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Title details for The F Words by Barbara Gregorich - Available

The F Words

by Barbara Gregorich
ebook
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1 of 1 copy available
Flexibility
in the claws of injustice
doesn't mean we slide
free, escaping their pain, but
that we mend to rise again.

Sophomore Cole Renner knows teamwork inside and out from running cross-country at his multi-ethnic Chicago public school. He knows about braving the elements and not getting passed in the chute. What Cole doesn't know is how much he'll need all of his mental and physical skills when the doors of Cook County Jail slam shut on his father, a community activist; when his English teacher catches Cole tagging the school with the F word and assigns him to write two poems a week, each on a word that starts with F; when his best friend Felipe Ramirez runs for class president against the girl who dumped him; when the school bully prowls the halls looking for Cole and the principal seems more interested in punishing Cole than the bully. As much as Cole wants to win meets, what he wants, even more, is justice—for his father, for himself, for Felipe, and for his fellow students. Cole learns that actions matter, but so do words. He takes his written words (Spanish and English) and turns them into the right words to fight for justice.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    September 15, 2021

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781952536274

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781952536274
      • File size: 2690 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Levels

    • Lexile® Measure: 560
    • Text Difficulty: 2-3

  • Reviews

    • Kirkus

      August 15, 2021
      A boy, infuriated with injustices in his world and community, learns how to fight back. Cole Renner is a White sophomore at August Mersy High School in Chicago. His principal has labeled him a troublemaker for daring to take action against injustices--just like his father, who is currently a prisoner in Cook County Jail after leading a protest to save a neighborhood public school. Struggling with his father's recent sentencing, Cole lashes out and spray-paints the F-word multiple times on school property. Caught by Mr. Nachman, his English teacher, he is offered a choice: face suspension or clean it off and write two poems every week about other words starting with F. Choosing the latter option, Cole writes about the injustices that surround him and his schoolmates, who are of diverse cultural backgrounds. Despite his initial reluctance, he finds solace in poetry, and it becomes an outlet for each new wrong that Cole and those he cares about face. The teen characters' discussions of issues such as deportation and racism may inspire young readers who are fed up with witnessing inequities, though this first-person novel tackles many concepts in its five-month timeline, causing events to be rushed and detracting from some of their impact. However, the author admirably showcases the power young people hold when they come together and speak out against a biased system. A timely novel about empowered teens. (discussion guide) (Fiction. 13-18)

      COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • Lexile® Measure:560
  • Text Difficulty:2-3

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