Nikki Grimes just continues to amaze me, although by now I expect it to happen. In Garvey's Choice, she tells the story of an overweight boy whose father pressures him to try sports when he would rather read. It is a novel in verse, using the tanka form. Some pages have a single tanka, others have several which serve as separate stanzas. The book is from Garvey's point of view, so readers know his thoughts and feelings as kids at school call him names, his father complains to his mother about his lack of interest in football, and even his sister calls him "Chocolate Chunk" or "Sweet Chunk." But he has his friend Joe, and then he meets a new kid at school named Manny and they become friends, too.
The poetry captures the impressions of each moment perfectly.
"Over breakfast, Dad
eyes me like an alien
never seen before.
Sometimes, I swear that he's
hoping to make first contact."
Highly recommended for middle grade readers and up. At once a story of growing up, finding yourself, and also finding a way to connect and learning that maybe connection is what your parent was after all along.
I received a copy from the publisher for review purposes.
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