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Operatic



by
Kyo Maclear
illustrated by
Byron Eggenschwiler

Edition
Hardcover edition
Publisher
House of Anansi Press
Imprint
Groundwood
ISBN
9781554989720

Awards and Honors
2020 Red Maple Award Fiction Nominee
POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
Language: Homophobic Slur, Discrimination: Disability
$7.20   $6.00
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QTY
Out of stock

It’s almost the end of middle school, and Charlie has to find her perfect song for a music class assignment. The class learns about a different style of music each day, from hip-hop to metal to disco, but it’s hard for Charlie to concentrate when she can’t stop noticing her classmate Emile, or wondering about Luka, who hasn’t been to school in weeks. On top of everything, she has been talked into participating in an end-of-year performance with her best friends. Then, the class learns about opera, and Charlie discovers the music of Maria Callas. The more she learns about Maria’s life, the more Charlie admires her passion for singing and her ability to express herself fully through her music. Can Charlie follow the example of the ultimate diva, Maria Callas, when it comes to her own life?

Bibliography. Full-color illustrations.

POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
Language: Homophobic Slur, Discrimination: Disability

Details

Format

Print

Page Count

152

Trim Size

6 1/2" x 9"

Dewey

F

AR

3.4: points 1

Lexile

GN480L

Genre

Fiction

Scholastic Reading Counts

5

JLG Release

Jul 2019

Book Genres


Topics

Opera. Middle schools. First crushes. Friendship. Music. Graphic novels.

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Cover Art

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Praise & Reviews

Starred or favorable reviews have been received from these periodicals:

Booklist*, The Horn Book Magazine, Kirkus Reviews

Horn Book

When Mr. Kerner challenges his music class to “choose a song for this moment in your life and write about it,” Charlotte Noguchi (a.k.a. Charlie) is stuck. Truth be told, she is more interested in parsing her crush on classmate Emile than she is in music, until the day Mr. K puts Maria Callas on the turntable (Mr. K is very old-school; his own song-for-life is A-ha’s “Take On Me”). That’s about it for a through-line; this graphic novel is more interested in the middle-school dynam¬ics of crushes, cliques, and bullying, all drawn within the rich context of Charlie’s interior life and her burgeoning passion for opera. School life is colored in ochres, the poignant story of a nonconformist classmate in blue, Charlie’s mini-biography of La Divina brings—what else?—blood red to the page; throughout, small panels play well with drama supplied by full-page pictures in just the right spots. The quiet revelation that Charlie’s crush on Emile can’t go anywhere romantic is bittersweet (she may have lost a crush, but she’s gained a great friend)—a quality that extends to the story as a whole, a boon to the Charlies among and within us.

Praise & Reviews

Horn Book

When Mr. Kerner challenges his music class to “choose a song for this moment in your life and write about it,” Charlotte Noguchi (a.k.a. Charlie) is stuck. Truth be told, she is more interested in parsing her crush on classmate Emile than she is in music, until the day Mr. K puts Maria Callas on the turntable (Mr. K is very old-school; his own song-for-life is A-ha’s “Take On Me”). That’s about it for a through-line; this graphic novel is more interested in the middle-school dynam¬ics of crushes, cliques, and bullying, all drawn within the rich context of Charlie’s interior life and her burgeoning passion for opera. School life is colored in ochres, the poignant story of a nonconformist classmate in blue, Charlie’s mini-biography of La Divina brings—what else?—blood red to the page; throughout, small panels play well with drama supplied by full-page pictures in just the right spots. The quiet revelation that Charlie’s crush on Emile can’t go anywhere romantic is bittersweet (she may have lost a crush, but she’s gained a great friend)—a quality that extends to the story as a whole, a boon to the Charlies among and within us.

Grades 5-8
Graphic Novels Middle Plus
For Grades 5-8

Book-length narratives presented in comic book style, graphic novels foster both visual and verbal comprehension skills while exposing readers to interesting dialogue and satire, as well as affirming diversity.

JLG's selection of these unique books, some of them only published in softcover, are ideal for attracting reluctant readers and introducing them to literature they might not encounter otherwise. You may find that the 12 books in this category will turn your reluctant readers into eager readers.

14 books per Year
$293.02 per Year
Interests
Diversity,ESL,Fiction,Graphic Novels,Reluctant Readers,Transitional Readers,Funny/Humorous
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Grades 5-8
Graphic Novels Middle Plus
14 books per Year
$293.02 per Year

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