Rhyme Schemer: (Poetic Novel, Middle Grade Novel in Verse, Anti-Bullying Book for Reluctant Readers)

by K.A. Holt

Overview

Kevin has a bad attitude. He has a real knack for rubbing people the wrong way. And he's even figured out a secret way to do it with poems. But what happens when the tables are turned and he is the one getting picked on? Using elements of subversive found poetry, Rhyme Schemer is an accessible novel in verse that is both touching and hilarious, and will inspire voracious and reluctant readers alike. It is a celebration of the power of words and their ability to transform lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452145709
Publisher:	Chronicle Books
Publication date:	10/06/2015
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	184
Sales rank:	135,069
Product dimensions:	5.75(w) x 8.12(h) x 0.37(d)
Lexile:	520L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

K.A. Holt is the author of Rhyme Schemer and House Arrest, along with several other books for young people. She lives with her family in Austin, Texas, and is active within the vibrant Texas writing community.

Editorial Reviews

10/13/2014
In this affecting verse novel, Holt (Brains for Lunch) traces 12-year-old Kevin evolution from bully to bullied while highlighting the solace he finds writing poetry. Kevin sees his peers as "easy prey" and feels all-powerful as "king of the seventh grade." At home, however, his distracted parents barely notice him, and his siblings either ignore or actively torment him. Kevin channels his feelings of inadequacy and aggression into his journal. Tension spikes when Kevin is suspended, and his main target, Robin, finds Kevin's journal; Robin uses Kevin's own words to terrorize and embarrass him, which turns school into a nightmare for him ("The days don't even separate anymore./ It is all just one long/ never/ end/ ing/ day"). An unlikely champion emerges in the memorable school librarian who sees Kevin's potential. Though some of the roots of Kevin's bullying come across as rather obvious and familiar, and the resolution too tidy, bullies, those bullied, and bystanders alike will be left with much to ponder. Ages 10–up. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary Agency. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"This transformative tale offers important lessons for all persuasions of middle graders, whether bullies or targets, complicit or horrified bystanders."—Kirkus Reviews

"A delightful story with just the right amount of boy language, wonderful free verse poetry, and underlying messages."—Library Media Connection, starred review

"A strong anti-bullying message. ideal for classroom use."-School Library Journal

"Bullies, those bullied, and bystanders alike will be left with much to ponder."—Publishers Weekly

"In the richly imaginative Rhyme Schemer (which I laughed through on a 90 minute plane ride) K.A. Holt's sparkling poetry is akin to Cliff Huxtable's loonylook—eccentric, entertaining, essential. From the first Flaming Turtle to the last Shrieking Tornado, all I could think was, just like Kevin (her 7th Grade poet narrator), verse novels will never be the same. . "—Kwame Alexander, author of The Crossover

"Poetry-writing seventh-grade bully both is believable and sympathetic, and his voice rings totally authentic."-Booklist

"The book closes with a smile and a very important middle school reminder: Be Kind. "—Reading Today

From the Publisher

09/01/2014
Gr 4–7—Bullied by his older brother at home, seventh-grader Kevin in turn bullies his classmates at school. He's even found a clever way to do his bullying: transforming pages torn from library books to create humorous but cruel found poems. When another student (a previous victim of Kevin's bullying) finds Kevin's journal and learns that he is the creator of the poems, the tables are turned. Kevin must find a way to make peace with his victim-turned-aggressor. He finds an unlikely ally in the school librarian when he is assigned a detention shelving books. This slim verse novel is a quick read with a strong anti-bullying message, though readers who struggle with similar issues may find the solution a bit pat. The setting, topic, and format make this book ideal for classroom use during a poetry unit.—Misti Tidman, Licking County Library, Newark, OH

School Library Journal

2014-08-06
A class bully with poetic leanings gets a painful dose of his own medicine. In this middle-grade novel in verse, Holt explores the cycle of violence and alienation that can result from parental neglect. Twelve-year-old Kevin is the self-professed "[k]ing of the seventh grade," the youngest of five boys and son to two preoccupied physicians. He starts off the school year by choosing class runt Robin and the mole on his new teacher's face as the unwitting subjects of his derision—anything to help shore up the self-worth his abusive older brother Petey has made it his mission to erode. With a motto of "So many / weenies. / So little / time," Kevin sets about publicly humiliating Robin and otherwise becoming a menace to the community. Though a tormentor at school, at home, bullied Kevin laments feeling "lost all the time / A toy in a shoe / A sock in the trash" and takes refuge by composing his thoughts in a notebook of poems. When Robin gets hold of the notebook and exposes Kevin as a poet, the tables turn, and both boys must reckon with the motives behind the pain they've inflicted. Holt draws a fairly straight line between cause and effect, weakening the artistry of her tale but making it one that most readers will readily understand. While Holt's simplistic plot resolves a bit too neatly, this transformative tale offers important lessons for all persuasions of middle graders, whether bullies or targets, complicit or horrified bystanders. (Verse fiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews