Posted on: Sunday, October 3, 2004
'Sarge' witty, gritty tale for teens
Advertiser Staff
"BUCKING THE SARGE" by Christopher Paul Curtis; Wendy Lamb Books, $15.95, ages 12 and up
Each year, Hawai'i middle and elementary school students vote for their favorite fiction book and present the author with the prized Nene Award. In 2003, Christopher Paul Curtis entertained Hawai'i audiences by sharing stories about his Nene Award winner, "Bud, Not Buddy." ("Bud, Not Buddy" also won the prestigious Newbery Award.)
The main character, 15-year-old Luther T. Farrell, is a good kid who hopes to win first place at his school's science fair for the third year in row. Luther plans to go to college so that he can fulfill his destiny of becoming America's best-known, best-loved and best-paid philosopher. However, Luther's mother, known as "the Sarge," believes her son's plans will only lead him down the "sucker path" in life.
Associated Press library photo Here's Luther, the narrator:
"Between school, homework, laundry, shopping, doing dishes, general watch duties, prepping and painting houses, hauling trash, running the clients to therapy, to classes, and to their doctors' appointments, getting them up, giving them their a.m. meds and shaving them in the morning and bathing them and giving them their p.m. meds and putting them to bed at night, it took every second of the next two weeks to knock out most of the research for my science fair project. All that was left to do now was write it and throw it all together. I could tell when that was finished the three-peat was most likely in the bag."
Trapped in what seems an impossible situation, Luther remains committed to doing something honorable with his life. Dripping with harsh, gritty, inner-city atmosphere, Curtis infuses his trademark wit and honesty with painful realism in this gripping story about family, work, school and ethics. Teen readers will find the novel's clever resolution
exceptionally gratifying.
"Bucking the Sarge" is Curtis' third book, his first since visiting the islands. This latest book is a departure from Curtis' earlier work in two ways. "The Watson's Go to Birmingham — 1963" and "Bud, Not Buddy" were both works of historical fiction, set in Curtis' home town of Flint, Mich. "Bucking the Sarge" is also set in Flint, but this is a modern-day tale, and it is geared to an older audience than either "The Watsons" or "Bud."
Christopher Paul Curtis'
The Sarge, who "owns half the ghetto," is a loan shark, a schemer and scammer who has built her financial fortune operating slum housing and shady group homes. When he was 13, Sarge arranged for Luther's fake driver's license, put him in charge of driving a bus, and appointed her son sole caretaker of four elderly gentlemen who comprise the Happy Neighbor Group Home for Men. Luther is also responsible for preparing the homes of evicted tenants for their next hopeless victims. In return for his work, Sarge offers to deposit Luther's earned wages into a college fund. But Sarge really wants Luther to inherit her evil empire.
Christopher Paul Curtis' third book is about a teen committed to taking the honorable path.
