Stanford Wong Flunks Big-time
Grade 5-7–A companion volume toMillicent Min, Girl Genius(Scholastic, 2003). From birth, when his father named him for his alma mater, great things have been expected from Stanford Wong. When his lack of interest in academics causes him to fail sixth-grade English and lands him in summer school, his star status on his school's basketball team is endangered. It is a summer of turmoil and family tension. Stanford's father is working longer and longer hours to try for a promotion, and a host of other changes are occurring. Stanford must come to grips with missing out on basketball camp, grit his teeth through tutoring sessions with Millicent the genius, see his beloved grandmother moved to an assisted-living facility, and try to hide his summer-school attendance from his buddies. His observations on his overachieving father and sister can be hilarious, and the loving close-up of his grandmother's dementia is wonderfully drawn. Stanford's days are narrated one by one, so readers are privy to all his musings, from the odor of farts to the rush of a first crush. There's much here for boys to identify with, including Stanford's need for parental approval and his single-minded pursuit of the sport he loves. His growth as a person as the summer unfolds is warmly satisfying. The conclusion has Stanford's workaholic father undergo an unexpected and unsubstantiated change of heart, but kids won't mind the surprise happy ending.–Faith Brautigam, Gail Borden Public Library, Elgin, ILCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.