Tangerine :: Education by Design Store

Customer Reviews

One of my favorites

2008-08-31
I read this book for the first time in 5th grade I think, and since then I've read it at least twice more. It's a great story about a boy who lives in Florida, with a brother who teases him and other cliche stuff that you wouldn't think makes a good book, but it does, because Bloor handles the subject wonderfully, intertwining all of the simple things that we all remember from our childhood into a great read that pulls you in and doesn't let go until you have finished it, swept up by the emotion that this man is able to leech out of you. Definitely recommended to children and adults alike, because it has themes that we all need to get in touch with.

Thought-provoking; but Parents B-ware

2008-07-13
My ten-year old son absolutely loved this book. It is full of teen angst, and sports-related action; however, the subject matter is very heavy and can be somewhat disturbing. The blurb on the back of the book gave me no indication that issues of violence and bullying in the book (and some uncomfortable language) were addressed within. The actual reading level is not difficult, but as thought-provoking as this book is, I recommend it for very mature kids or students in grades 7-12.

Excellent book - especially for middle school boys

2008-05-17
I'm a 46 year-old Mom and I bought this book because of the great reviews, but I didn't know which son to give it to. My 4th grader falls into the age-range mentioned here at amazon, but based on the plot synopses here I felt it was more a book my 7th grader would like.

So I read it myself first. I LOVED it. What a great, moving, inspiring, different book. As stay-with-you as Hoot, or Terabithia, or Stargirl, or... to date myself ... as The Outsiders.

It's well-written, it's gripping, it's multi-layered, and it manages to keep track of multiple story arcs within itself without dropping any or using any sort of deux ex machina to get out of any. It presents it's villains without caricature, and it's heroes without pandering. It surprises you at nearly every turn - but not in a forced we-need-a-plot-twist way.

I won't describe the plot as it as been so well-described here. I'll just reiterate that this is an amazing young adult novel that I thoroughly enjoyed for myself as well.

And I personally would not give this to my 4th grader. Not that the reading level is too difficult, but I think the content is too dark and the layers perhaps too subtle for a 10 year-old. I'm giving this book to my 7th grader tomorrow (I just finished it tonight!) and I know he'll devour it.

Tangerine

2008-02-05
What a page turner! This engaging book is about a boy who has just moved to a new area, Tangerine County, Florida, with his family. He is a young man who is constantly outdone by his older star-football-player brother and is stuggling to find his place in life, in Tangerine county, and in his family. This book captures you into his world, taking you through the ups and down of the self-awarness and moral issues of middle school. This young man must ultimitly chose to do the right thing or to do what is expected of him. It deals with a question that every young person is asked, "What do you want to be?"
Relativly short and an easier read than some, this book is a good read for most middle schoolers and young adults alike. It is well written and engaging with many twists and turns (especialy the ending!!!).

A real page-turner - Wow!

2007-08-19
Through his computerized diary entries, Paul Fisher tells the story of his seventh-grade year. These entries not only let him describe what is happening, they give him the opportunity to reflect on his past.

At the beginning of the story, the Fisher family has just moved to Florida from Houston. The diary entries tell the story of how Paul's brother, Erik, has always bullied him. He even has his friends call Paul Eclipse boy because of a bad vision problem that was supposedly caused by Paul looking at an eclipse for too long. His parents virtually overlook Erik's digressions because they are focused on what Paul calls the 'Erik Fisher football dream.'

To make things worse, Paul gets kicked off of his new soccer team because his Mom had told the school that he has a visual 'handicap'. But Paul believes that his vision is much better and it is proven in his many observations chronicled in the diary.

When the portable school units had Paul's middle school are swallowed by a sinkhole, Paul is given a chance to go to another school and he takes it. Because he knows that at Tangerine Middle School he can play soccer. Paul's ability to 'see' people for who they are may be even more sharp than his ability to see. He doesn't see the class or racial barriers that separate him from the kids in this other school. His eagerness to play also earns him the respect of the other team members.

