Carlos is gonna Get It

1)This book brilliantly captures the trials of being stuck in junior high. 2)It tackles the internal drama of what you believe is right vs what you think you need to do to fit in. 3)Tricia and her internal conflict as she wanders the grounds between friendship, peer-pressure and "understanding" the weird guy 4)Aliens! 5)Messes in the science room 6)Bathtubs! 7)Overnight Field trip

Trina is a smart, savvy 6th-grader who lives in Dorchester, Massachusetts. She has a few close friends who band together and who have found a regular after school meeting place in some abandoned bathtubs behind an equally abandoned warehouse. It is in these tubs where Trina and her friends brainstorm to solve what they view as the Carlos problems. Carlos, an extremely small classmate who suffers from mental illness. He believes aliens are talking to him and he is often found scratching himself. (It has been reported that people with more severe forms of schizophrenia experience a "crawling" sensation on their skin). His verbalizations are bizarre and his ideations do not fit reality. Trina and the other kids feel Carlos is looking for attention in addition to being just plain strange. Carlos leaves class to see the school psychologist. Trina's conscience or "guilt demon" as she calls it, urges her to be more tolerant of her very strange classmate. In fact, her guilt demon kicks her into high gear when her friends talk about finding a way to "get" Carlos. Matters reach a head when Trina is paired with Carlos as science partners. Trina, too embarrassed to invite Carlos to her home, insists on going to his home. She also tries to be as inconspicuous as possible as she is embarrassed to be seen with Carlos. Carlos' house is as disorganized as his thinking. Pans of partially cooked food sit untouched on counters; laundry, clean and dirty alike is allowed to pile up on the floor or on the furniture in Carlos' room. His preschool sister, Kasey appears to have serious problems as well. Kasey is nonverbal and chews the heads off of her dolls. Carlos collects the heads and puts them in his aquarium, where he insists they are aliens and that aliens communicate through him. After a botched presentation and more bizarre behavior from Carlos, Trina ignores her "guilt demon" and joins forces with her classmates in finding a way to get their strange classmate. It is on a class trip to New Hampshire that Trina has to make what she finds are some major decisions and in so doing learns a lot about herself as well as her classmates, including Carlos. A brilliant work about a psychotic boy and a school that has done well by including him. The characters are richly drawn and realistic; the writing is sharp and cutting edge. The extreme lessons Carlos' classmates learn regarding actions and consequences will stay with readers for a lifetime. This is a good companion book to Inside Out

Have you ever had that voice in the back of your head telling you not to do something...that it wasn't a good idea and only trouble could come of following through with the act? Well, Trina has that voice -- or guilt demon. Carlos is a small and annoying boy in class who always acts out to get attention but never gets in trouble. One day, Trina's friends decide that they're going to pull the ultimate prank on Carlos on an upcoming overnight trip. Trina goes along for the ride, but she quickly discovers that the guilt demon and her budding friendship with Carlos could get in the way of the prank. This entertaining yet serious book follows a young girl as she battles internally between right and wrong. Trina must decide whether to go through with the prank -- to succumb to her friends and peer pressure -- or to back down and help Carlos, a boy who is desperately in need of a friend. Emerson writes an interesting story that gets readers to feel for this alienated boy (Carlos) and the troubled protagonist and narrator (Trina). He shows the reality of cause and effect -- of the consequences of one's actions. He also shows through this moving story that missed chances are a person's greatest regret. Reviewed by: Steph