Tangerine
Author: Edward Bloor
Page Length: 312
Reading Level: 7
Genre: Fiction
PLOT SUMMARY: Paul Fisher and his family have just moved from Houston to Florida where his dad will work for the city and work intently on helping Eric obtain a football scholarship at one of Florida’s Division 1 universities. Eric is Paul’s older brother, a place kicker and bully to Paul and his friends. Paul’s mother is a concerned parent who shuttles Paul to his activities.
Paul is 13, legally blind, and wears bottle-thick glasses to enable him to see. His family told him his eyes were injured because he stared at the solar eclipse for an hour and a half the summer he turned 5. Paul does not remember this event, but knows by looking at family pictures, that he did not wear glasses prior to that summer.
Paul played soccer at his old school and looks forward to trying out for the team at his new school. However, on page 27, the school asks for an IEP because of his visual impairment. After practicing with the team, Paul is sure that he will make starting goalkeeper, but when his coach learns that he has an IEP, he informs Paul that he cannot play on the team, because of school insurance issues. Although this is quite upsetting and unfair, after talking with the coach, Paul’s dad accepts the fact that Paul can only be the team manager.
Through a series of events, Paul transfers to the nearby school in Tangerine, where he is allowed to play soccer because his mother did not report to the school that he had an IEP. Paul makes friends quickly with the Latino, lower socio-economic soccer players. The team is co-ed and although Paul isn’t a starter, he gets to play in most games. On page 170, Paul describes how wonderful the feeling is to be a member of the team.
While Paul’s life at Tangerine is going good, life in Lake Windsor (the community Paul lives in) is not so good. The school has fallen into a sinkhole, termites are invading houses, a boy is struck by lightening, and homes are being robbed. The football team is winning, but Eric is not getting all the recognition he wants.
REVIEW: The plot is clearly about Paul and his family but Bloor does a great job of including several subplots that keep the reader intrigued. The book covers not only family and peer relationships but community and civic affairs also.
Throughout the book, Paul has reminders of events that may have been related to his visual loss. Through his accomplishments at his new school, Paul gains confidence and courage to make his family face up to the secrets they have kept from him.
I think all students would enjoy this book because of the various subplots and characters in the book. The book shows how a student with disabilities can excel and overcome obstacles.
I would consider using this as a class novel. It is well written and very enjoyable. There is a reader chat section at the end of the book.
AREAS FOR TEACHING: Summarization, Theme, Characters, Cause/Effect, Compare/Contrast, Conclusions, Generalizations, Predictions
TOUCHY AREAS-PAGES: The book contains violence, crime, and death but it is presented in good context.
RELATED BOOKS: Letters from the Inside, Blue Willow, The Moves Make the Man
RELATED WEBSITES:
www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/Tangerine.html
www.amazon.com/Tangerine-Edward-Bloor/dp/0152057803
REVIEWED BY: Shirley Wagner
The Book Reviews - Website 