First Boy

Hearing simply the title and author of this book, readers would expect the story to be set in Washington D.C. among diplomats of sundry sort, laced with an adventure or two, as well as various forms of mischief, however, Gary Schmidt's adolescent novel First Boy, presents a rural teenage boy, Cooper Jewett, who grew up with his grandparents on a New Hampshire dairy farm, although the adventures and mischief are not lacking. Readers from all types of living will be struck by the contrast between the warm authenticity of the rural New Hampshire setting and the stark political scene evolving throughout the novel. This contrast drives the novel forward, propelling readers toward the surprising conclusion, entertaining readers all the while. Cooper Jewett lives with his grandfather on a dairy farm, enjoying the camaraderie he shares with his grandfather, especially over the political scenes on the evening news, until one morning, he awakens to discover his grandfather has died during the night. Cooper is determined to keep his grandfather's dairy farm running, despite all odds: break-ins, a fire, and local police threatening to send him into foster care. And on top of all his responsibilities at home and school, Cooper is sought out by the President of the United States and a senator running against the President in the next election, who, in a desperate attempt to beat the steal election votes from the President, is seeking "dirty laundry" from the President's past. Cooper refuses to help the senator's campaign because his grandfather thought that the senator was not trustworthy, so out of desperation, they capture him and try to use him as a visual in a speech, but Cooper, through various forms of trickery, escapes his captors several times, with the assistance of a few kindhearted neighbors. It is then that Cooper discovers the shocking truth about his parents, grandparents, and his own identity. Firstly, the character of Cooper is that of the average, small town, fourteen-year-old boy, though with the determination of someone three times his age. Through various events that would drive any normal person into hiding, Cooper's unwavering will shines brightly, as he stands firm on his promise to remain on the farm, and steadfast to his grandfather's morals and beliefs about politics and humankind. Cooper's resolve is admirable, enviable even. In contrast, Senator Wickham represents all that is evil and detritus to family values. By trying to use a small boy for political gain, he creates an image for himself that not many people would want to claim. The sly, underhanded tricks he uses in order to manipulate Cooper fall flat in the face of Cooper's determination, and he only succeeds in making himself look like a worse candidate for the presidency. Through the contrast between Cooper's innate goodness and Senator Wickham's inherent evil, readers a shown a clear image of what is to be valued: family and devotion. In this story, through the freque

First Boy by Gary Schmidt was a good book. It is exciting and I would recommend it to many teenagers. However, the only setback would be that the story has been told to many times. If you like the classic story of a boy who finds out he is famous, almost like in Harry Potter, then this book is for you. Although it is a common storyline, Schmidt can still make it interesting, and tells the story very well. He adds excitement and uses many aspects, such as the fact that the boy does not want to be famous, to make it more original. The book is fun because Cooper, the main character grew up as a farm child, and before his adventure had never left his home state of New Hampshire. Cooper just wants to be left alone on his farm but with the huge scandal around him it is very hard. It is fun to see the worlds of big-city politics and rural farms collide. Even though the predictable storyline, the book is fun and exciting.

"But it's hard to stay angry while leaning against the flank of a cow. Cooper liked milking. He liked the work of the hoses and the swish of the thick blue-white milk coming through them. Most especially, he liked tending Moon and Star, who didn't care to be milked by machine, thank you." I'm old enough to remember flying kites over expansive cow pastures on Manetto Hill Road, in Plainview, Long Island. But that, and the glass bottles of milk that were delivered to the front stoop by the milk man, were pretty much as close to cows as I came while growing up in the suburbs. I remember listening to my sister Elaine once, after she'd read and re-read MISTY OF CHINCOTEAGUE. She must have been ten at the time, hanging out on a Saturday afternoon in Peggy Dean's backyard, solemnly listing for Peggy all the animals she was going to have on the farm she'd acquire when she was grown up. I recall quite vividly overhearing that conversation, as the idea of living on a farm seemed so exotic to me at the time. It's fascinating to recall that afternoon now, having spent the latter half of my life (so far), living with a herd of dairy goats, fenced pastures, and the relatively open and rolling expanses that are so different from the confines of the fifty-by-hundred lot in Plainview and the fenced quarter-acre in Commack on which I grew up. "Through Geometry he thought about filling the grain bins from the sacks he had carried in that morning. And after he got home from freshman cross, there would be the Orchard to mow. And there was still some splitting for this winter's woodpile--he was behind on that--and more hay to haul to the barn loft. And that top porch step to fix. "He thought about the chores through every class and wondered how much he was missing what his grandfather used to do without saying anything about it. It worried him through World Cultures, where he found it hard to care much about Ancient Egyptian Trade Routes. And it worried him through English, where he couldn't muster up much concern for whether Beatrice served God, loved Benedick, and mended or not. But the ending of the play, when the prince was left all alone--that had something to it. He knew what that was about." Fifteen year-old Cooper Jewett is feeling very alone after his grandfather dies. It has just been the two of them living on the New Lincoln, New Hampshire dairy farm for those years after his grandmother had passed away; so different from his buddy Peter Hurd, whose family was so large "they could almost field both sides of a baseball game." He loves the farm with all his heart, and is determined to stay on it, but after the first few days alone he seems about ready to drown in a bottomless pit of daily work, despite the assistance of the neighbors: Mrs. Perley, from up the hill, and a fellow farmer, Mr. Searle. "As for homework: If Mrs. Perley hadn't brought his backpack in from the front porch, he would have forgotten he'd left it there. Not that it would have