Twerp, Mark Goldblatt
Twerp, Mark Goldblatt
1 Rating(s)
List: $20.00 | Sale: $14.00
Club: $10.00

Twerp

Author: Mark Goldblatt

Narrator: Everette Plen

Unabridged: 5 hr 22 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/28/2013


Synopsis

It's not like I meant for him to get hurt. . . .

Julian Twerski isn't a bully. He's just made a big mistake. So when he returns to school after a weeklong suspension, his English teacher offers him a deal: if he keeps a journal and writes about the terrible incident that got him and his friends suspended, he can get out of writing a report on Shakespeare. Julian jumps at the chance. And so begins his account of life in sixth grade--blowing up homemade fireworks, writing a love letter for his best friend (with disastrous results), and worrying whether he's still the fastest kid in school. Lurking in the background, though, is the one story he can't bring himself to tell, the one story his teacher most wants to hear.

Inspired by Mark Goldblatt's own childhood growing up in 1960s Queens, Twerp shines with humor and heart. This remarkably powerful story will have readers laughing and crying right along with these flawed but unforgettable characters.

Praise for Twerp:
 
A Bankstreet Best Book of the Year
 
A Junior Library Guild Selection
 
A Summer Top Ten Kids’ Indie Next List Pick

A Sunshine State Award Finalist
 
“Reminiscent of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. . . . You don’t have to be a twerp to read this book.” —New York Post
 
“A vivid, absorbing story about one boy’s misadventure, heartache, and hope for himself.” —Rebecca Stead, Newbery Award-winning author of When You Reach Me
 
“Mark Goldblatt is an amazingly wonderful writer.” —Chris Grabenstein, New York Times bestselling author of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library
 
“[Fans of] Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid who have matured beyond the scope and gravity of that series will find a kindred spirit in Julian.” —School Library Journal
 
“Reminiscent of movies like The Sandlot. . . . Well-written and funny.” —The Advocate
 
“Alternately poignant and comical. . . . A thought-provoking exploration of bullying, personal integrity and self-acceptance.” —Kirkus Reviews
 
“A timely book.” —New York Journal of Books
 
“Elegant in its simplicity and accessibility.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
 
“An empathetic and authentic glimpse into the mind of a sixth-grade boy.” —The Florida Times-Union
 
“Funny, poignant, and an effective commentary on bullying and its consequences.” —The Horn Book Magazine

About The Author

MARK GOLDBLATT is a lot like Julian Twerski, only not as interesting. He's a widely published columnist, a novelist, and a professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Twerp is his first book for younger readers. He lives in New York City.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Gary on April 10, 2013

How many times have we witnessed kids picking on one another verbally or physically and, when challenged about it, defending themselves by saying, “It’s a joke,” or “We’re just kidding around”? In Twerp, Mark Goldblatt shows how “just kidding around” can become something much uglier. Julian Twerski,......more

Goodreads review by Richie on July 16, 2013

Richie's Picks: TWERP by Mark Goldblatt, Random House, May 28, 288p., ISBN: 978-0-375-97142-6 1 "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In".......................The Fifth Dimension 2 "Sugar, Sugar".................................................The Archies 3 "Honky Tonk Women".........................................more

Goodreads review by Reading is my Escape on August 04, 2015

Hmmmm... Sometimes when you brace yourself for a storm, you get a gentle breeze. The storm only comes when you're braced for nothing whatsoever. page 16   Knowing that, in a thousand years, nothing you're doing or not doing will matter frees you up to do what your heart tells you to do. page 189   Julian......more

Goodreads review by Jenny on March 31, 2013

In this coming-of-age story set in 1960s Queens, 12-year-old Julian isn't a bad kid, but he is a follower. And though sometimes being a follower helps him fit in, it also gets him into trouble. What that trouble is, exactly, we don't find out until the end of this book. But throughout the story, the......more


Awards

  • Georgia Children's Book Award
  • Vermont Dorothy Canfield Fischer Book Award