Whirligig | Paul Fleischman | Excellent Young Adult Book With A Memorable Message

Whirligig | Paul Fleischman | A Good Message

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Whirligig

	Whirligig Paul Fleischman Laurel Leaf, 1999 - 144 pages average customer review:based on 99 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Brent Bishop longs to have the popular Brianna strolling around school on his arm. But when she rejects him at a classmate's party, Brent's hopes for popularity are instantly shattered. Devastated, he tries to destroy himself in a car crash... but instead kills an innocent girl named Lea.

Instead of sending him to jail, Lea's parents challenge Brent to create four whirligigs modeled on a picture of Lea and position them at the four corners of the United States. Lea's mother hopes that the whirligig that used to delight Lea will be a fitting memorial for her precious daughter. She sends Brent off with an unlimited bus ticket, a few pieces of wood, and the tools to memorialize Lea. On his mission to preserve his victim's memory, Brent ultimately rediscovers his own love of life.

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Excellent Young Adult Book With A Memorable Message

WHIRLIGIG starts out like so many other young adult books. Brent is a shallow high school junior who really wants to fit in with the popular crowd. He drinks too much at a party, a pretty girl he has a crush on publicly humiliates him and as result he makes a stupid decision that results in the death of a teenage girl in another car whom he has never met. Then the book takes a highly unusual and creative turn. As part of his probation he meets with the dead girl's mother and she makes the strange request that Brent travel to the four corners of the United States (Florida, Maine, California and Washington) and erect a whirligig in each state in memory of her daughter. This request does strain credibility and the book takes a turn to fable instead of realistic fiction at this point. In nonlinear chapters Fleischman has a person (one from each state) whose life is changed by seeing one of Brent's whirligigs narrate their story. In other chapters Brent's cross country Greyhound bus tour is described with special focus on the cirumstances in which he builds and places the four whirligigs. There is a strong theme throughout the book of how the consequences of one's actions effect others. In continuation of this theme Brent briefly meets numerous people on his travels who influence him in their short time together and help him grow to be a good person. This is a very quick read and though I can see how it could be confusing to some the patient reader will soon see the book's pattern and be well rewarded. Highly recommended for middle school students and up as well as adults.

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A Good Message

Brent has moved around quite a bit and has had his hands full with his latest move. In an attempt to fit in, he attends a popular party in which he sees a girl who he has a crush on. After a humiliating rejection, Brent speeds off in his car and, upset and embarrased, tries to end his life. Instead of finding himself dead, Brent discovers that he instead killed the other driver: a girl about his age, named Lea. In an attempt to reconcile with himself and Lea's family, Brent takes a journey that teaches him much about himself and gives him a fresh start. The journey? Putting whirligigs in every corner of the United States.

Whirligig is a worthwhile read. I absolutely could not put it down. Brent is a character that you see many sides of. Definetely read this book!

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Boy becomes a man - after much angst

Brent is self-absorbed and incredibly angry. He also doesn't like being made fun of, so he decides to kill himself. Never in a million years does he even consider the fact that by running his car into another car, he may kill someone else - some wonderful, kind, funny, innocent person. But he does. This isn't just the same old story of rebirth and renewal - it's a story so intertwined with the myriad of lives throughout our nation that the interconnectedness amazes the reader. This is a wonderful, thoughtful journey for any young adult. Even my reluctant readers really enjoyed it!

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Whirligig's right review

The Novel Whirligig by Paul flesh man is a very interesting story; this story is for people around the Teen age. It's about how a drunk driving teenager tries to kill himself, but instead he kills a young high school student. Instead of going to jail, the killed students mother asks him to make whirligigs of the student and put 1 on each corner of the United States.
I read this book as a book project for my class, it's very interesting on how the main character's thought (Brent). At the beginning, was very arrogant, he did not thank of consequences, but at the end, he changes and becomes a very good person, as he became more mature.
As he started, it was a bit hard for him to make whirligigs, he was scared, he didn't know what was going to happen to him, but towards the end, he was very confident of himself. I think that this was very good for him to go through this, it was like a vacation
As he travels, he faces many things on his way, some good, and some bad. Two people almost thieve him, which was a scary moment for him, but at the end he met an artist that was very nice to him, he told her he had accidentally killed someone but then, she said that he does not look like the killer type of person. This made him feel a lot better.
I would rate this novel a four out of five stars because I think that this book is really worth it. And that it has a very good setting, theme, and dialogue. The only thing missing in the story would be that I think it's a bit short for a novel.
Last but not least, I would recommend this book for any person around the ages twelve and twenty, because the main character in the story is in that age group. This is the kind of book that is exciting and also teaches you many things in life and how you can change.

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