Review: Absolutely Almost

Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This is a good-hearted book with an unlikely hero, unlikely in the sense that it is very uncommon to find a book about a pretty ordinary boy. He is not a very good student and not especially good at things that kids value. But his nanny helps him discover things that he IS good at and to keep working toward finding things that he enjoys doing.

A personal caveat: I think one of the problems I had with this book is that I couldn't personally identify with the fundamental difficulties that Albie had with school. I understand them - I am a teacher - but his difficulties weren't really ever my own, so it was just a tad harder to feel them. In a way, I am grateful for the book showing me how it feels for average kids to not understand or identify with books about really smart kids.

*****
I have been pondering something that bothered me a bit about this book. Albie was asked to leave a private school that he was attending, because he was having difficulty meeting the standards of their curriculum. Later, when he was asked if he really wanted to stay at that school, he is almost fed the line about how the people there weren't really that nice. This bothers me, because it was probably a more academically demanding school. Albie really wasn't a very good student. He struggled with math and he enjoyed books that were actually a bit below his grade level. There is NOTHING wrong with that. But there is also nothing wrong with an academically focused school with more difficult curriculum. The problem is the match between the school and the student. It isn't necessary to put down the school and the people attending and teaching in the school. It just wasn't a good place for Albie.



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