Dexter the Tough - Softcover

Haddix, Margaret Peterson

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1416911707 ISBN 13: 9781416911708

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2008

Synopsis

I'm the new kid. I am tuf. This morning I beat up a kid.

It's only the first day of school for Dexter, but he's already mad at the principal, and the secretary, and the janitor, and the kids who laugh at him. When his teacher tells the class to write a story, Dexter writes about how tough he is -- and how he's already gotten into a fight. Is any of Dexter's story true? Why was the other boy crying before Dexter hit him? And why would the other boy still want to be Dexter's friend?

Even Dexter doesn't know the answers to some of those questions. But as he deals with family problems, a persistent teacher, and a boy who's strangely interested in floor wax, he discovers many surprises hidden in his own tale.

About this title

About the Author

Margaret Peterson Haddix is the author of many critically and popularly acclaimed YA and middle grade novels, including the Children of Exile series, The Missing series, the Under Their Skin series, and the Shadow Children series. A graduate of Miami University (of Ohio), she worked for several years as a reporter for The Indianapolis News. She also taught at the Danville (Illinois) Area Community College. She lives with her family in Columbus, Ohio. Visit her at HaddixBooks.com.

Mark Elliott has a BFA in illustration from the School of Visual Arts. He has illustrated a number of book covers, and his work has been exhibited at the Society of Illustrators and the Art Directors Guild. Mark lives on a sheep farm in the Hudson Valley region of New York.

From Publishers Weekly

Dexter hated his new school already," opens Haddix's (the Shadow Children series) poignant if plodding novel about a fourth-grader who, on his first day at school, gets laughed at by other kids when he slips and falls on the newly polished floor. In class, his "sparkly, enthusiastic" teacher ("He hated that kind of teacher") tells her students that she wants them to write a story that lets her know more about who they are. Dexter writes, "I'm the new kid. I am tuf. This morning I beat up a kid." The author gradually reveals the details behind the incident (mortified by his peers' laughter, Dexter impulsively punches Robin, a boy he encounters in the bathroom) as well as the true source of his anger. While his father receives cancer treatments in Seattle, Dexter must live with his grandmother in Kentucky. In several rather repetitious meetings, his patient teacher encourages him to flesh out his story, asking Dexter questions that help him acknowledge his feelings, including his resentment at being left behind by his parents, his concern about his father and his guilt about hitting Robin. As he comes to terms with his emotions, Dexter accepts the friendship that kind Robin offers, which (along with the news that a bone marrow donor for his father has finally been found) brings the tale to an upbeat close. Though Haddix creates some realistic scenes and shapes a sympathetic protagonist, readers may find the narrative's pace frustratingly poky. Ages 7-10. (Jan.)
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About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1416911707
• ISBN 13: 9781416911708
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144
• Illustrator: Elliott Mark