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Addie on the Inside
Addie on the Inside
Addie on the Inside
Ebook227 pages1 hour

Addie on the Inside

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

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About this ebook

In this “artfully crafted” (Publishers Weekly) companion to the bestselling The Misfits and Totally Joe, Addie Carle confronts labels, loss, and what it means to grow up.

The Gang of Five is back in this third story from Paintbrush Falls. Addie Carle, the only girl in the group of friends is outspoken, opinionated, and sometimes…just a bit obnoxious.

But as seventh grade progresses, Addie’s not so sure anymore about who she is. It seems her tough exterior is just a little too tough and that doesn’t help her deal with the turmoil she feels on the inside as she faces the pains of growing up.

Told in elegant, accessible verse, ADDIE ON THE INSIDE gives readers a look at a strong, smart, and sensitive girl struggling with the box society wants to put her in. Addie confronts experiences many readers will relate to: the loss of a beloved pet, first heartbreak, teasing…but also, friendship, love, and a growing confidence in one’s self.

You Are Who They Say You Are

They say in the seventh grade
you are who they say you are,
but how can that be true?

How can I be a /Godzilla-girl /lezzie loser /know-it-all/
big-mouth /beanpole /string bean/ freaky tall/
fall-down /spaz attack /brainiac /maniac/
hopeless nerd /*bad word*/brown-nosing /teacher’s pet/
showing off /just to get
attention –
oh,
and did I mention:
flat-chested…

How can I be all that?
It’s too many things to be.
How can I be all that and
still be true to the real me
while everyone is saying:

This
is
who
you
are.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateNov 1, 2011
ISBN9781442423817
Addie on the Inside
Author

James Howe

James Howe is the author of more than ninety books for young readers. Bunnicula, coauthored by his late wife Deborah and published in 1979, is considered a modern classic of children’s literature. The author has written six highly popular sequels, along with the spinoff series Tales from the House of Bunnicula and Bunnicula and Friends. Among his other books are picture books such as Horace and Morris but Mostly Dolores and beginning reader series that include the Pinky and Rex and Houndsley and Catina books. He has also written for older readers. The Misfits, published in 2001, inspired the nationwide antibullying initiative No Name-Calling Week, as well as three sequels, Totally Joe, Addie on the Inside, and Also Known as Elvis. A common theme in James Howe’s books from preschool through teens is the acceptance of difference and being true to oneself. Visit him online at JamesHowe.com.

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Reviews for Addie on the Inside

Rating: 3.611111066666666 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

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  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    Teen/middlegrade fiction; anti-bullying written in poetry. Much of this wasn't really poetry, just short, broken up sentences to keep the number of words per page down to what we deem a "digestible" amount for reluctant readers. I'm not a huge fan of the style (bad poetry? Oh NOetry!), and would prefer to just have larger print/wider spacing/smaller pages like other authors have done. I haven't read The Misfits or James Howe's (of Bunnicula fame) other book about gay Joe, so I can't comment on how well this serves as a companion to those, but on it's own I was not overly impressed. Addie is a strong character and I like how she stands up to bullying and gay-intolerance--we definitely need more characters like her in children's/YA lit, but I felt the whole novel-in-verse thing was not an effective vehicle for her story. Also, the cover's awful.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Misfits, to which this book is a companion, is one of my favorite books--the kind of book I desperately wish had existed when I was twelve, because I would have related to all of the main characters for different reasons. Addie on the Inside, while not evoking the same kind of enthusiasm when I read it, would probably have appealed to the twelve year old me just as much, but in a slightly different way. The whole book is poetry--it tells the story of Addie, the lone female character, as a series of poems that she writes after the events of The Misfits has died down. It's quite heady and very serious in only the way nerdy, opinionated, angsty twelve year old girls can be. The voice is perfect, and Howe manages to cover quite a lot of hot middle school topics without beating them to death.

