 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
The Sledding Hill
- By Chris Crutcher
- Genre: School
Common Sense Media says
Ghost boy tells the story of a book-banning.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that while he carefully avoids language, sex, violence, etc. in his own story, the author refers to it in other stories. He is being deliberately provocative here in a way that will trouble some parents, especially religious fundamentalists. He also loads the deck pretty heavily -- this is a diatribe, not an invitation to two-sided discussion.
What's the story?
Eddie has a lot to deal with. His father and his best friend, Billy, are both killed accidentally within a month, and Eddie is the one who finds both bodies. Now he's being haunted by Billy, who also is the narrator of the story. His mother is being drawn further in to a fundamentalist church, led by Reverend Tarter, who is a busy guy: he is also an English teacher at Eddie's school, is trying to manipulate Eddie into joining the saved, and is working with his congregation to get a book banned at school.
That book, Warren Peece is a fake book by the real author of this book, Chris Crutcher, who becomes a character in his own book when he gets involved in the effort to stop the banning. And that book happens to be the only meaningful thing Eddie has found to help him deal with his grief. So Eddie, though he hasn't spoken since he found Billy's body, is determined to save the book, and take down the Reverend at the same time.
Is it any good?
Chris Crutcher is mad as, well, heck, and he's not going to take it anymore. All of his previous books have been the target of censorship efforts, and here he is taking on would-be banners directly, in a book in which they will find no bad language or sex acts or violence, but has content designed to be objectionable to them anyway. The whole book is Crutcher's way of saying, "Come and get me."
Unfortunately, as is almost always the case when an author has a Point to make, the Point often comes before the story. Too much of the book consists of characters acting as the author's mouthpieces and spouting speeches. Though the author at one point makes a halfhearted nod to evenhandedness, this is an angry diatribe cloaked in humor, which doesn't make for three-dimensional characters or much emotional involvement on the part of the reader. But it's a mostly enjoyable read nonetheless, and it addresses a compelling issue in a way that will get kids talking.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about many issues addressed in this book: censorship, church/state division, racism, and more. Parents can ask their kids if it's ever right to ban a book, if there should be any restrictions on what children read, if religion has a place in school, and where the rights of each individual and family begin and end.
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AGE
Review, good
The book was a good read. It really got into the issue of death of family and friends, dealing with it, and trying to do what you think is right. It does possess opposition to authority to the degree that students are expected to do what they are told and not encouraged to be free thinkers. The main character goes against these values of educators and religious leaders. The issue of censorship is the main focus after dealing with death of close ones.
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coming from a 14 year old
good, but took about 80 pages to get into.
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Important topics
If you are an advocate of free thinking, this book is great for you; otherwise, you're better off reading something safer. The concept of blind faith is examined closely, and Crutcher is careful to state that fundamentalists are in no way evil. Some important topics in this book are: death, faith, peer pressure, disabilities and censorship.
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| Author: | Chris Crutcher |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | School |
| Publisher: | William Morrow |
| Publication date: | June 24, 2005 |
| Number of pages: | 230 |
| Hardcover price: | $15.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 12 - 17 |
| Read aloud: | 12 |
| Read alone: | 12 |
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