Or Not

I wish I had read this book before my son entered 8th grade. I wish all 8th grade teachers, parents, and administrators would read this book now. Mr. Mandabach really captured the Middle School emotions and what some students really go thru. I keep looking for Cassie in the hallways in my school. 12/10/07 I re-read OR NOT this weekend and enjoyed it even more. Hope there are more books by Mr. Mandabach to come.

A great read! I bought this book for my teenage daughter and found that I too could not put it down. A truly great insight to what it must feel like to be amongst your peers in middle school but at the same time feel a misfit and outsider. I loved the fact that Cassie eventually found herself and her place among her own friends. My daughter enjoyed the strong character Cassie represents while at the same time totally connected with the storyline, according to her the writer really nailed it!

Simply brilliant! An epic novel, of a typical (or atypical) middle school student's plight through the drudgery that is adolescence. Cassie Sullivan is not your typical middle school student...or is she? Cassie, seemed to me (an eighth grade educator,) to be a unique character with a captivating story, however, after discussions with my students I was amazed at how many students felt connected to this character. Although the details of Cassie's story may be unique, the author has captivated the "essence of adolescence." This allows all of us, whether you're just entering this phase of life or pushing 60, to feel a real connection to this embattled teen.

Cassie is my hero. She is an intelligent non-conformist who is stuck in junior high. ...OR NOT? starts with the summer before Cassie goes into eighth grade. It is told through Cassie's journal. She lives with her mom and dad and has a brother in college. They live in Colorado and have a rustic cabin, which she loves, in the mountains. Her family walks to a different drummer, with her father being a lawyer and her mother a musician. They are a family who talks at the dinner table of politics and philosophy. They enjoy being together, especially at the cabin. That is where Cassie would like to be always. She loves the mountains and all of nature. She really is at home there. Cassie doesn't fit in at school, though. She is odd because she really doesn't care about the things that her classmates care about. Her style of dress is different and she shaves off her hair, but doesn't shave her legs. She has fits of depression and thoughts of suicide. During her eighth-grade year she finally finds a group of friends. But before that she must endure religious intolerance, paranoia, and horrible bullying. The school officials were ineffective, which made me sad but is also realistic because I teach school and it can be a minefield. Cassie discovers and learns to really love herself by the end of the novel and it is a truly wondrous ride. I recommend this book if you really don't fit, but even if you do you might learn something about how the other half feels. I laughed, cried, and couldn't wait to hear what would happen to Cassie. ...OR NOT? is also well-written. It's always nice when the story is great and the writing superb! Reviewed by: Marta Morrison

This book truly is amazing. An insight to the life of an eighth grade girl, it seemed so real that I found it diificult to believe the journal wasnt written by an eighth grade girl. Even if you don't agree with everything Cassie does or thinks, you should definitely read about her actions and cynical comments on the world.