Whirligig

This is one of those books that is good on so many different levels. Another teacher recommended the book to me. The gist of the story is this Brent Bishop is in trouble. He caused the loss of another person’s life. He feels he deserves more punishment than he is given. The judge gives the victim’s parents the right to seek restitution. The victim’s mother meets with them and has an unusual request for restitution. Brent is to create four whirligigs and place them in four different states. She has even bought a bus ticket for him. Against his parent’s wishes he accepts. This is a journey that touches many different people and may actually bring about healing. I got to the end of this book and cried. It is that touching. The main character is so well developed that you feel his pain as you read his story. The settings are so well depicted you feel like you are right there with Brent. You feel his pain and want healing to happen for him. I could not wait to put this on my school shelves and recommend it.

Whirligig by Paul FleischmanI was pleasantly surprised by this book which was assigned to my 8th grade son's English class. It is remarkably short for a book containing some relatively heavy subject matter. I enjoyed the journey alongside the narrator. I think many of us would like to have the narrator's opportunity to pay penance for past mistakes by leaving our lives behind for a while and discovering more about ourselves and the world on the road to maturity. I enjoyed the author's writing style immensely. There is one early chapter in the book that doesn't seem to fit, like an idea the author had that would have made everything come together too happily in the end. Otherwise, a great book. (The Filipino-American connection in the book was unexpected and made the book more personally meaningful to me as well.)Five stars for Young Adult Literature.

Oh, my. This book was impactful and profound. I enjoyed it, though I don’t think its parable would’ve had the same effect on me if I’d read it as a teen, had the book been around back in the Stone Ages. I wasn’t too keen on the writing style. I found the time hopping difficult to follow as the author revealed how all 4 whirligigs affected strangers throughout the story instead of in chronological order. I missed the Florida whirligig because it wasn’t described as such by the narrator, so I had to go back and tease it out after I finished the book. I also couldn’t get the feel as to how much time had passed between the whirligigs being placed and then noticed by the strangers. As a reader, this was important for me to know and would have alleviated some of the confusion. It was more complicated than it had to convey the message. I imagine it would be just as confusing for younger readers. Otherwise than that, the story was enlightening and compelling, and well worth reading. Of note: the author was spot on about summer in Maine being only a few days in July.

I use this book in my 9th grade English class. The basic premise is of a teen named Brent who, after being embarrassed at an after-school party, decides to drive drunk and then decides to commit suicide. However, when he stops steering the car, he accidentally hits and kills another driver, a girl who is only 19 and seemed to have a life full of promise. As restitution, her mother asks that Brent ride around the country on a bus and makes four whirligigs, one to put in each corner of the US, in honor of her daughter. This life-changing rite of passage leads Brent to discover many things about himself and many things about the nature of forgiveness and good. He learns to forgive himself and strive to undo the hurt that he has caused, replacing the ugliness with beauty. Unknown to Brent, his whirligigs bring happiness and joy to many others who stumble across them sometime later.The story is quite untraditional in that Brent's story is chronological, but every other chapter is a flash-forward to someone who has been affected by one of his whirligigs. Though the sequence is a little confusing to teens, they quickly catch on and then become engaged with the story of someone so like them who seems to be struggling with the same problems with which they themselves are coping. My classes really like the story and learn to ask what makes a good person and how should we make decisions. In addition, the writing is beautiful, full of allusions and symbolism. It's a classic rite of passage book for teens today.

Only reason I got this book it was recommended for my son High School Summer Reading

I read this book because it was assigned to my eighth-grade son and I wanted to see what they were learning. This creatively presents major life themes through multiple characters’ points of view: - what should we value in our lives? - How do we become happy with the people we are? - How to deal with depression and grief?These are substantial issues that all individuals grapple with and the different characters communicated both age and culture in answers for these questions.

An evening of humiliation at a high school classmate's party leave new-kid-in-town Brent Bishop attempting to commit suicide but killing a young woman named Lea, instead.Lea's mother asks that Brent create four whirligigs in the four corners of the US as restitution. The bereaved mom hopes that the gesture will spread joy just as her daughter had. She gives Brent a Greyhound pass to make the journey.This journey of discovery helps Brent find his best companion in himself. As his journey unfolds, the stories of the folks whose lives his creations have touched punctuate the narrative. In everyting we do, we touch somebody--and who knows how much?It's worth thinking about, and Paul Fleischman's book will have you doing just that.

This is a beautiful, detailed and amazing book. The concept of the book was very basic but the way the author made it so much more was just awesome.

最初は　翻訳版を読みました。　原書で読んでみたくなって購入、やっぱり書かれた言葉で読むのが一番。不慮の事故で自分が殺してしまった女の子、Leaへの罪を償うために彼女の母親の願い通り､彼女の生の軌跡として全米の四隅にWhirigigを残しに旅に出るBrent。彼は　その旅の途中で色々な人たちに出会う・・・。作者　Fleischmanの哲学を感じます。

まだこの本は読み切ってはいないのですが、以前、英語塾で使っていた同じ作者ｚ（Paul Fleischman)の「Seedfoｌks」の内容がShort Story風に書かれていて読みやすかったので、おなじスタイルで書かれている「Whirligig」を使うことのなりました。多分前回のSeedfolks 程度のレベルで、読みやすい文章だろうと思っています。