Tangerine (Apple Signature Edition) (ISBN 059043277X)

Amazon.com Review:
So what if he's legally blind? Even with his bottle-thick, bug-eyed glasses, Paul Fisher can see better than most people. He can see the lies his parents and brother live out, day after day. No one ever listens to Paul, though--until the family moves to Tangerine. In Tangerine, even a blind, geeky, alien freak can become cool. Who knows? Paul might even become a hero! Edward Bloor's debut novel sparkles with wit, authenticity, unexpected plot twists, and heart. The writing is so fine, the story so triumphant, that you just might stand up and shout when you get to the end. Hooray!

Very Moving:
I read this book in my 7th grade language arts class. I'm not sure if any of my peers really thought about this book the way I did. You see, this book has not just one message, but many. The first message is an environmental one. The second was about parenting, in a sense. The third was one I think I really understood. It was about the division between groups of people, like in The Outsiders, if you've ever read it. It was sort of a "rich vs. poor" scenario. Over all, it was very moving and very deep. If you or your child reads this book, I recommend discussing the topics and messages in the book. That is what my mom and I did as well as my class and I did. You can't just read something like Tangerine. It has to be thought about. I also think Tangerine was sad. Some people reading this may not like sadness in stories or movies,(I'm not sure anyone really does), or may not want their child exposed to those things. I believe it's good to once in a while, because sometimes to be able help people in situations like these, you need to think about what their situation is like. Despite the fact that Tangerine was a sad book, I really think it is a book not only worth reading, but thinking about.

Save the tangerine!:
Edward Bloor, Tangerine (Scholastic, 1997) Tangerine County, Florida, is a very weird place. (It should be noted, since it seems to be a frequently asked question, that while there is a Citrus County in Florida, Tangerine County exists only in Edward Bloor's head.) After you've lived there for a while, you get used to it, but Paul Fisher doesn't have that problem. Paul is a legally blind soccer player. (Yeah, figure that one out.) He's also a transplant; his family moved to Tangerine County just before the beginning of the school year. A new school means a lot of new difficulties (including getting his disability past the new soccer coach), but "difficulties" gets a new meaning when a sinkhole opens under the school, swallowing half of it. Did I mention that Paul's father works for the county engineering office? Yeah, that. Things get even weirder, but sports? They tend to be the great equalizer (cf. Chris Crutcher's fantastic Whale Talk). Tangerine gets off to something of a slow start, but I'd advise you to stick with it; all that setup is actually going to get used eventually. When the book takes off, POW. Bloor spends the first quarter or so of the book constructing his deeply odd alternate reality (that isn't too terribly alternate; just, you know, sinkholes and blind soccer players) so he can spend the last three-quarters of the book ripping it to shreds, putting it back together in different configurations, and then, just for fun, jumping up and down on the pieces in order to deform them even more. Yes, Tangerine County, Florida, is a very weird place, but I highly recommend vacationing there. You never know what you'll find happening next. ****

One of my favorites:
I read this book for the first time in 5th grade I think, and since then I've read it at least twice more. It's a great story about a boy who lives in Florida, with a brother who teases him and other cliche stuff that you wouldn't think makes a good book, but it does, because Bloor handles the subject wonderfully, intertwining all of the simple things that we all remember from our childhood into a great read that pulls you in and doesn't let go until you have finished it, swept up by the emotion that this man is able to leech out of you. Definitely recommended to children and adults alike, because it has themes that we all need to get in touch with.

Great, teen read!:
This is a great read for all ages; the author weaves a story of a survivor who views life in positive terms and is never defeated!

Excellent!:
This book is so good, it held my interest more than any of the Harry Potter books!