    Overall, sweet and serious and worth a read. In order to appreciate it fully, you would probably have to read The Misfits first, though. It could stand on its own, but just barely.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Conpanion to Totally Joe and The Misfits, this time the book focuses on Addie and the trials and tirbulations of being 13.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I didn't read The Misfits. I'm certain it was wonderful. I do know that James Howe has an uncanny connection to the 7th grade girl. The girl who is uncertain and trying to fit in while doing what she knows is right and feeling misunderstood and grieving the end of her childhood yet yearning to be an adult... Obviously, I might still have some unfinished business from my own adolescence.There are simply too many gems to address so I will touch on only a few.I loved the prose. Written in poetry form, the feelings and experiences are concise and artistically painted. I felt Addie's angst and it was well placed.Addie's connection to her grandmother was simply beautiful. In her social travels, she found she was most at home with the eccentric old lady that truly understood her and cheered her on. I've found that I value my children's relationships with their grandparents more than ever. It grounds them.Kennedy and Johnson, Addie's cats - seem to have a radar that hones in when a 13 year old girl needs a good cry. That happens to be the moment when one or the other settle upon Addie's lap and calm her nerves with the rhythmic purr and kneading. Okay, I added the kneading. Some things I still understand even though this was true for me when I was 13 and still is now that I'm significantly older than 13.The complete and utter devastation of feeling like a social pariah. The laughs, the name calling, the shunning.Addie is a calm girl. She takes the end of her romantic relationship with DuShawn with poise.Until she gets home and throws herself on her bed and cries and cries.In order to properly address heartbreak and a 13 year old girl, the author should have dedicated 245 more poems to this angst. However, taking literary license to sum it up in just a few pages saves the reader from becoming bored.Loved it.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Told through poetry, Addie on the Inside is all about Addie Carle, a young woman on a mission to make the world a better place. She's having to deal with a lot of stuff- lack of development physically, overabundant development mentally, first boyfriend, fitting in socially, and so many other things. By the end of the book, some things have drastically changed for Addie. However, nothing will ever change her sense of justice and desire to do some good for the world.I love that authors are experimenting for young adults and writing in verse. It's a great way to show that self expression can be done in many different ways. That being said, I'm not sure this book was entirely successful. It was a bit difficult to get into the story. Of course, I have not read any of the other books with these characters that preceeded this one, so that may have been part of the problem. Sometimes I felt like Addie didn't read like a girl to me, and to be honest there were times I didnt' really like her at all. I understand her need to champion the causes she believed it, but at times she came across as rather pretentious. Addie did seem to soften up some as the book went on, so I began to like her much better towards the end. I guess there were just too many hard edges on her at the beginning of the book. I think is a good book for teens who are activists looking for a kindred spirit. They will certainly find much to admire and possibly emulate. I appreciate the author's experimentation using verse to help get to know Addie better, and as things changed for Addie she because a character I had much more sympathy for her. There are probably a lot of people who will feel really moved by Addie's story, I just wasn't one of them.Galley provided by publisher for review.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I loved the way this was written in chunks in verse. This is one of those books every teacher needs to have on their shelves. The book is a great look at middle school life and how students bully each other without thinking they are bullying. It is a great look at how words hurt and how one student, Addie, copes with it. I loved Addie’s character. She starts off sounding as if she has a shell built around her and doesn’t care what others think about her. Slowly the layers are peeled away so that we can see her true heart. This should be mandatory reading for all students.

Book preview

Addie on the Inside - James Howe

Cover: Addie on the Inside, by James Howe

James Howe

Bestselling Author

Addie on the Inside

A Companion to The Misfits

Addie on the Inside, by James Howe, Atheneum Books for Young Readers

To Zoey

Prologue

Who Do You See?

The poems that follow

are written in the voice of

Addie on the inside.

But this poem is written

from me to you,

writer to reader.

I want to ask you:

Who do you see

when you think of me?

Am I young or old,

wise or a fool,

teacher or friend?

Who do you see

when you think of you?

Are you an outsider,

cool, distant, angry,

swimming against the current,

or are you in the flow?

When they tell you,

This is who you are,

do you say yes or no?

Who do you see

when you look at them?

You know the ones I mean:

the others, the olders,

the youngers, the ones

who are not you, not

like you or your friends,

who wear the labels

you give them until

they give them back,

saying, I believe these

belong to you.

Who do you see when a girl

like Addie walks down the hall,

sharp-eyed, tall,

when a girl like Addie

raises her hand in class

for the hundredth time

offering opinion as fact

and outrage as opinion,

wearing her attitudes

more comfortably than her

less than awesome clothes?

Who do you see

when you look beyond

the skin and the surface,

when you drift to sleep,

when you are the person

no one else knows? Who

are you on the inside?

Don’t answer these questions.

Not yet. First, open your eyes,

your mind, your heart.

See.

—James Howe

This Purgatory of the Middle School Years

You Are Who They Say You Are

They say in the seventh grade

you are who they say you are,

but how can that be true?

How can I be a

Godzilla-girl

lezzie loser

know-it-all

big mouth

beanpole

string bean

freaky tall

fall-down

spaz attack

brainiac

maniac

hopeless nerd

*bad word*

brown-nosing

teacher’s pet

showing off

just to get

attention—

oh,

and did I

mention:

flat-chested

(that’s true)

badly dressed

(says you)

social climber

(such a lie)

rabble-rouser

(well, I try)

tree-hugging

tofu-eating

button-wearing

sign-waving

slogan-shouting

protest-marching

troublemaking

hippie-dippy

throwback

to another

time and place?

