruisers just continue to use it to get their message across. Secondly, the regular school newspaper, The Palette, publishes some very incendiary, racist articles to incite controversy, yet when the Cruisers decide to fight back peacefully by wearing signs around their necks, all hell breaks loose and they are attacked by Mr. Culpepper in a way that does not make sense relative to everything else that has happened. It simply does not ring true. And we never hear what is happening in the classroom, so there is no context for this simulation. Any school that would dare to conduct this kind of simulation would have rich, supportive discussions in the class to help students make sense what was happening during this era of U.S. history. The students seem to be managing the entire project out in the halls and in the cafeteria. As an educator, I found many aspects of the book to be too contrived to be believable and the action in the story a little hard to follow at times. Reviewer: Maggie Chase
School is hard enough, but when you're misfits on a mission, you're really put to the test. The re-launch of a popular middle-grade series by Walter Dean Myers.
Zander and his crew are underdogs at DaVinci Academy, one of the best Gifted and Talented schools in Harlem. But even these kids who are known as losers can win by speaking up. When they start their own school newspaper, stuff happens. Big stuff. Loud stuff. Stuff nobody expects. Mr. Culpepper, the Assistant Principal and Chief Executioner, is ready to be rid of Zander, Kambui, LaShonda, and Bobbi-until they prove that their writing packs enough power to keep the peace and show what it means to stand up for a cause.
School is hard enough, but when you're misfits on a mission, you're really put to the test. The re-launch of a popular middle-grade series by Walter Dean Myers.
Zander and his crew are underdogs at DaVinci Academy, one of the best Gifted and Talented schools in Harlem. But even these kids who are known as losers can win by speaking up. When they start their own school newspaper, stuff happens. Big stuff. Loud stuff. Stuff nobody expects. Mr. Culpepper, the Assistant Principal and Chief Executioner, is ready to be rid of Zander, Kambui, LaShonda, and Bobbi-until they prove that their writing packs enough power to keep the peace and show what it means to stand up for a cause.
Editorial Reviews
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940169642834 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Brilliance Audio |
| Publication date: | 08/01/2010 |
| Series: | Cruisers , #1 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
| Age Range: | 8 - 11 Years |
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