The Weirdo - Softcover

Taylor, Theodore

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0152056661 ISBN 13: 9780152056667

Publisher: Young Readers Paperback, 2006

Synopsis

Chip Clewt, known simply as the weirdo, lives like a hermit in the Powhatan Swamp, a National Wildlife Refuge that is at the center of a heated controversy between local hunters and environmentalists. A hunting ban on the Powhatan is about to expire. The environmentalists want to protect the wildlife; the hunters are oiling their guns. Then someone completely unexpected comes forward to spearhead the conservation effort--the weirdo.

Includes a reader's guide.

About this title

About the Author:

THEODORE TAYLOR is the author of many award-winning and acclaimed middle grade and young adult novels, including Billy the Kid: A Novel, The Maldonado Miracle, and the modern classic The Cay and its prequel-sequel, Timothy of the Cay. He lives in Laguna Beach, California.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 6-9-- ``Weirdo'' is the insulting nickname the townsfolk give Chip Clewt, a 17-year-old boy who had been badly burned in an airplane crash before he came to live with his artist father in the secluded Powhatan Swamp. Now assisting a graduate student observe and tag bears in the swamp in order to protect them, he has aroused the tempers of local hunters. Samantha Sanders, the 16-year-old daughter of one of the most vocal opponents of the hunting ban, meets Chip when she follows a prize hunting dog into the swamp. She gradually comes to understand the issues that concern him, and when the graduate student disappears, she and Chip investigate on their own. A strong friendship develops as the two lonely teenagers solve a murder while lobbying for animal rights. The story is carefully plotted with revealing flashbacks and alternating chapters that juxtapose Samantha's experiences with Chip's college essays on life in the Powhatan. The language is richly descriptive and the animal research information interesting. Both teenagers come to the realization that self-acceptance is the first stage in loving someone else, and that gives them the courage to make a difference in their environmental stand. A highly readable story that has the elements of romance, mystery, and animal adventure going for it. --Yvonne Frey, Peoria Public Schools, IL
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Young Readers Paperback
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0152056661
• ISBN 13: 9780152056667
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304