Customer Reviews

Thin Air

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In this book, you see through the eyes of Jacob. This sixth grader who's trying his hardest to be just a normal kid, but his asthma keeps him from his goal for most of the time. His brother is really overprotective, he's basically afraid Jacob's going to die. When Jacob goes to a new school, he makes a great new friend, Cynthia, and goes through, some basically, discrimination. Discrimination against kids who are a little different. He escapes from school and makes friends with a newspaper standsman, Theodore. I won't ruin the end, but all I can say is that it is something everyone should read, and that it is not always the best thing to do to feel sorry for someone, or try to make it easier for them. I can really relate to this story because I have asthma too. It's a sad story, but has a happy ending.

This is a very well written, deeply imagined glimpse into the world of a young teen struggling with his health, his family, school, and urban life. This isn't a cuddly- cute kid story. It is fresh and full of surprises. The frustration, anxiety, and sensitivity expressed by Jacob could have easily been experienced by anyone who has ever felt her/himself to be the 'odd duck'. I think its perfect that Jacob is not always a wholly likable character, or that his mother can be so often quite 'out-to-lunch'. I found it to be daringly honest, irreverent, and full of room to think about the larger, very challenging issues of difference and acceptance. Thank you, Mr. Getz, for giving your readers the benefit of the doubt. Keep writing these!

This is a great book about Jacob, who has very bad asthma. It's about his struggle with his family, friends, and peers. He starts skipping school and activities because at these places people know he's different than them. He starts to make friends with people who don't know about his problem. He also makes friends with a man who has a disability too. This was a book that made me think about people with disabilities.