published: 2019
pages: 336
read: 2/27 to 3/6/2019
rating: FAVE BOOK of 2019!!!!!!
book: 25 in 2019
"I guess there's no way to really know someone, even if you think you do"
-Alice pg 203
SYNOPSIS
When Theo's photography project is mysteriously vandalized at school there are five suspected students who all say "it wasn't me."
Theo just wants to forget about the humiliating incident but his favorite teacher is determined to get to the bottom of it and has the six of them come into school over vacation to talk. She calls it "Justice Circle." The six students—the Nerd, the Princess, the Jock, the Screw Up, the Weirdo, and the Nobody—think of it as detention. AKA their worst nightmare.
That is until they realize they might get along after all, despite their differences. But what is everyone hiding and will school ever be the same
When Theo's photography project is mysteriously vandalized at school there are five suspected students who all say "it wasn't me."
Theo just wants to forget about the humiliating incident but his favorite teacher is determined to get to the bottom of it and has the six of them come into school over vacation to talk. She calls it "Justice Circle." The six students—the Nerd, the Princess, the Jock, the Screw Up, the Weirdo, and the Nobody—think of it as detention. AKA their worst nightmare.
That is until they realize they might get along after all, despite their differences. But what is everyone hiding and will school ever be the same
MY THOUGHTS
SHORT VERSIONFAVE BOOK OF 2019!!!
LONG VERSION
i know i said i loved The Dinner List and i still do but this book bumps it to #1.5
i love this book SO HARD!!!!!
I'm so glad i accidentally found it on my library feed. i was looking for my next read and i stumbled upon this. and honestly the only reason i read it was because the cover reminded me of this book. and then i read the premise and i was like " okay, i guess I'll give it a go." I'm so freaking glad i did!!!
i got this from my library as an e-book and I'd read it at night, a few chapters before bed and i loved it so much that i bought a copy because I had to own a copy of this book. (i highlighted all of it and i wanted it in physical form basically).
this is one of those books that will stay with me for a long time.
this is an amazing book that's meant to show you that you never know whats going on in a persons life which can be the root of the cause of their actions towards you, towards others, towards life.
all of that which can be the reason that people lash out. sometimes it's from a place of pain, of misunderstanding, of quick judgment, of wanting to fit in, a place of wanting to be understood.
these group of kids are so different, they don't "click" but the author did such an amazing job of bringing them all together and then making them fall apart to show you that not everything is as it seems. just because you have facts does not mean you have the whole story. just because someone is always happy, or hardworking, or busy being the funny person it doesn't mean that that is who they truly are or how they always truly feel.
and their teacher!!! we need more like her who are not only trying to get to the root of the problem, but are also trying to get you to see that there is more than what meets the eye. i absolutely loved her.
"Be kind, for all of us are fighting unseen battles."
pg 44
this book is funny, its heart fulfilling, its heart breaking, its everything that you could ever ask of from a book.
it made me laugh a whole lot, it made me love them all so much, it made me legit cry tears, it even reminded me once again that i do not know everyone's story. everyone is hiding behind a little something.
never just assume because of what you "see". just because you have facts doesn't mean you know the whole story.
if ya have kids that are in middle school (i believe its aimed towards 5th/6th graders) this is definitely a book that you should read with them. give them the understanding before they assume that everything is exactly as it seems.
I'm truly going to miss this entire little gang.
"Knowing it doesn't make it easier, i don't think. There's knowing something and there's really getting your brain to believe it." "Even when you know something is coming, it doesn't make it any less awful when it happens. you still have to live with it every day."
pg 120-121
spoilers coming right up!
thx!
all in all, it was Erik's teammates that defaced Theo's work at the gallery.
it was Jax that accidentally messed up his dark room prints when he went in there to grab the planner he had forgotten. he did not see the sign in time.
and it was the janitor's son who threw away the pin cameras they had set up. Mr. Saunders was taking care of his son at work while his wife was running errands and he picked up the pinholes thinking they were trash (the kid is only 5 hes doesn't know better).
here's the breakdown:
Erik's teammates did the crime.
MOLLY
her brother passed away so she's basically taking care of her sister and herself, her parents are basically non-existent. all they do is stay in bed. shes running thin having to take care of a home and then all of her school work.
when Erik's teammates deface the artwork, she basically just broke down and wrote all over it as well. she didn't mean any harm by it she just needed an out.
ALICE
Alice had the markers because on the way out, Erik's teammates threw them at her and thew all these shady comments at her.
Theo sees the markers fall out of her bag and freaks out but Alice never spills where she got them from because if she tells she knows the guys will relentlessly taunt her and she's already as big as an out cast can be.
ANDRE
all he did was drop his bag and go to the bathroom. but of course because he always flies under the radar, no one notices that he is not there at the time of incident so no one can vouch for him.
he realizes that being under the radar isn't as great as it seems.
JAX
jax is the black son of 2 gay white men. he uses comedy as a coping mechanism. but of course, because of that, everyone thinks he is a screw up. and he's tired of everyone telling him that he's basically not good enough. so of course when he messed up the dark room prints he doesn't speak up because he doesn't want to continue his given stigma. eventually he does open up.
ERIK
Erik is a jock and according to Theo the most easily guilty.
Erik is a jock and according to Theo the most easily guilty.
Erik is the only one other than Andre that had nothing to do with anything.
i think it was the last day that Theo is walking to class that he finds Erik's phone on the ground and he sees messages from Erik's teammates telling him that he better shut his mouth and not say anything. of course Theo thinks this has been going on all along when in reality, Erik had just found out the truth the day before i believe.
and when it came down to it, he was the only who spoke the truth even if it cost him his friends friendships.
from there on, everyone else opened up.
Theo has been assuming the worst of everyone because he had upfront facts but none of the actual information behind them.
they all talk it over and they come to the realization that everything is not as it seems and that their teacher was correct; you never really know what someone is going through.
there's a lot that i left out but trust me! worth the read.
i just waited toooo long to write this out so i wasn't able to be as detailed as i would have liked. gives me more reason to come back to it. (:
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