The Size of the Truth
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
A boy who spent three days trapped in a well tries to overcome his PTSD and claustrophobia so he can fulfill his dream of becoming a famous chef in Andrew Smith’s first middle grade novel.
When he was four years old, Sam Abernathy was trapped at the bottom of a well for three days, where he was teased by a smart-aleck armadillo named Bartleby. Since then, his parents plan every move he makes.
But Sam doesn’t like their plans. He doesn’t want to go to MIT. And he doesn’t want to skip two grades, being stuck in the eighth grade as an eleven-year-old with James Jenkins, the boy he’s sure pushed him into the well in the first place. He wants to be a chef. And he’s going to start by entering the first annual Blue Creek Days Colonel Jenkins Macaroni and Cheese Cook-Off.
That is, if he can survive eighth grade, and figure out the size of the truth that has slipped Sam’s memory for seven years.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sam Abernathy's parents have just skipped him from sixth to eighth grade, the first step, they say, in getting him into MIT. This puts him in the same grade as James Jenkins, the boy he blames for the three days he spent trapped in a well when he was four years old, an event that has defined his life in Blue Creek, Tex. Sam is not interested in MIT, and dislikes survival camping with his enthusiastic father; what he wants most is to leave his small town and become a chef, a goal he pursues secretly to avoid disappointing his parents. Smith (Winger) makes his middle grade debut in this aggressively quirky story that feels overstuffed with cleverly written plot details (mini golf, armadillos, bank robbers, gospel music, aliens) that compete with as often as complement each other. Passages detailing Sam's time in the well offer uncertain connection to the rest of the story and raise more questions than they answer. The well-developed elements shine as in Smith's YA novels, repeating jokes become funnier over time but the book fails to coalesce even as it succeeds in over-the-top entertainment. Ages 8 12.
