Toothpick [Paperback]

Kenneth E. Ethridge (Author), Kenneth Ethridge (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1988

With the help of a terminally ill friend, eleventh-grade Jamie begins to question the values of some of his fellow students who seem to specialize in ridicule.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6 Up Jamie Almont, called Needle because of his long skinny legs, is an ordinary high-school nerd. He admires a beautiful girl in school but is too overwhelmed and insecure to get to know her. A new classmate, Janice Brooks, (Toothpick), who's skinnier than Jamie due to her cystic fibrosis, helps Jamie gain confidence, the beauty queen and a special relationship with a true friend. Janice's cystic fibrosis is described through basic, but not heavy, discussion. This gradual method of learning about a friend's disability or disease is typical of the way in which most people get to know a friend and the many special qualities of that person. Thus, this is a realistic approach to developing Janice's character as a sensitive, warm person with a life-threatening disease. The quick, chatty style of Jamie's narration will help young readers to identify easily with Jamie and his friends. Even slower readers will find this a rewarding book. Ruth Amernick, San Francisco Public Library
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Troll Communications Llc (August 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816713162
• ISBN-13: 978-0816713165
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,878,972 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Toothpick is a touching story of a girl and her new friend., October 22, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Toothpick (Paperback)

I'm sure that you have all read those books about the girl that meets the boy and they all live happily ever after. Well Toothpick is a step above the rest. For a long time Jamie has been called cruel names and has never had the courage to show his true, wonderful personality. When Toothpick, Janice, moves to his home town he is constantly being made fun of. When he finally gets to know Janice he finds the real him. Jamie becomes popular with the ladies and becomes someone who, most importantly that he likes. This book is very touching especially when he finds out the terrible news about Janice and her deadly disease, cystic fibrosis. This is a great book for everyone to read. I think that this is a book that will touch the lives of everyone, everywhere.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Author Who Touched Many in Word and Deed., November 7, 2005

By 

Andrea Ruggirello "housecatwisdom.blogspot.com" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Toothpick (Paperback)

I remember Mr. Ethridge better than any teacher I've ever had. He was my 10th grade Ancient History teacher in 1992. He taught at Hazel Park High School in Michigan, where his classes were a mix of the gifted kids that cared too much, the average kids who cared when they had to, and the damaged kids who didn't care at all. I was the perfect example of a wasted dreamer: Creative and clever, but too wrapt up in extracurricular conflict and introverted escapism to give a damn about school. I did only what was needed to accomplish the most with the least amount of effort, and often not even that.

Few teachers were as skilled as Mr. Ethridge at breaking through a wall of mistrust. There was something disarming about his mix of intellect, humour, and dorky optimism. He wasn't afraid to relate to kids on a kid's level, but he was savvy: he knew which kids were older than their years, and he never patronised them. Because of this, I didn't deliberately give him grief. I liked him as a teacher; I admired him as a man. He was dedicated and sincere, and in another place and time, he was a shelter from the storm.

Kenneth Ethridge had a streak of determination and could see the potential in everything and everyone. For example, he used old Three Stooges films as effective teaching tools. He saw possibilities and strove to help his students realise them. I have no idea why he cared so much, and I may never know. Regardless of why, Kenneth Ethridge took the time to teach me; he took the time to teach to a lot of us. His manner and skill were such that very few, if any, left his class without gaining something.

Mr. Ethridge sacrificed a lot to teach me, a half-mad kid of a junkie, that human beings are not required to become products of our environment. Anyone with freewill, a competent mind, and a fair amount of determination can break from the mould and carve a path worth walking. Unfortunately, I never thanked him properly. Instead I dropped out shortly after my mid-term finals. I came back for my end-term final, and made a pointless, though passing, effort. That was the last time I saw him; his disappointment often haunts me.

Recently I went back to my old school, hoping to express my gratitude. Sadly, Mr. Ethridge had passed away the year before. Another missed opportunity. I suspect my true motivation was selfish. What I really wanted was to erase that questioning look of disappointment - the one he gave me when I told him I was dropping out - from my conscience. Perhaps I wanted the opportunity to show myself and to allow him to look upon me as a success instead of another runaway, hiding from life in a marijuana haze. Whatever the case, it was too late.

If there is one human who had even a modicum of influence on the way I think, reason, and feel, it's Mr. Ethridge. He was one of two teachers, now (I assume) both deceased, who made me know, beyond a shadow of doubt, that they cared for me personally. Enough so that they willingly placed themselves in the path of my self-destruction, armed with little more than a glimmer of hope and a fistful of determination.