Addie on the Inside

Name: Addie on the Inside
Item: Addie on the Inside
Rating: 5
Author: Patricia Tauzer

Book review by

Patricia Tauzer, Common Sense Media

Common Sense says

age 11+

(i)

Vivacious seventh grader expresses herself in vivid poems.

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age 10+

Based on 3 reviews

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A lot or a little?

The parents' guide to what's in this book.

Educational Value

This book offers a terrific example of how a narrative can be told in poetry. Families can talk about all of the issues that Addie confronts: mean gossip, name calling, bullying, speaking out, staying silent, human rights, consumerism, and so on. Ask your kids: How do you define yourself and others?

Positive Messages

The author challenges readers to open their eyes, minds, and hearts and to try to really see one another -- to allow people to choose who they want to be and respect them for their choices.

Positive Role Models & Representations

By speaking her mind, questioning herself, and standing up for others' rights, Addie becomes the target of the mean girls' cruelty, yet she survives and grows into a stronger person who realizes she isn't who others say she is. She begins to define herself and become the person she chooses to be. Her faith in herself is badly shaken by the other kids' actions -- particularly the popular kids. But she has a few very good friends, a supportive family (including a wonderful grandmother), and a few insightful teachers. With their help, she survives and grows.

Violence

Addie reads or hears about real violence in the news: a child bride in Kabul, Afghanistan, is disfigured; there are reports of others raped, beat, or tortured; a teenage "fangirl" stands by her "rap star man" after he hits her; a teenage girl hangs herself because of her schoolmates' merciless taunting. One section discusses the impact of death -- both of a friend's mother and of a favorite pet.

Sex

Addie has her first boyfriend, with some innocent hand-holding and kissing. Two of the boys she's friends with are openly gay, and Addie helps found the Gay and Straight Alliance at her school. She's called "lezzie" because of her involvement.

Language

Cruel name-calling runs the gamut from silly barbs to more painful epithets, heartless teasing, and mean gossiping. Kids also derisively say that things are "so gay." One section deals with the "devaluation of the English language" and the overuse of slang terms: "omigod!" for example.

Consumerism

Some anti-consumerism messages: Addie struggles with wanting a pair of shoes that she actually hates just because the popular kids are wearing them. One section discusses how we use style to define ourselves.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this companion to James Howe's The Misfits and Totally Joe again deals with slightly offbeat kids trying to fit in. This time it's 13-year-old Addie, whose story is told completely in narrative poetry that poignantly captures the turmoil and confusion she faces. Themes range from learning how to stay strong and smart and sensitive in the face of taunting by "mean girls" to overbearing teachers, young love and broken hearts, and how and when to speak your mind. It also juxtaposes the painful but almost silly struggles of middle school with the atrocities that take place around the world: child brides who are raped, disfigured, and sold; battered women; a student driven to suicide by bullying. Addie helps organize the Gay and Straight Alliance in support of her openly gay friends and dares to hold a Day of Silence even when it's nixed by the principal.

User Reviews

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Kid, 12 years old October 9, 2011

age 11+

A great book for more mature tweens

Addie is a bit of a know-it-all, and wants to fix all the world's problems. However, she is subject to name-calling and teasing since she's a misfit.... Continue reading

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Kid, 11 years old February 11, 2015

age 9+

Awesome

This was a great book. Vivid poems that show great imagination and a great understanding of the world. It's true that it does discuss Addie's friend b... Continue reading

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What's the story?

Tall 13-year-old Addie Carle has always been a strong, smart, and sensitive girl who has felt sure of herself and her place in the world ... until now. Her seventh-grade year is a kind of \"purgatory,\" and through narrative verse, she reveals her inner thoughts and feelings -- as well as the familiar markings of a very tough year: She's the first one to raise her hand in class and always has an opinion, but that's not going over well with the other kids. She worries about human rights and other world issues while most of the other kids seem like they couldn't care less. She hates the mean girls but feels their power. She endures teasing about her boyish looks, her independent spirit -- and even gossip about why a popular older boy would choose her to be his girlfriend. And, hardest of all, she begins to question herself and who she is.

Is it any good?

Addie's voice is straightforward and true, and the author's poems vividly and sensitively capture her pain and confusion. While the problems she struggles with are familiar, the book is one of a kind, both in its artistry and in the thoughtful questions -- and lessons -- it imparts. Howe challenges his readers to open their eyes, minds, and hearts and to try to really see one another, to allow people to choose who they want to be and respect them for their choices. (He writes, "what is it we see when we look at each other, especially at those who are different from us?")

Readers will be moved by the small story of Addie's fight to become the person she wants to be -- and be left with plenty of big questions to ponder.

Talk to your kids about ...

Families can talk about all of the issues that Addie confronts: cruel gossip, name calling, bullying, speaking out, staying silent, human rights, consumerism, and so on. Kids: How do you define yourself and others? What makes a person popular? Is today's culture more or less accepting of teens who want to be different?
The author chose to tell this story through a series of poems. Do you think this is an effective way to show that these were Addie's inner thoughts? How would her story have been different if it had been told as a more straightforward narrative or in some other form, like a graphic novel?
If you've also read The Misfits or Totally Joe, what did this book add to the trilogy? Do you think there's another book that could be written about Addie and her friends? What do you think it would be about?