Bluefish

By Pat Schmatz

After being a teacher for over 25 years, Bluefish has a ring of truth to it.  Here are some of those truths:

• When teachers put students into groups, no matter how creatively teachers name those groups, it doesn't take students long to know what those groups really mean.
• Moving and going to a new school is sometimes scary, sometimes awkward, and sometimes just plain weird.
• No one likes change.
• Sometimes you find friends when you least expect it.
• Not all knowledge comes from books.
• Everyone has his or her own set of "strengths".
• The grass may seem greener on the other side of the fence, but it may not be.
• Being a teenager come with its own set of challenges.
• Finding someone you can trust in life is important.

Travis is a very likeable character.  He's in a new town at a new school and learning doesn't come easy for him.  It's not because he's not smart, but somewhere along the way reading became challenging for him.  Luckily for Travis, he now has Mr. McQueen as a teacher.  Mr. McQueen epitomizes what we'd all love in a teacher - a teacher that doesn't give up on a student even when the student has given up on himself.  This was my favorite passage in the story, "The lines of ink on the page were a secret code. For the first time Travis wanted to crack it."  What an "aha" moment for Travis and what a thrill for his teacher.  

  

When Travis meets Valveeta it doesn't seem like a quick friendship would blossom, but Valveeta's wit and sarcastic humor helps this friendship along.  It took awhile, but they come to realize they have much more in common than they first thought. 

Finally, there's Bradley.  When Travis helps him on the first day of school without even knowing who he is and without making a scene, it tells us a lot about Travis as a person. Travis also learns that even though Bradley lives with both of his parents, he's very smart, has computer games, a great house, and a seemingly perfect life, Bradley faces challenges of his own. 

Their world is definitely not perfect, but they teach us that hardships and challenges can be overcome.

 Is it easy? Not always. 

Is it worth it?  Most definitely Yes! 

On a personal note, I love the way the author, Pat Schmatz, incorporates parts of another book in her story.  She tied it together so well that I started reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak as soon as I finished Bluefish.