<i>Angel in My Pocket</i> (review)
2011; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 64; Issue: 9 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/bcc.2011.0330
ISSN1558-6766
Autores Tópico(s)Themes in Literature Analysis
ResumoReviewed by: Angel in My Pocket Kate Quealy-Gainer, Assistant Editor Cooper, Ilene. Angel in My Pocket. Feiwel, 2011. 278p. ISBN 978-0-312-37014-5 $16.99 Ad Gr. 5–8. When seventh-grader Bette finds an old coin embossed with a praying angel, she [End Page 410] has no idea that her decision to keep it as a good-luck charm will indeed bring both her and several of her classmates, all struggling with problems, a change in fortune. Bette herself, still grief-stricken, after her mother’s death, refuses to sing in her school’s latest musical, much to the dismay of her musically inclined father. Her best friend, Vivian, has her own issues—she’s is terrified to return to school after her severe asthma forces her to take steroids, leaving her “fat and ugly and still sick.” Meanwhile, Vivian’s twin brother, Andy, constantly worries about his sister and endures daily shakedowns by the school bully. And Joe, the bully in question, has his own cross to bear: he and his single and lately sickly mother are struggling to make ends meet. As the coin finds its way around the circle of children, each kid meets a mysterious stranger who brings dramatic life change. Certainly, the lessons here are on the programmatic side, but Cooper effectively tempers a super-sweet message with a heavy dose of reality, as she realistically conveys which aspects of the kids’ lives can and cannot be changed by magical thinking. Joe, for example, still battles with his anger and resentment even after passing the coin on, while Bette’s relationship with her father seems to remain distant despite angelic intervention. Unfortunately, the prose is at times flat and stilted, particularly when conveying a character’s inner life: “It took a while for Joe to shake off the weird mix of mad and indifference that this stupid outline had brought up in him.” Regardless, many readers will recognize their own struggles to fit in, move on, or figure themselves out as they follow Bette and her friends through the daily routines of middle school. Copyright © 2011 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
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