Tangerine

By Edward Bloor

I read this book the first time for a children's literature course during undergraduate school.  I remember it arriving from Amazon the week before class and thinking, "This going to be a boy's book." I was not enthisiastic about reading it. However, to this day I have to say it is one of my top favorite young adult books of all time. Just mentioning the name of this book or the author Edward Bloor brings the image of the characters staying up all night though the cold spraying tangerine trees with warm water to save the fruit and the business. I also immediately remember learning about "sink holes" and "koi fish" for the very first time (yes in college!). This book transfered far more than a story to my mind. 

After reading this book a second time, I drew even more meaning and significance from the details, themes, and characters. I remember thinking the main character Paul Fisher was just a down-to-earth, intelligent,wise and nice kid. I feel even more strongly the second time around.  His character is definitely much more developed for someone of his age. The way he approaches and deals with hardship and the arrogance and crueltythat surrounds him truly defines him as the character with the biggest heart and mind of any other I have come across in literature. His character is an ideal rolemodel for upper elementary and high school students. 

The storyline itself contains themes and issues appealing to a wide audience, not just a masculine one that I had originally surmised. Bloor exposes many difficult themes such as racism, disability, violence, bullying, and stigma. His use of literary technique absolutely shines throughout the book. For example, the wealthy nighborhood, home to all of the well-to-do families (who mostly possess arrogance, racism, and are judgemental of everyone outside of their status) was built on ground containing sink-holes. These sink-holes attract numerous bugs and diseases. All of the houses in this neighborhood have netting surrounding them as a means to keep out the bugs. The atmosphere surrounding the homes is humid, smokey (from forest fires) and foul-smelling.  However, the "poor" neighborhood doesn't posses any of these problems and actually displays beauty (trees, plants, nature). Bloor purposefully created these different neighborhoods with opposing qualities to reflect the attitudes and actions of the residents. This is just one of many ways Bloor uses literary technique to signify a point or support a theme. 

I had an excellent professor while reading and discussing this book for the first time. The class discussions heightened my understanding and broadened my ideas pertaining to the book's attributes. I would use this book in the same manner if I was teaching a middle or high school English class.  I would even use it as a read-aloud for forth or fifth graders. All older students can appreciate and learn from this quality piece of literature.