110. Bluefish by Pat Schmatz
Publication: Candlewick (September 13, 2011), ARC paperback, ~270pp / ISBN 0763653349
Genre: MG/YA Fiction
Read: September 5, 2011
Source: Publisher (thank you!)
Summary from Amazon:
Thirteen-year-old Travis has a secret: he can’t read. But a shrewd teacher and a sassy girl are about to change everything in this witty and deeply moving novel.
Travis is missing his old home in the country, and he’s missing his old hound, Rosco. Now there’s just the cramped place he shares with his well-meaning but alcoholic grandpa, a new school, and the dreaded routine of passing when he’s called on to read out loud. But that’s before Travis meets Mr. McQueen, who doesn’t take “pass” for an answer—a rare teacher whose savvy persistence has Travis slowly unlocking a book on the natural world. And it’s before Travis is noticed by Velveeta, a girl whose wry banter and colorful scarves belie some hard secrets of her own. With sympathy, humor, and disarming honesty, Pat Schmatz brings to life a cast of utterly believable characters—and captures the moments of trust and connection that make all the difference.
Review
April at Good Books and Good Wine called this book understated, and I agree with her. It’s a quiet book, one of those stories that sort of lurk at the back of the library waiting for you to stumble upon it when you’re randomly searching from something to read one afternoon. Some of my favorite books are sleepers, and this one is so good it’s no surprise I enjoyed it whole-heartedly.
I mean, sure: it’s got a bit of Manic Pixie Dream Girl to it, but not so much so that I couldn’t stand to read it. Plus, Velveeta actually had a story and life for herself, outside of Travis’s own story, so it never actually went into MPDG territory. Thankfully.
The rest of it, meanwhile, was lovely. The summary makes it sound like it’s funny and dramatic, but ignore that. It’s got some clever bits, yes, and there’s some drama laced throughout, but it’s nothing like what you’d expect from just reading the summary. There was just the right amount of drama to keep things interesting while never going over-the-top. The characters were completely realistic and their reactions to events/feelings/etc. completely plausible. The story was slightly sad, but sweet. And even though it deals with some tough subjects, including alcoholism, bullying, not being able to read, and death, it’s still very…understated.
Not that it’s emotionally stunted– on the contrary, actually!– but it’s definitely not the sort of Lifetime movie emotional roller-coaster.
I suppose that some people might be annoyed by a novel that whispers rather than shouts, but sometimes you need a bit of quiet. Not everything has to be explosive, because not everything in life is explosive. Unfortunately, the explosive books tend to get more exposure than the quiet ones, but that doesn’t mean the quiet ones aren’t worth reading! And this is a book that’s worth reading.
Rating
It’s a wonderful book with some great characters and lovely writing.
Buy
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Other reviews
Reading Teen: “[...] Bluefish was so beautifully written that there were parts that not only brought me to tears, but made me insanely happy.”
DogEar: “Characters are revealed slowly (but not too slowly) and subtly (the only way I like it!) until we are endeared to them, flaws and all. The ending is abrupt but I find I liked it.”
Bibliophilia: “It’s the kind of book that deserves to be checked out again and again from the library, beloved by generation after generation and remembered fondly in college and beyond. While older teens might not find enough grit to hold their attention, it’s my go-to recommendation for middle schoolers and new-to-high-schoolers this year.”
The book: I’m doing the 
Are we seriously still not done with this Silence thing? Seriously? Again I say: ugh.
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