As the story unfolds, Paul sees snippets of his past and the history of his family comes clear to him. And he is the unlikely hero in this heartwarming tale.

Paul was endearing from the start. The writing in this novel is impeccable. The story is fantastic - a real page-turner. I read it all through in a day. There is a dark undertone to this book though so I would not recommend it for younger kids.

Tangerine

2007-08-12

Though legally blind, Paul Fisher can see what others cannot. He can see that his parents' constant praise of his brother, Erik, the football star, is to cover up something that is terribly wrong. But no one listens to Paul--until his family moves to Tangerine. In this Florida town, weird is normal: Lightning strikes at the same time every day, a sinkhole swallows a local school, and Paul the geek finds himself adopted into the toughest group around: the soccer team at his middle school.

Maybe this new start in Tangerine will help Paul finally see the truth about his past--and will give him the courage to face up to his terrifying older brother.

Includes a reader's guide and an afterword by the author.

Fisher Man

2007-07-31
Paul Fisher, AKA Fisher Man, has a not so normal life. Living on top of muck fires and in a termite-infested house with a brother that has everything a child could want, he turned out pretty normal. In the book Tangerine by Edward Bloor, Paul finds a way of life in Tangerine County.

I thought Paul's life was not very realistic because there was too much going on at once. His best friend's brother died, his school started melting into a sinkhole, and he gets bullied by everyone. This book needs to have more focus to it other than bullying. How could one kid get beat up by his brother and get teased by the almost the whole county without his parents knowing anything?

I have to say it had great detail but I would only recommend it to readers that like soccer and for those who like intense stories.

A really great book

2007-07-19
My son who is 12 read this book as part of his summer reading assignment from school - I also read it - what a great story! We especially enjoyed it because I grew up in Florida and the story was so true to how all the developers and transplants have tried to turn the state into one giant Disney and how nature thwarts them whenever it can - but anyone would enjoy this book. It is a great story with a really good message.

Sports Story With So Much More

2007-07-01
Sports play a big part in the plot of TANGERINE as the legally blind progagonist, Paul, is a talented soccer player and his games are described in vivid detail. Paul's sinister older brother is a star football player and his adventures as a kicker are also integral to the tale. Yet the book examines many facets of modern suburban life beyond the sports field. The adults who are almost all well developed can be described as ambitious upwardly mobile people who populate pretentious new subdivisions, disdain the natural world on which their "mcmansions" are built and tend to live through their children. Conflicts between ethnic groups and socioeconomic groups are also well examined. The consequences of unacknowledged misdeeds is a strong theme. Though the individual characters are well drawn and Paul and his friends are very sympathetic the situations include several unlikely natural disasters and tragedies which makes the total story a bit surreal. The book is worth reading as it is well written and appealing to middle school aged students.

Family Problems

2007-06-10
Paul's family has always moved quite a bit. This time he is in seventh grade, his brother Erik is a senior in high school and they are moving to Tangerine, Florida. Erik is expected to be a star football player there, continuing the dream he and his parents have of a life of football. Paul has heard the dream so often that he is sick of it and the way his father, especially, never seems to focus on anything else.

Paul is a great soccer player, although his parents don't seem to notice. His abilities are surprising, actually, since he's had a problem with his eyes for years and has to wear thick glasses to correct his vision. He was told that the damage was caused by looking at a solar eclipse, but Paul has fuzzy and fleeting memories of something else--something that involves his brother.

Things go fairly badly for Paul until a disaster at his middle school causes him to be transferred to a more inner-city school nearby. There he is able to make the soccer team and to be accepted by the other members. For the first time in his life, he finds himself unafraid to stand up to his brother and to fight for what's right.

I liked how Paul kept unraveling little bits of the mystery of his eyes throughout the story until he could finally remember what happened. I also liked the circumstances that brought Paul to his new school, and I liked the interaction between him and his group of friends.

I found it hard to believe, though, that Paul's parents, knowing Erik's history and his personality, would have treated him like a king for so long. I also couldn't understand Joey's prejudice, and then I couldn't understand why Paul put up with it and continued to be his friend.