4 out of 4 stars
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Suspension by Janet Daniels Lawrence is a story that caught me by surprise. I didn’t expect to become so invested in the characters or to need so many tissues.
Mitchell “Monster” Macintosh is the terror of Boston Low School (not to be confused with Boston High School). Leonardo “Leo” Smith is obsessively curious with the seemingly troubled youth. Why is he so mean to people? Why is he always being sent to detention? Why is he so angry? Leo and his friend, Will, spy on Monster in order to figure out the bully’s secrets.
When I started reading this book, I wasn’t especially interested. Leo is writing an essay for college admission. He’s a typical teenage boy. He talks about his girlfriend and how she’s going away to school a year ahead of him. I generally love young adult fiction but I didn’t feel I could relate to this character or situation. I wasn’t sure where the story was headed. Leo’s essay question is, “What event or time period in your life has had the biggest impact on who you really are, and why?” He tells us about a time in middle school but he tells us in a somewhat disjointed way. The story skips around, wherever memories take him, and we get to see things through Leo’s eyes. Reading a story this way got fairly annoying at times, but overall it helped me to really experience the situations naturally. I felt like I was part of the class. I felt like I was on the bus with the other kids. I felt like I was sneaking around trying to spy on Monster.
My favorite part of the book was Leo’s character. Children have their own priorities and mannerisms. It was so genuine to see him trying to act mature by doing things like shaking a grownup’s hand. I liked his logic of eating as much popcorn as he wanted while running the snack booth, but that candy and chips were off-limits. There were so many simple things that really added up to a great portrayal of a child in middle school.
By the end, I don’t think there was anything I didn’t like about the book. While reading, I didn’t like that Leo would go off on a tangent explaining certain things. It left me at the edge of my seat waiting for the interlude to end so that we could continue the story. However, these side-notes were so important for the reader’s understanding. I wouldn’t change a thing.
I found a few errors in the manuscript. Overall it seemed professionally edited. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I cried so hard towards the end. I was absolutely moved by this book. I highly recommend this to all readers.
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Suspension
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