Maw Books

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So first things first to get it out of the way.  Yes, Bifocal by Deborah Ellis & Eric Walters has an awful cover.  But on the other hand, it’s co-written by Deborah Ellis.  That’s enough for me to look past the cover.  Unfortunately, if kids aren’t familiar with how awesome Deborah Ellis, will kids pick this one up?  I don’t think so.  Definitely needs a cover redo. Not dynamic or interesting at all.  Covers sell books and this cover is likely hindering what I thought was a good book.

I love Deborah Ellis and the synopsis of Bifocal had me itching at the bit to read it:

Haroon is a serious student devoted to his family; Jay is a rising football star devoted to his team.  They may go to the same high school and walk the same hallways, but they are worlds apart. And that’s just the way it is.

One day the high school is put on lockdown, and the police arrest a Muslim student on suspicion of terrorist affiliations.  Is the boy really guilty, or has he been singled out because of his race?  Student loyalties quickly divide along racial lines, and Haroon and Jay will have to take sides with their own kins.

It’s not like they really have a choice.

A good look on what happens when we judge others unfairly and carry prejudices about others that we don’t understand nor feel as though we want to understand.  The story was engaging and Haroon and Jay are characters who grow and change throughout the course of the novel.  Not my favorite Deborah Ellis book (still reserving that for The Breadwinner series) but one well worth having on your radar.  Stories like these are always important.

Links of interest: More book blogger reviews.  Deborah Ellis books also reviewed by Maw Books: The Breadwinner, Mud City, Parvana’s Journey, Lunch with Lenin and Other Stories, The Heaven Shop.
Genre:  Young Adult Fiction
Publisher:  Fitzhenry and Whiteside.   October 15, 2007.
Hardcover,  240 pages. ISBN 155455036X
Source copy: Review copy at my request.
Bifocal is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

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