Adam Canfield, Watch Your Back!

by Michael Winerip

Book Overview

"Lots of laugh-out-loud humor, perfectly satirizing state tests, overzealous parents, and kids who are in danger of being enriched to death." -- School and Library Journal

For overprogrammed middle-grader Adam Canfield, waking up to a snow day is a dream come true -- a chance to sleep late, put off planning the next issue of The Slash, and make some quick cash with his shovel. But the dream turns into a nightmare when some...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0763644129
• ISBN13: 9780763644123
• Release Date: August 2009
• Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.2" x 7.8"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

A Great Read!

I love everything about this book! I love all the characters: Adam and Jennifer, the co-editors of the school newspaper, are kids I would like to hang out with if I were their age. They are bright, passionate, principled, and fun, and the secondary characters are just as interesting. The novel moves quickly and focuses on some important social issues including bullying, journalistic integrity, and racism. This is a most enjoyable read, and if I were a kid reading this book, I would seriously be considering a career in journalism. Highly Recommended!

good book

My 13yr old son (who reads on a much higher level than this) thoroughly enjoyed this book as well as the first one (the Slash). He has re-read them both several times.

Public school expose in the guise of a novel

The author, an investigative reporter for the New York Times who has school-age children, has written a hard-hitting look at the state of public education in the guise of a novel. Any middle school parent (or student who has been paying attention) will recognize the pabulum-spouting administrators, the lazy teachers who can't be bothered to read student work even on the rare occasions when written work is required, the "educators" who find make-work projects for students so that they can surf the internet or make cell phone calls, the constant waste of kids' valuable class time. Beyond this, Winerip indicts the parents who do the kids' work for them, and highlights the class distinctions that lead to kids with two-parent households who are highly involved being pushed ahead and everyone else left behind. The book is also revealing on the subject of how to do investigative journalism, what sort of personality is best suited for this line of work, and the sometimes adverse effects of this work on the reporter's personal life. On the subject of race, the author's approach is admirable: while one of the main characters is black, this isn't what defines her and we aren't made aware of this fact until half-way through the book and only because it becomes relevant to the plot. It is also clear that the fact that her parents are well-to-do is more significant in her life than skin color. The hero, Adam, is "oblivious" to race, and this seems to be the approach the author wishes everyone would take. On top of everything else, the book is entertaining and hard to put down.

fun and adventurous

As a nursing/college student, I found myself picking up this book every night before sleep. It was a rewarding break from my anatomy studies. I received it as a gift was not disappointed. I looked forward each night to reading what would happen next. I am definitely passing it on to my roommates. D.Weis

Words that are wise, moving and fun

As a children's librarian, I find myself skimming through a lot of new books to see how the folks they were written for will take to them. This is one of the few this year which I have read from cover to cover simply for myself. Adam Canfield Watch Your Back is about a group of children who passionately run a school newspaper, risking all for a great story and learning much about the imperfections of their school, their community and themselves. They are fun, feisty and full of surprises. The Pulitzer Prize winner who wrote this book shares the thrills and woes of his trade. Anyone who reads of them will at least consider knocking on the school newspaper door and giving it a try. I myself was not at all in the mood to write this review but felt that any book which celebrates the power of words (as this one does) deserves to be written about. Mostly I loved how the characters--co-editors Jennifer and Adam--make a fantastic team of sleuths, friends and sparring partners with the slightest hint of a humorous middle school romance. Don't let this one pass you by. (Grades 5-8 & grownups too)