The Best Man
Newbery Medalist Richard Peck tells a story of small-town life, gay marriage, and everyday heroes in this novel for fans of Gary Schmidt and Jack Gantos.
Archer Magill has spent a lively five years of grade school with one eye out in search of grown-up role models. Three of the best are his grandpa, the great architect; his dad, the great vintage car customizer,; and his uncle Paul, who is just plain great. These are the three he wants to be. Along the way he finds a fourth—Mr. McLeod, a teacher. In fact, the first male teacher in the history of the school.
But now here comes middle school and puberty. Change. Archer wonders how much change has to happen before his voice does. He doesn't see too far ahead, so every day or so a startling revelation breaks over him. Then a really big one when he's the best man at the wedding of two of his role models. But that gets ahead of the story.
In pages that ripple with laughter, there's a teardrop here and there. And more than a few insights about the bewildering world of adults, made by a boy on his way to being the best man he can be.
Boston Globe Horn Honor Book
Amazon Editors’ Picks for Fall (Ages 9-12)
New York Times Notable Children's Book
Horn Book Fanfare
School Library Journal Best Books of 2016
Kirkus Best Books of 2016
Chicago Public Library Best Books of 2016
Archer Magill has spent a lively five years of grade school with one eye out in search of grown-up role models. Three of the best are his grandpa, the great architect; his dad, the great vintage car customizer,; and his uncle Paul, who is just plain great. These are the three he wants to be. Along the way he finds a fourth—Mr. McLeod, a teacher. In fact, the first male teacher in the history of the school.
But now here comes middle school and puberty. Change. Archer wonders how much change has to happen before his voice does. He doesn't see too far ahead, so every day or so a startling revelation breaks over him. Then a really big one when he's the best man at the wedding of two of his role models. But that gets ahead of the story.
In pages that ripple with laughter, there's a teardrop here and there. And more than a few insights about the bewildering world of adults, made by a boy on his way to being the best man he can be.
Boston Globe Horn Honor Book
Amazon Editors’ Picks for Fall (Ages 9-12)
New York Times Notable Children's Book
Horn Book Fanfare
School Library Journal Best Books of 2016
Kirkus Best Books of 2016
Chicago Public Library Best Books of 2016
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Community Reviews
Overall I really did enjoy this book, however there were some aspects of the text that kept me from loving it. One-the sentence structure. It was so jerky in some places! I found myself having to go back and re-read sentences too many times for a children's novel. Maybe this was just me being picky, but I just felt like there were too many tenses that were off and strange transitions. Two-I felt like kids wouldn't necessarily feel attached to the story. You're never quite "in the moment." Everything is being told from a point where our narrator has already experienced all that's happened, which isn't usually a problem in books, but that's because you usually forget that the narrator is telling the events from the future. In this book, you're reminded often...too often. Knowing how my students feel about books (and remembering what I really enjoyed about reading growing up), kids usually like to be sucked into a particular moment. Time jumps like the ones in this book can be confusing. I know that I had moments where I needed to slow down and go back to double check my understanding. Also, the kids in the book sound a bit more grown up then your typical 12/13 year olds. I feel like a lot of the references made were more enjoyable for me because I'm an adult. I did enjoy the way the author approached gay marriage and that for the characters it never seemed to be a big issue. There is a lot of understanding and acceptance in this book which leaves you with a tender feeling when you finish it. If you're looking for a book to read to your child that addresses bigger issues such as gay marriage then this might be a good pick for you. I'm still going to put this into my classroom library, but I don't know how many of my students will really gravitate to it.
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