Willie, the Frog Prince Book

I got this free from the bookshop I volunteer at, and I've had it for going on two years, so I wanted to try it this winter. It actually takes place before Christmas, with Willie talking of buying Christmas presents.

Some of this felt a bit dated, a bit inappropriate, a bit wrong:
'He loved to make people laugh, especially girls. He tweaked Nedra's braid. She wasn't a pretty girl. Her teeth stuck out. But her skin and eyes were nice shades of brown like Jackson's, which struck Willie as a funny coincidence. Since Nedra was Indian from Asia and Jackson was African-American, their ancestors had come out brown on different continents.'

I wouldn't mention the mom's curvy body, kissing the dad's ear, or how she was 20 and he was 30 years her senior. That just sounded all dirty and wrong, like he took advantage of her, and that she was only after him for his money. Especially when we find out he'd already been married.

Idt a boy would think a guys muscles were awesome. 'In the cutout shirts he wore, Jackson's brother's muscles arms and shoulders certainly were awesome.'

This was Willie talking of the librarian: 'her tinkling laugh ended in a cute little hiccup that made Willie laugh with her.'
These things made me think the author might not be a man like I originally thought. I actually flipped to the back to check, and found out C.S. Adler is a woman, which explained the writing. I don't think she captured the voice of a boy.

Marla was rude and I didn't like her in the beginning. She said she couldn't be friends with Willie "because you don't fit; and people won't like me if they see me with you. You know how it is."
Willie says he'll loan her his tape player even after that and she said she doesn't want it, then asks about it at school the next day.

Willie was annoying. He didn't have much of my sympathy. I went in thinking the dad was the bad guy, but his mom and Willie are much of the problem. The way she spoils him, letting him eat junk food, doing everything for him, babying him, calling him 'my angel.' And Willie for not making an effort. It irritated me the way he'd always forget things and was so clumsy.


Best sentences of the book:
'The first snowflakes of the season were so beautiful. They were sort of the flowers of winter.'


'He wondered if Mrs. Tealso thought Hanukkah was like Christmas. It wasn't really; it was about a miracle that happened during a battle the Jews had fought back in biblical times.' I was embarrassed to say I didn't know what he was talking about there.

Milton read his note to Marla to meet him in the barn, the class laughs--also too mature for this book--and the teacher tells him to stand out in the hallway. He's leaning against the door when the teacher opens it and he somehow 'went hopping sideways across the front of the classroom as far as Mrs. Tealso's desk with his arms outstretched for balance and one leg up in the air.'
I just can't. Idk how it's even possible to go from outside to inside the classroom to the desk in the room in one leap. Like he flew across the room.

I definitely related to Willie wanting to warn his mom of his report card so she could ease his way to his dad finding out. That's how things were in my house growing up.

I like how considerate Willie is to his dog. That's the best thing about Willie.

I probably liked Jackson the best. His response "you can call my father. He's a policeman and he doesn't like people who cheat" was inspired. That was a funny moment, them shoveling the widows driveway and then when she didn't wanna pay them the full amount, he suggests they pile the snow back.

I wouldn't say 'his parents were at it so hot and heavy they didn't even notice Willie standing there' for them fighting. That means something else.

"Willie is a good, sensitive, wonderful boy. You just don't appreciate him because he's not like you." This was relatable.

The dad even gave Willie the $3 to pay Mrs. Lima back for shoveling the walkway. He definitely wasn't the bad guy I originally thought.
I didn't like how when Lima told him he could do her walk and driveway the next time it snows he said no thank you, even after she let him keep the $3.

The police officer wouldn't take the dog, said the pound would take it, which just seemed ridiculous and wrong to me. The dad said after one night in the dog house with BooBoo howling he was going to the pound. He only gives him one more night. A dog has to get used to it. It's just absurd, especially considering how smart his dad is supposed to be.

Marla's dad sounded mean, saying she couldn't accept favors and saying she's selfish not wanting to stay home and take care of her mom, but when he meets Willie he was really nice.

Marla said she didn't think he was a goofball anymore and that he can do anything he wants to do. Which was big coming from her, I guess. Of course she would because Willie was so nice to her. It just felt a little on the sudden side.

It was funny when Marla kisses Willie--which felt too soon for 11 year olds--he walked home like a robot, in a daze.

Despite Marla's claim her dad would never move to Texas, he decided to move. I didn't like that the idea was discarded, making us feel comfort that they wouldn't move that far away, then the rug was pulled out from under us.
To return the favor of Willie rescuing her, Marla had her dad talk to Willie's dad, which was nice. I guess his dad had to hear from someone else what a good son he had to believe it...

This was a deep thought for Willie: 'Outside the car window, the moon looked like a glimmering mirror of ice in the star-speckled sky. Willie tried to imagine what it would feel like to be standing on it, looking back at the blue orb of earth. Lonely, he suspected.'

The ending was severely lacking. There wasn't even dialogue between them. She sits at his table and suddenly has lunch from home even though she never ate anything. Willie walks her to her bus, says "see you, Marla" and that's it. No hugs. Nothing.

When I read the 'about the author' section and found out she wrote The Lump in the Middle, which I tried reading over summer and stopped, it just explained a lot. I think I just don't like this author's writing. She writes too mature for kids books, and I don't like the adults, or kids for that matter.

I think the real problem is the adults; why Marla's dad didn't like any of his jobs, quit, and then moved towns instead of simply finding another job in the same town. Why they left Texas to start with if all her mom needed was to be around family. Why Marla's mom had headaches. They seemed to be related to her husband, if you ask me.

I felt Willie and Marla's lives were too similar. Their dads were portrayed as the bad's guys at times, while their moms were nice and stuck up for them, and even called them both 'my angels.' I mean, come on. Both their dads had trouble with jobs.

I thought this would end in a doctors appointment and some understanding from his dad. No such luck. This didn't have that much depth. He just suddenly decides to do better and the credit is owed to Marla, for him missing her and using staying busy with school to distract him. And that just wasn't good enough or very believable to me.
The synopsis made it sound like Willie decided to be better because of Marla, that he wanted to impress her in school. However his transformation doesn't truly start until after she leaves.
If it was that easy for Willie to do better, you wonder why he wasn't able to in the past. I don't think it's that simple, like it's just a decision they decide. I think Willie would need medication.

Considering she chose to highlight a disorder she could have done a lot more with it. Idk what the point of this was. He didn't even get diagnosed with ADHD, which this clearly was.
It just didn't make for a good read, because the symptoms--being clumsy, forgetful, easily distracted, trouble concentrating--were just frustrating to read, and made me annoyed.

I pretty much could have DNF this at any point, but it did get a little better towards the end. I didn't like the characters; Jackson was the best to me. The only thing this book had going for it was the humor sprinkled throughout, and there were a few sweet moments. The ending was lacking, and the whole book was just disappointing and not good.