Grape! by Gabriel Arquilevich

Grape! is a middle grade realistic fiction book set in 1976 that was sent to me by the author. Gaby, (who changes his name to Grape) is a fifth grader at Rolling Hills Elementary school. You see, Grape is not an ordinary kid. He's got these spiders in his brain that make him do strange things and be quite impulsive at times. After he punched a teacher, the principal gives him one last chance, and he must write for an hour a day, reflecting on himself and explaining his side of the story.

I loved Grape!! One of my favorite things about this book is how honest and revealing it is regarding peer pressure and bullying. Grape is also quick to apologize and I love his explanations regarding the spiders in his brain. Yes, Grape acted impulsive and made not-so-great choices, but he is still a wonderful boy who had best intentions at heart and never meant to cause trouble or hurt anybody. A lot of the cringe-worthy embarrassing scenes were hysterical, and I would have liked to be his friend.

As a future teacher, I love how the book proves the value of second chances and the importance of taking the time to understand the motivations and reasons behind children's actions and not jump to punishing conclusions. It was also shockingly honest regarding issues like bullying, jealousy, crushes, immigration, divorce, and religious disagreements. Grape! also would be a great guide to teachers, and there are a lot of amazing excuses and reasons for his behavior that I wouldn't have thought of if I were in those situations.

I highly recommend this book!

Title: Grape!
Author: Gabriel Arquilevich
Publisher: Regal House Publishing
Pages: 185
Series: No
Rating: 5 Stars

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