Mousetraps

If you have kids age around 13, this is a great alternative away from video games and tv.

Pat's a cousin of mine and when I was at my grandparents house for the holidays I saw the book lying on the table. I picked it up because I had finished the other book I brought with me. I couldn't put it down because I thought it was so great. I felt that as I read the book I could see it happening. I felt that the characters seemed real, unlike in some other books. The topics that "Mousetraps" covers are great. Bullying and homosexuality are two topics that can be very hard to write about. Pat does a great job. I highly recommend this book; especially for junior high and high school students.

I loved this book. A friend gave it to me without telling me what it was about. If I'd known it was about bullying, I might have passed, thinking it would be heavy and dark. But it WASN'T! Schmatz does an amazing job of creating such smart, enjoyable characters that you don't even realize you're reading a novel about bullying---you're reading about Maxie and Rick and Sean and Tay, and getting totally absorbed in their lives. And the pencil drawings (Maxie's an artist) add even more layers of humor and depth to the story. This should be in every high school library---it's entertaining, and really captures what it feels like to be a teenager struggling to figure out relationships. Schmatz resisted what must have been a strong urge to teach a 'lesson,' and instead told a riveting story about real people trying to deal with something that happens in schools every day.