Stand Tall-Thomas Dean

Stand Tall Thomas Dean English, Period 6 Mrs. Huff November 16, 2008 Book review of Stand Tall Hello. I am Thomas Dean from Mrs. Huff's class. I read Stand Tall by Joan Bauer. I picked this book because I read the back of the book and I discovered that this book is about a person who doesn't fit in. I think this book goes well with me because Tree, the main character, feels left out and has almost no friends. I feel the same way sometimes when no one wants to be in my group or no one talks to me. I think the best way to pick a book is to read the back or the first chapter to a get a little taste of the book. Stand Tall by Joan Bauer is a very interesting and exciting book. Tree is a boy who's left out and only friendships are half ear squirrel named Nuts, an eighth grade misfit named Sophie and Tree's amazing old dog Bradley. Tree's Grandpa, a Vietnam Veteran, recently had half of his leg amputated and is preparing for a prosthetic leg. Tree has an unusually tender and close relationship with his Grandpa. Tree's parents are divorced and his brothers are far away at distant universities. Tree is a member of the Pit Bulls, the basketball team. His coach is tough and they were especially unlucky when they lost by a land slide. Everyone expects Tree to be a good basketball player because of his tremendous height, but he is the worst player on the team, that just contributes to his feeling different and not fitting in. Soon Tree will realize how important he is to the society and how he will never be forgotten. If I were to pick a quote from this book and describe what it means, I would pick this one on page 118, "No. She's telling the truth about what you did. Now everybody knows. I want to know why you did it." This quote by Tree signifies a very important event in the story. Tree defends one of his only friends and risks punishments at a large rate. Tree stands up for Sophie who was the only one nice to him after the popular girls trashed Sophie's locker. I think this crucial event and the one following sets the book's mood and allows Tree to be Sophie's hero and shows him that he is not alone in his loneliness. The ending would have been disturbing if this had been left out. I rate Stand Tall two out of five trees. I used White Oak trees as a rating system because Tree believes he has a special attachment to that kind of tree especially the one in the park. I rated Stand Tall 2/5 because I did not enjoy it as much as some other novels. Stand Tall was too boring at the beginning and lacked any excitement. Even though I liked this book, and the characters were vivid and full of truth and reality I still prefer action and adventure. This is for the reader who enjoys a story about the underdog and how he stands tall to the world and conquers all of his inner demons as well as those that are surrounding him. I just need maybe some real demon chasing to keep me engaged. This book is for any reader that feels left out in the world and wants to see if he/she is alone in the world or just looking to see all perspectives of middle school life. If you are uncomfortable with intense situations that seem more like reality than fiction I do not recommend this book to you. Before and after you read these book remember to read the prologue and the epilogue. Thank you for reading my book review on Stand Tall. I hope you read the book! Other books by this author are Hope was Here, Sticks, Rules of the Road, Backwater and Thwonk.