How can I be all that?

It’s too many things to be.

How can I be all that and

still be true to the real me

while everyone is saying:

This

is

who

you

are.

Every morning I wake up worrying

and not about crushes

or acne or whether

I should stuff my bra

so people will know

I’m wearing one.

I worry about

global warming and

polar bears dying and

war and

more and

more and

more.

I worry about

injustice and

how to make the world

a better place,

because I contend

that if you are not part

of the solution,

you are part

of the problem.

I worry about

the rights of minorities

and I worry about

all the people

who love people

that the people who hate them

don’t want them to love.

I worry about

my parents and

I worry about

my friends and

I worry about

people I don’t even know

who have lost their homes

and their jobs and have

nowhere to go and

I worry about

what happens to

all of their pets and

I worry about

the economy and

the national debt.

I worry about

the animals that are

going extinct

and the animals that are

abused just so we can have

a new scent of perfume

or a new kind of shoes.

I worry how in the world

the world will ever be okay. Then

I turn off my alarm

and get on with the day.

Rush Hour

Morning. Toast. Butter. Jam.

Eggs? No thanks. I am

gathering up my homework,

they are blowing on their tea.

Grandma’s coming for a visit.

That’s nice, I say. Is it

for a weekend or a week?

Backpack. Keys. Other shoe.

A week or maybe more. Dad

shakes his head at bad

news in the paper. Cereal?

Only if there’s Special K.

Why did I wear black pants?

Mom asks after a chance

encounter between both her legs

and both the cats.

Look at the time. Dishes. Sink.

Feed the cats. Quickly drink

the last of the orange juice.

Grab a sweater.

Joe’s at the door. Let’s go,

he calls out, and I know

I’m forgetting something.

Where’s my kiss? calls Dad.

Peck on the cheek. Money

for lunch. Mom says, Honey,

remember what we talked about.

I’ve no idea what she means.

I will, I say, and I’m out the door,

the cats pushing ahead, off to explore.

Joe says something that

makes me laugh.

Sidewalks. Curbs. Friends wave

at us from the next street. They’ve

got backpacks. Toast. Butter. Jam.

Who knows why I’m happy.

I just am.

Becca Has Something to Say

My best friends are

Joe

and

Bobby

and

Skeezie,

and even though I have other friends,

these three are my best, oldest, truest,

and forever ones.

This morning, between English and art,

in the three minutes when the hall

is like a race being run by animals

sprung from their cages, when it’s all

you can do to get to your locker

and get to your class,

Becca Wrightsman takes the time

to point out that my best friends are

all boys. Really, Addie, she says,

"that’s so gay." She smiles

as if she were my best and oldest

and truest and forever friend

before shouting, Tonni, wait up!

I stand there as she and Tonni

knock their heads together, laughing,

stand there as the other kids stampede by,

roar past, as bells ring and doors slam shut

up and down the hall,

stand there until I am the only one,

saying to no one at all:

It is not.

That’s so gay

is an expression I hate.

Do you mind if I change it

to that’s so straight?

The Good Samaritan

Becca Wrightsman says to me—

out of nowhere at all—says to me,

I can fix your look. This

is in the hall just before French.

Excuse me?

Really, Addie. Twirling her

hair. "You need a makeover.

For starters you should wear a

bra." Dropping her voice,

raising her eyebrows. "Even if,

you know, there’s nothing

there."

Excuse me?

"And you could use some

blush and then there’s your

hair, that’s going to be a

challenge. But you know me,

I love a challenge. Oops,

there’s the bell. Gotta run.

TTFN."

Excuse me:

I do not know you

and I am wearing a bra

and nobody says TTFN

and now

I am late

for French.

Who is Becca Wrightsman

with her skintight jeans

and her pouty-pouty lips

and the way she moves her hips

that made Jimmy Lemon

collide with Jason Kline so

they both dropped their backpacks

at the very same time?

(I am so not kidding.)

With her perfect little purse

and her perfect phony tan

and the way she waves her hands

as if her nails are drying

and bats her doe-y eyes like

she’s on the verge of crying.

(Give me a break.)

With her text message life

and her gossip girl demeanor

and the way there is nothing

she allows to come between her

and anything she wants.

With her taunts and her sneers

and all the little cruelties

she sprinkles through the day.

Where is she

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