Customer Reviews

The Weirdo

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

In my opinion the book, The Weirdo, wasn't very exciting due to the fact that it was very slow moving. The reason I quote this is because one thing would happen and then four chapters later something else would finally happen. For example, you would find out that Samantha Sanders, the main character would talk long walks, but you wouldn't find out until later why she took them. Finally, after about the tenth chapter things started to move a little quicker. The book in my opinion on a level of one to ten would receive a five. This book I would recomend to readers who like slow and boring books.

This book is an insult to teenagers everywhere. For one thing, the sentence structure is poor, using too many commas, just so the sentences can be stretched out, longer and longer, melting the brain of whoever reads them, to the point of sending the reader, screaming, yelling, from the room. For another thing, it doesn't draw to a satisfying close. I was waiting for Theodore Taylor to say WHY the guy kills Alvin, but he never does. The story is almost too predictable, making it blatantly obvious who is the murderer early on. Sam and Chip are the only characters who are even remotely interesting.

The Weirdo becomes confusing in the middle, when it jumps around with almost no indication of where it is.

Please, do not waste your time on this awful book.

I really liked this book. It started with the adventures right away. Also the author explained the book really well so you can understand it.

This book had a bit of violence and creepy parts. It also had a bit of bad language. I would not recommend this book as a bed-time story. I also think it would be a good idea to read this book with your parents if you are younger than ten.

A girl named Samantha Sanders was nine years old the day she found a local resident dead in a swamp near her house. Seven years later she was chasing her uncle's runaway dog miles into the swamp. She was out there in the swamp so long she had to stay the night in a stump for the night. In the middle of the night she thought she saw another dead body wrapped in a big cloth or blanket being carried by someone. It wasn't very clear because she was really tired and half-asleep. She was there until the next morning when she went to a neighbor's house in mid-morning. She met a young man named Chip who works with a friend at a bear refuge. This job is where they try to save bears, do studies, and tag and number the bears. Samantha and Chip become friends and become a couple. They try to find the swamp killer by using evidence, clues, and the cops to try and solve two murder mysteries.

I liked this book because it grabbed me and made me read more and more. It kept me interested most of the way through. The downside of this book was that it was boring in some parts. Some parts were hard to understand and slow. This book was creepy and I like those kinds of books. I got so creeped out that I had to stop reading.

I recommend this book to young adults because it's pretty easy to understand and it wasn't that big of a book. If you like mysteries this is the book for you! It's also kind of creepy so it's good for people who like creepy books.

The Weirdo
I read The Weirdo by Theodore Taylor. The book is about a nine-year-old girl named Samantha Sanders. One day she found a dead body of a man outside by her house. His name was Alvin Howell. Alvin had been found in a ditch of the swamp wearing a blue shirt that stuck out from everything else. The finding of this man would haunt her for the rest of her life.
Six years later she had decided to see Alvin's wife. She was an old lady a while away from the swamp. They talked about Alvin and the reaccuring dreams she had like he was trying to tell her something. He was. Alvin was trying to tell her who killed him. Everyone thought it was the weirdo who lived in the swamp. The weirdo had scars on his face because of a plane crash. Sam met the weirdo before by being saved by him from his roof after getting chased up by the dogs. I t was not him. They were both looking for the same killer and did not know it.
To find out who murdered Alvin and who killed another unfortunate soul you can read the book and find out for yourself. I would recommend this book to someone who likes mysteries starting at grade level 5.

The book was well writen, a little slow reading at first but over all pretty good. Even if i was not made to read it i problably would've read it anyways. But if you have a choice what to read, read a book that also has cliff notes too, it helps if you want to fully understand the book.

I have used The Weirdo with my eighth grade science students. I found it easy to incorporate environmental issues, ecology, math, language arts and local history/geography lessons using the book. In addition to the academic realm, the book teaches acceptable ways to deal with conflict, as well as how important it is to look past the physical or outward appearances of both people and the environment. It stresses the necessity of being open to educating ourselves on issues before forming opinions. I found the example of honesty in the story (Tom Telford's refusal to alter data to get a particular result) refreshing in light of some situations in our world today. With the trend in education moving more toward interdisciplinary units, I strongly recommend The Weirdo as a resource for the eighth grade classroom teacher.

Suitable reading for middle school students. Presents facts about wildlife and investigates the different relationships between teenagers and adults. It also presents the reader with a real world dilemma and challenges the reader to resolve the issue in question. A good read.

This was required summer reading for my sons upcoming seventh grade class. He was required to answer questions about the book so I decided to read it along with him so I could help him. I found this book very easy to read. It was based in North Carolina (my home) so it was fascinating to read about areas that I was familiar with. It has a great plot and excitement in every chapter. My son has really enjoyed it. When we discuss it, he can give me details about the story and says what he likes about it. That is always a good sign that he is enjoying it. I think that the issues raised in the book are appropriate for his age group as this is the time that "saving the environment" seems to really kick into high gear. I would recommend this as a good read for anyone 12 and older.

T. Taylor's, The Weirdo is a great novel that has everything from science to suspence. It is a great educational read for 8th & 9th graders. It is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat from page one. It's a great read for all ages!