Come Fall - Hardcover

Bauer, A.C.E.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0375858253 ISBN 13: 9780375858253

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers, 2010

Synopsis

Lu Zimmer's best friend moved away last summer. Salman Page is the new kid in school. Blos Pease takes everything literally. Three kids who are on the fringe of the middle school social order find each other and warily begin to bond, but suddenly things start going wrong. Salman becomes the object of the school bully's torment, and Lu's pregnant mother has some unexpected complications. Is something conspiring against them?

In fact, through no fault of their own, Salman and Lu have become pawns in a game of jealous one-upmanship between Oberon and Titania, the king and queen of Faery, with the mischievous Puck trying to keep the peace.

Taken from Titania's mention of a foundling in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, A. C. E. Bauer spins an original tale about magical intervention in the least magical of settings: a public middle school.

About this title

About the Author

A. C. E. Bauer has been telling stories ever since she could talk (some were real whoppers). After learning how to write them down, she began handing them out as gifts to her family. Ms. Bauer took a break from writing for a while when she was a lawyer helping poor people, writing legal briefs and telling stories about her clients. She has returned to fiction and now writes for children of all ages. Born and raised in Montreal, she spends most of the year in Cheshire, Connecticut, and much of the summer on a lake in Quebec. She lives with her husband, two children, and their dog, Speedy.

Reviews

Gr 4-7–Salman, an orphan in his umpteenth foster home, has an uncertain life with an abusive man who does not want him around. Lu, a shy girl who is lonely since her best friend moved, feels lost at times with all the changes. Blos, one who sees things differently, puts people into two categories: those who avoid him and those who make fun of him. These young people discover the true meaning of friendship when they are thrown together at Riverfalls Junior High, where an unlikely bond occurs under the worst of circumstances. This tale is told from a variety of perspectives, including Puck, from the faerie realm. The story flows well, though readers may wonder why the faeries are muddling in the characters' lives, and it is not explained until the acknowledgments at the end. The characters are well developed, authentic, and have distinct voices. The friendships they build are believable, as are the problems they face. Even Lu, who has a great family, has social issues that are easy to relate to. The book turns out to be a pleasant account of making new friends and what it takes to be one, regardless of what others think. Students who enjoy realistic fiction with a touch of fantasy will enjoy this story with a feel-good ending.Mariela Siegert, Westfield Middle School, Bloomingdale, IL
© Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a fairy queen and king quarrel over an Indian changeling. Although the boy speaks no lines and never appears in the stage directions, Bauer wondered what happened to him. The result is this touching blend of realism and fantasy when South Asian Salman Page, who’s been in and out of foster homes and has an uncanny ability to communicate with crows, enters seventh grade at his eleventh school. Always on the move, Salman has trouble making new friends, as do his designated buddy Lu Zimmer and their fellow classmate with Asperger’s-like qualities, Blos Pease. Added to the mix is fairy servant Puck, who gathers information on the foundling from his crow spy. Their alternating viewpoints reveal how the tweens cope with such dilemmas as unfit foster parents and the school bully, form a mutual respect amid their differences, and gain self-confidence. Weaving in magic, dreams, doubles, contrasts, and other elements from the original play, Bauer spins an enticing variant. Grades 4-7. --Angela Leeper

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

1--Salman Page    

Rule number one: never be noticed    

Salman Page chose a table in the far corner of the Springfalls Junior High cafeteria, next to a mural of brown and purple swirls--ugly, but he'd be harder to see against it. He kept his back to the wall and his head down, letting his shoulder-length hair hide most of his brown face. He wanted to be, to the casual observer, a kid intent on his meal of meat loaf and mashed potatoes. A few kids sat two tables away, not talking much. This part of the cafeteria was for losers. Salman thought that was just fine.  

He glanced around once before he unscrewed the silver cap from his juice bottle, wiped it with his napkin, and slid it into his breast pocket. A skinny girl approached. She was midsized with short, light brown hair and a friendly face. Salman concentrated on his mashed potatoes. The kids at the other table must know her.  

"Hi," she said.  

She was talking to Salman. He raised his head slowly. She smiled and pushed her glasses up her nose.  

"Are you Salman Page?"  

Who was this kid?  

"Salman," he said, emphasizing the L. He wasn't some kind of fish.  

"Sorry." She paused. "I'm Lu Zimmer, your designated buddy."  

She sat down and placed her lunch bag and a box of chocolate milk on the table.  

Salman frowned. Because of a mix-up with his state files, his transfer here for seventh grade didn't happen until two days before school started. No one had assigned him a designated buddy. When Ms. R, his homeroom teacher, had asked him whether he got along with his d.b., he had no idea what she was talking about.  

"Deebee?" he said.  

"It's short for designated buddy," Ms. R said. "An eighth-grade mentor."  

"Don't have one," he said.   Ms. R radiated disapproval.  

"I'll make the arrangements."  

Salman didn't need a designated buddy. He wished Ms. R had never asked him about it.  

Lu Zimmer plowed ahead.  

"I'm supposed to meet with you, walk you around the school, show you how things work. That kind of stuff."   "I've walked around already."  

School had started a week and a half ago. What did she expect? Lu hesitated.  

"Maybe we can talk about your teachers."  

Salman was about to tell her that he didn't need to talk about his teachers when they were interrupted.  

"Hey, Lu!"  

A gangly white boy with wiry orange hair and a face full of pimples lurched over, carrying an oversized lunch bag. He towered above them.  

"May I join you?" he said.  

Before either Lu or Salman could answer, the boy sat down next to Lu and emptied the contents of his sack onto the table.  

"I heard Ms. R made you a d.b.," the boy continued in his too-loud voice.  

Lu reddened, and her smile strained.  

"Salman Page," she said, "this is Blos Pease."  

Blos turned to Lu.  

"You are his d.b., right?"  

"Yes, Blos," Lu said.  

Her smile was fading. Blos focused on Salman.  

"Did you know Lu and I had the same d.b. last year?"  

Salman gave only the slightest shake of his head.  

"It is true. We used to have lunch with her, all the time."  

This last statement refocused Blos onto his own lunch. He removed the items from each of the four separate sandwich bags and lined them up in front of him.  

Blos took a deep breath, hands hovering over the sandwich. He blinked at Salman and let his hands drop.  

What now? Salman wondered.  

Blos's lower lip covered his upper. He stared hard at Salman. His hands kept approaching his sandwich and then retreating. Salman almost looked forward to what was going to happen next.

Edition details

• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0375858253
• ISBN 13: 9780375858253
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 240