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Nancy Keane's | Booktalks -- Quick and Simple | |
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Berk,
Josh.
THE DARK DAYS OF HAMBURGER HALPIN New York : Knopf, 2010 IL YA ISBN 0375856994 |
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Will Halpin is the new kid at school. This is tough even under the best circumstances, but Will is different; he’s deaf, and his self-image isn’t the greatest. He’s a bit over-weight and compares his body to a “sedentary manatee.” Will left a school for the deaf, to attend public high school where he uses his exemplary lip-reading skills to learn and to spy. He likes “listening in” on conversations in the café and seeing what kids and teachers are saying to each other. This new high school experience has some perks, but it’s not easy. Eventually Will makes a good friend at Carbon High, fellow misfit and self-proclaimed geek, Devon Smiley. Devon and Will use their skills and powers of observation to investigate the death of a classmate who died while on a field trip to the Happy Memory Coal Mine. There’s a mystery for sure, but the best part of this book is the humor and the way Will, who’s new to the experience, describes high school. It’s also interesting since the story is set in eastern PA. You may recognize some of the places mentioned. ~Patty McClune (Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Awards, 2011-2012) |
| SUBJECTS:
Deaf -- Fiction.
People with disabilities -- Fiction. High schools -- Fiction. Schools -- Fiction. Bullies -- Fiction. Murder -- Fiction. Mystery and detective stories. |
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