School Library Journal Review
Gr 6-9-In Jordan Sonnenblick's Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie (2004), eighth-grader Steven deals with his younger brother Jeffrey's diagnosis of leukemia. In this sequel (2010, both Scholastic), Jeffrey is now in the eight grade and his cancer is in remission. He met his best friend, Tad, in the fourth grade when they were both undergoing treatment for cancer. Now, as a result of Jeffrey's chemotherapy and radiation treatments, he suffers from attention span issues and is worried about taking the new state middle school proficiency exams. Supporting him through his struggle to prepare for the tests are his parents, Tad, new girl Lindsey, and the eccentric gym teacher. Nothing seems to help; he fails the pre-test and loses hope of joining his classmates in graduation to ninth grade. Meanwhile, his big brother Steven who has always been there for him, decides to drop out of college and head to Africa to do some soul searching, leaving a huge hole in Jeffrey's already shaky world. At the last minute, the entire eighth grade stages a walk-out during the exams in support of Jeffrey. Nick Podehl does a fine job of portraying all the characters, highlighting the frequent humor and occasional poignancy. A sure hit with middle schoolers.-Jennifer Ward, Albany Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Jeffrey Alper, now in eighth grade, narrates this intense sequel to Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie. He is cancer-free now, but leukemia treatment left Jeffrey with a limp and a brain that is "a little scrambled up." When he learns he will be held back unless he passes a statewide standardized test, Jeffrey panics, then agrees to let Tad, his best friend and fellow cancer survivor, tutor him. But Jeffrey fails the practice test and is dealing with other stresses: his older brother-always his biggest supporter-is unreachable in Africa, his girlfriend won't see him until after the test, and Tad is suddenly missing a lot of school. Jeffrey's honest, humorous narration acts as a counterbalance to the subject matter (when Tad asks if he ever dreamed of doing "something completely magnificent," Jeffrey answers, "Dude, mostly I just hope I won't forget to zip my pants in the morning"). Even so, this book is packed with emotional highs and lows, and readers will understand the toll cancer takes on victims and everyone around them-even after it is gone. Ages 12-up. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved