Ethan, Suspended - Hardcover

Ehrenberg, Pamela

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0802853242 ISBN 13: 9780802853240

Publisher: Eerdmans Pub Co, 2007

Synopsis

After getting in trouble at his previous school in Pennsylvania, thirteen-year-old Ethan Oppenheimer is sent to live with his grandparents in urban Washington, D.C. where he becomes the only white, jewish student in a school of African-Americans and Hispanics.

About this title

About the Author:

Pamela Ehrenberg has been an educator in the Washington, D.C., area for ten years. She currently serves as a consultant for the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. This is her first published novel.

From Booklist:

*Starred Review* After Ethan is suspended from his suburban Philadelphia junior high, his soon-to-be-divorced mother sends him to the grandparents he barely knows in an inner-city neighborhood in Washington, D.C. Suddenly the white, privileged kid finds that he is the "cracker" freak in an almost entirely black and Latino school. He feels as if he is in a time warp—no IM, cable, or malls. And he feels alone, often eating lunch by himself at school. But as he makes some friends, falls in love with smart, beautiful Kameka, learns to play oboe in the jazz band, and works on a school project on civil rights, he comes to redefine his meaning of home. In her first novel, Ehrenberg focuses on themes of race and class without sounding preachy, and the politics are right at the surface in an unforgettable scene, in which Ethan's friend, Diego, connects segregation and poverty: "You don't need no laws to keep people out if people can't afford to go there." Ethan's first-person narrative about his family conflicts drive the story and reveal the issues. Best of all are the portraits of his scrappy Jewish grandparents. Along with the hilarious details of how they obsess about weird stuff, eat healthy food, and irritate each other and Ethan, there is also Ethan's growing respect for their decision not to leave their neighborhood. Rochman, Hazel
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About this edition

• Publisher: Eerdmans Pub Co
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0802853242
• ISBN 13: 9780802853240
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 266