Tangerine by Edward Bloor

Bloor, Edward. Tangerine. San Diego: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1997

Summary

Paul and his family have moved to Tangerine, FL. While his father and brother are concentrated on Erik's football fame, Paul is worrying about Soccer, fitting in, and staying way from Erik. See, Paul is legally blind, a fact that Erik uses to bully Paul. While Erik attends school in the new subdivision, Paul goes to the school in town where he meets a rougher group—children of the citrus growers. When one of his friends stands up to Erik's bullying, Paul sees just how bad his brother is and wonders if he can stand up to him too. Also, Paul is beginning to doubt the story of how he lost his vision. Although he can't remember the day his parents say he stared into an eclipse, he has a feeling that his brother had something to do with his blindness.

Critical Evaluation

While the brother Erik and the parents are absolutely disturbing, Tangerine is about Paul. Paul is a young man with low self-confidence and a lot of anxiety- except when it comes to soccer. Paul's confidence on the field soon leads to confidence in other areas. Overall a good message. The setting is bizarre and interesting. Lots of information about citrus but worked into the text. Recommended.

Reader's Annotation

Although Paul is legally blind, his eyesight is improving. In fact, he sees things that his parents refuse to see. Like that his brother Erik is a bully and a criminal. Paul almost wishes Erik would just disappear, but Paul suspects Erik knows what really happened to his eyes.

Genre and Subject

Realistic fiction, bullying, sports

Bibliotherapuetic Usefulness

Although Paul is handicapped, he learns that it's important to stand up to your bullies, however you can.

Why I chose it

The bizarre town of Tangerine, where sinkholes and lightning storms are everyday occurrences is enough to keep any reader interested.