Small Steps

Small Steps


Louis Sachar


Summary:

Armpit has just been released from Camp Green Lake and is now trying to rebuild his life. It will not be easy, but be is dedicated to trying his best.

Three years after Armpit's release everything is going well but as soon as X-Ray, Armpit's friend from Camp Green Lake, is released from the camp Armpit begins to worry. X-Ray engages Armpit in everything that he does. Armpit is worried at first but then is convinced that it is fine as long as he isn't influenced in the wrong way or gets into trouble alongside his on and off friend.
But before Armpit knows it, X-Ray is pushing him to buy and resell tickets to a Kaira DeLeon concert. X-Ray claims that they will earn a lot of money and nobody will even notice. Armpit on the other hand does not feel as comfortable as X-Ray to resell the tickets.

After Armpit naively lends X-Ray seven hundred dollars to buy a bunch of tickets, he knows that he is playing with fire...

Armpit wants to believe the best in X-Ray, but when X-Ray lies to him, makes two copies of one ticket, and cannot repay Armpit the money, Armpit doesn't know if he wants to continue helping X-Ray.

Armpit needs to figure out who his is, what he is capable of doing and if he prepared to deal with the law-breaking activity if scalping tickets.

A lesson of trust, forgiveness and courage is about to be learnt...

Review:

Small Steps is the follow-up book to Holes, which was a great book, but probably not as good as Small Steps. First of all, in Small Steps there are not as many characters that we have to focus on. We just have Armpit, X-Ray and Kaira. I think that this makes the reader more focused on the actual plot and makes the story more enjoyable. This book is the most cliff-hanging book that I have ever read, it has such a great plot that it impossible to put down!

I remember that I got this book at around 4 pm in the afternoon and I finished it abut 6 hours later! I unfortunately had to take a snack break, dinner break, walk break and shower break between those six hours! The point is though, that I could NOT put the book down, after Armpit agrees to help X-Ray sell the tickets the story gets so exciting, daring and, lets just say, ADDICTIVE!

All of the characters in Small Steps are very well portrayed. I can picture all of the characters in my head and feel as if I know them personally. Kaira is a very interesting character. She seems very happy on the outside, but she is actually very different inside. I like the fact that we get to learn about both sides of her. It was interesting to see how she is behind closed doors, she was pushed around and was unaware of what was actually going on, but onstage she looks glamourous and sings and dances like she is just having fun. She is one of those characters that remind you that you, and everyone else, is very different on the outside and inside.

I think that this book would be very good for teens that are trying to figure out who they really are.

The author, Louis Sachar, does an amazing job at showing how important friendship and trust are. He also explains to the reader how racism is wrong. Armpit is colored and he is made fun of, ignored and teased in the book, but Sachar shows us through Armpit's courage that we are all equal and the same.

Recommended for any tween 13+

257 pages