Sunday, November 18, 2007

Or Not by Brian Mandabach

If in America we are entitled to free speech and our own opinion, why is one girl punished so cruelly when she doesn’t sing God Bless America because she doesn’t believe in what it’s saying. Just because Cassie doesn’t believe in God and she refuses to keep quiet, Cassie is now the target of everyones hatred. Even some of the teachers know what other kids are doing to her, and they turn the other eye. Cassie turns to her diary for solace, and starts to write stories. But when people think that her stories are actually going to happen, Cassie is alienated even more. Will Cassie crack under everything around her, or will she end up free of the prejudice that has been fallowing her all year?

I enjoyed Or Not because Brian Mandabach understands what happens in middle school and how it feels to be the target of everyones hate, and he puts it in his writing.He makes it easy to relate to the characters, so the book runs along smoothly.Though at some points in the story it is hard to understand what is going on, it all is explained in the end. But Mandabach understands what goes on in middle school so well, I can match up characters from the book to people I go to school with. And it takes a skilled author to be able to do that.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8
Reviewer Age: 13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Casa Grande, Arizona Unites States of America