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| Image Graphic designed by Sandra Lopez |
Onions has just been sent to his 16th foster home, Despondent, he
steals the purse of Sandrine, a retired circus performer. Instead of
turning him in to the police, Sandrine enlists the boy in her fight
against City Hall. In the process, Onions learns the importance of
reading, having a worthwhile life-goal, and how to play the trumpet, his
ultimate redemption. Sandrine is a strong role-model for pre-teens
through 18-year-olds as she helps Charles Wesley Onions find meaning in
life. A tragic event leads to the powerful, uplifting, and inspiring
ending. Finally, Onions is a modern-day Holden Caulfield .. without the
swearing.
Review: "Charles
Wesley Onions hated everything. He hated his father for dying...and leaving him
alone with his alcoholic mother. He hated his mother for sending him off to a
foster home. He hated...the 15 other foster parents who abused him and made him
work before and after school. But most of all, [Onions] hated himself."
(LOC 72)
The boy had
a wild-eyed charm and witty naiveté. He was a boy that was into comic books,
because good always triumphed over evil. Like the heroes he reads about, he was
a young fighter, but he had a firm grasp of reality.
Onions then
develops a mentorship with Sandrine, a former circus performer, who opens up
his world to literature, music, knowledge, and morality. "Unenlightened, uninformed people
usually haven't learned to discipline their minds." (65) Sandrine teaches
the boy a simple equation to life: Read to gain knowledge, then learn to store
the knowledge and use it when the time comes. After all, the mind is a precious
thing, to fill with great ideas and beautiful thoughts. "You can be a bum
or a great man." (68)
I liked the
"knowledge is power" mantra and how it pushed Onions to do more for
himself. It's definitely a great message for kids. The historical and dated
facts were daunting at times and didn't quite correlate with the main coming-of-age
tale that became so inspiring. In fact, these segments almost deviated from
the story of Onions, especially when the focus turned on the mayor and the
councilman. I understood that the boy got involved in the battle of politics,
but it just seemed to tarnish the flourishing development of the young boy. I
think it made it too serious and not that fitting for a middle-grade audience.
I though the
book had a fun-looking cover. It blended a child-like quality with a precocious
sense of adventure, however, I'm not sure if it was quite fitting for the academic
and political views within the story.
All in all, this
was a nice story of a poor boy that grew his mind. I honestly would've taken
out the political aspect and focused more on the learning development. But I
think his story is a great testimony of what learning can do.
My rating: 3 stars
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