Reviews for 18th Emergency

The average rating for 18th Emergency based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-09-24 00:00:00 Brad Mcghee Three years after The Summer of the Swans earned Betsy Byars the 1971 Newbery Medal, The 18th Emergency was published, a much less famous novel that also features quirky characters and a subtle story you have to work to get your arms around. Sixth-grader Benjie "Mouse" Fawley faces impending doom when Marv Hammerman, a huge brute of a kid, pursues him after school. Hammerman isn't known as a sparkling conversationalist, opting instead to let his fists speak for him. He's beaten up lots of kids, some who weren't sure what they did wrong, but Mouse knows how he landed on Hammerman's bad side. A propensity for writing snide comments in public, a badly timed dig at Hammerman's intelligence...Mouse wonders why he puts himself in these crisis situations. Mouse's mother doesn't take his predicament seriously, and his father is away, a professional truck driver who doesn't see his son as often as they'd both like. Mr. and Mrs. Casino live nearby, sort of an extended family for Mouse; Mr. Casino once was a bold, strong man capable of teaching Marv Hammerman a lesson, but not anymore. Following a debilitating stroke, Mr. Casino struggles to perform basic tasks, and Mrs. Casino frequently enlists Mouse to help. Mouse's friend from school, Ezzie Weimer, is a fast talker with an encyclopedic knowledge of how to supposedly escape emergency scenarios, but his advice is about crocodiles, charging rhinos, pythons in the wild, or falling out of a plane. He has no strategy to counter Hammerman, and Ezzie's not inclined to risk his own neck in a fight. Mouse will have to fend for himself when the punches start flying. Scared out of his wits, Mouse lives up to his nickname, trying not to draw attention as he darts between classes at school. If he can get through every day from now to college without Hammerman seeing him, maybe he'll survive. Hammerman is definitely looking for Mouse in school and out, even showing up in the neighborhood when Mouse is walking Mr. Casino home. The stress makes Mouse sick to his stomach, a bundle of nerves and angst just waiting for the cat to stop toying with him and take the first bite. Mouse has a reputation for being fearful, and maybe reversing that reputation is the only way to clear the air so he can stop avoiding Hammerman and move on in life. It will require courage, but perhaps he can spring himself from this emergency without one of Ezzie's contingency plans, without anyone's assistance. Maybe he can go from being "Mouse" to being Benjie again...and win the respect he craves deep down from others and himself. Betsy Byars's books are difficult to synopsize. The summarized narratives usually don't sound like much, but that's because the feel is what matters. We follow her main characters through a defining moment that doesn't seem extraordinary to their family and friends, but these are the moments where a kid begins understanding who they are and how they can become the person they want to be. Arriving at such a realization without adult intervention is a formative experience, which is why Mouse's story resonates. I'm not convinced Robert Grossman's illustrations are a match for Betsy Byars's style, but The 18th Emergency is a good book. I wouldn't put it on equal terrain with the author's The House of Wings, The Night Swimmers, The Pinballs, McMummy, or Cat Diaries: Secret Writings of the MEOW Society, but I'll always have a soft spot for Mouse Fawley, and I rate this book two and a half stars. Confronting fear isn't easy, and we benefit from every role model we can get, especially the unlikely ones.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-11-25 00:00:00 Ryan Budde I wish I still had my childhood copy. But at least my library had an original, with Grossman's art! What a trip down memory lane. Five stars because I loved it as a child and appreciate it even more now. It's not so much a story about a bully as it is about compassion, and honor, and growing up. But all that's pretty much behind the scenes of the humor and drama. Just about the only thing that dates this is the prices. The mom does outright encourage the boy to watch TV, but some moms do, you gotta admit.