( 9 reviews )
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Posted: Oct 14 2008
... I did not particuarly enjoy this book. I found it a bit abstract for my taste. A narrator who dies in the first chapter is not exactly appealing to my reading budds. However, I have to give Chris Crutcher props in the fact that he certainly got my entire school interested. This is a book that my entire school had to read, and it was the HOT topic in the halls. Parents were complaining, PTO was rebelling, and kids couldn't stop talking. While most of the discussion was about how weird we found the book, I must say that I have never in my life seen a school get so riled up over 230 pages of text.
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( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Aug 1 2008
I love banned books. I remember reading The Satanic Verses when it was first published (of course, at the time I didn't understand the book or the controversy) and a slew of other banned titles. But controversy strictly for controversy's sake is silly. Case in point: this book. It starts out pretty good-The Lovely Bones-like, narrated by a dead teen named Billy Bartholomew, who dies in a freak accident involving quadruple-stacked sheetrock (note-gyp board comes in four foot by eight foot panels, which would logically be leaned in the short direction, which makes his cause of death monumentally unlikely-but don't get me started) but hangs around (21 grams worth at least) to help his fourteen-year-old best friend, Eddie Proffit, deal with the death of his friend and father (in an almost as unlikely accident three weeks prior). Turns out that Eddie seems substellar in the academic realm, but is, in fact, exceedingly smart. Unfortunately, only Billy and his father, smart guy turned school janitor, know it. Eddie, trying to come to terms with loss in his own way, is thrust into the limelight when thrown (by his mom) to the sharks-the Christian church (cue Jaws music), by way of a pushy, meddling, bible-thumping minister with a religiously-twisted past (in one of the most ridiculous scenes of the book-p166-Mom admonishes him for playing with matches by holding a lighter near his fingers and screaming for him to `PRAY TO JESUS!' to avoid having them burned) named Reverend, (p 68) "African Americans wear the marks of Cain" Tarter. Of course, in an entirely white, small northern Idaho town (population 3,065), church and state are hopelessly intertwined and so the Reverend happens to also be a Bear Creek High School English. Eddie's interactions with Reverend Tarter as a youth, in the form of his questioning the logistics of (and logic behind) certain bible stories including that of Jonah and the Whale and Moses parting the Red Sea, are among the more tolerable parts of the story. But instead of just pushing the envelope, Crutcher feels compelled to rip it to shreds, going so far as to insert HIMSELF in the story as (drum roll please)...a controversial author of books often banned (what a shocker), specifically, one entitled Warren Peece, which covers the very things that The Sledding Hill tackles, primarily religion and homosexuality. It is assigned as mandatory reading but promptly withdrawn after protests are filed about its content. The students are able to finish reading the story in spite of being forced to return the books. Things come to a head when Eddie (under the pretext of reciting the testimony required for him to be baptized into the church) surprises everyone with a speech outing himself as a spy for the anti-banners and Reverend Tarter as the mastermind behind the banners. Chris Crutcher even shows up in the flesh to help save the day! Whatever happened to the art of subtlety? Although Crutcher's writing (ultra-controversy aside) occasionally verges on pretty good, he seems a bit too focused on his self-promotion as Highly Ban-able Author. And there is no excuse for misspelling the name of (p 150) Stephen Hawking. Skip this one in favor of the hundreds of better-written books, which can be found at, among other places, the American Library Association site.
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Posted: Dec 16 2007
"He opens his mouth to speak, but the answer weighs on his chest like an anvil and suddenly he can barely breathe. Coherent thoughts won't form, and his mind spins. It will be awhile before anyone hears another word from Eddie Proffit." I found this passage on page 15 of Chris Crutcher's exceeding novel The Sledding Hill. Eddie Proffit suffers great losses from losing his father then to losing his bestfriend Billy Bartholomew. But what happens when the past comes back to haunt him? Eddie Proffit is like any other teenager and his role in this novel makes it seem that anyone can bounce back from unbearable losses. The Sledding Hill, a fictional novel by Chris Crutcher, tells the story about a freshman boy named Eddie Proffit. Eddie had a bestfriend like everyone else named Billy Bartholomew. But when Eddie's father dies and in that same month his bestfriend Billy Bartholomew dies, who can you talk to? No one right? So Eddie grew silent and didn't talk to anyone only using facial expressions to express his emotions. But one day when a book came out that talks about the issues that Eddie's very Christian school is against all Eddie wants to do is break his silence. This one book had such meaning to not only Eddie but his piers who grew up facing the problems that are included in that book. This outstanding novel writes down great meaning to losing loved ones and fighting for what you believe in. The setting of this novel is in a smaller town where almost everyone is a Christian and follows the beliefs and morals of Christians. A town where everyone knows you and a secret doesn't get passed anyone. I believe it was hard for Eddie to grow up in an environment like that and losing both father and best friend changes the way people look at him. This novel was more of a fast read but to understand the meaning and the message in this novel is crucial because it shows life lessons. The theme in Chris Crutcher's novel is senseless tragedies and intellectual freedom. I thought this exceptional novel was unpredictable on page 144, "He pats it against his heart three times and holds it there. He says, "All Done," and hands it to her. Ms. Lloyd is dumbfounded a second, startled at the sound of Eddie's voice; but when she starts to speak, he puts his finger to his lips and shushes her. He winks and leaves." I found that paragraph unpredictable because I didn't think Eddie would ever speak more in public with Ms. Lloyd but the book meant so much that he had to tell her he had read it. I also found this book funny and heroic on page 197, " I see Eddie's mom in the choir stall, looking on in horror. She does not want to have to explain to the congregation how her son thinks he's Jesus." I found that passage funny and heroic because Eddie took a stand and made his speech in front of the whole church how this book should stay in the school and that kids should be able to read about the conflicts in the book. Also, I think Eddie went a little overboard telling everyone that he thought that he was Jesus. Chris Crutcher shows great detail in his writing. He really draws in his readers with his ingenious ways of thinking. Chris Crutcher also writes other fictional books other then The Sledding Hill but none following a series in that book. I think this novel is best suited for children 12 and up because of the understanding and thought process you have to have to get the meaning of this book. "It seems as if everything he has allowed himself to love in this last year has been taken. And even though my reapperance has eased that a little, they ain't gettin' any more." Will the book that Eddie and others are fighting to keep be banned? Will Eddie break his silence for good? Read this surprising novel and understand how the earth game is actually played.
