Replay

November 14, 2005
The play's the thing in this uneven audio adaptation of Creech's latest novel. Though he has a grand imagination and big dreams, young Leo often feels invisible in his large Italian family. None of his accomplishments seems to measure up to his siblings' efforts and he is the only one excited about his winning a role in the school production of drama teacher Mr. Beeber's play. Along with learning his lines, Leo spends much of his time rewinding and replaying scenes from his life, of course, dramatically fashioned to his liking. But fantasy and reality dovetail nicely at the end as Leo learns more about his family and his role in it. The elements of the play-within-the-novel device and the inclusion of Leo's frequent daydreams make the story's transition to audio a bit rough. At the recording's outset, readers hear a lengthy listing of Leo's extended family members as well as a recitation of the cast list for the play. These components may prove helpful in print, but are overwhelming and somewhat confusing on audio. Throughout, Burns reads with an often halting rhythm, rarely allowing readers to catch the beat of the tale, or of some of the more poignant or humorous bits in the writing. His deep voice frequently sounds like an old-fashioned radio announcer, which sometimes detracts from the youthful underpinnings here. Unfortunately, a full-cast reading of the bizarre school play at the end is an exercise in patience. Ages 8-12.

September 5, 2005
Written with the kind of warmth, understanding and economical prose that has characterized Creech's previous novels (Walk Two Moons
; The Wanderer
), this story features a middle child growing up in a large, boisterous Italian family. Using a surgeon's precision, the author cuts beneath Leo's surface layer to reveal his concerns about the future and his desire to be someone special. At home, the boy sometimes feels lost in a mob of people (when he was little, he once lamented "I'm just a little sardine, squashed in a tin"), but he does have a wonderful fantasy life, in which he always manages to rise above the crowd and emerge a hero. The 12-year-old lands a part in a school play and is finally able to live out his dream of taking the spotlight (even if he is playing the minor role of an "old crone"—how he warms up to the role makes for some comical scenes). Leo also discovers a journal written by his father at age 13. The journal, structured as an autobiography, reveals family secrets and provides Leo with insight into his father, who has become quiet and cautious since suffering a heart attack. Some readers may be disappointed not to see more development of the relationship between Leo and his father. But the author artfully weaves together dreams, memories and minor crises that occur at home and onstage, to create a tapestry of images and voices that celebrate both the imagination and family. Ages 8-12.

September 1, 2005
Gr 6-8 -Meet Leonardo. His family calls him -sardine, - as he often feels smashed between Contento, his moody older sister, and his two younger brothers, Pietro and Nunzio. His life is filled with possibilities; he's a dreamer (which gains him the additional nickname of -fog boy -). But two events converge in unexpected ways, leading to new understanding, growth, and insight. Leo finds a journal written by his father at age 13 and is chosen for a part in a play written by the drama teacher entitled -Rumpopo's Porch. - To his dismay, he is given the role of the Old Crone and the journal presents a person whom Leo doesn't know. Gradually, however, the Old Crone comes to appreciate Rumpopo just as Leo begins to see glimmers of the 13-year-old boy who matured into his now-frazzled father. Life, like plays and replays, has a cyclical nature. A rift in Leo's large, noisy, and completely realistic family begins to heal after a near disaster when Nunzio is injured, just as a hole created by loss can heal. Leo's fantasies intertwine with actual events, adding humor and insight. Characters are brilliantly delineated by their actions, reports of Leo's observations, and short dialogues presented in both conversations and in screenplay form. As Leo matures, nuggets of wisdom emerge from the simple text in this beautifully crafted novel. The script of -Rumpopo's Porch - is included to further clarify parallels. For in the end, -all the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players. -" -Maria B. Salvadore, formerly at Washington DC Public Library"

Copyright 2005 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 1, 2005
Gr. 4-7. Both uproarious and tender, this story of Leo, 12, captures his big, noisy, extended Italian family with pitch-perfect dialogue that will sweep readers right to the end of the story. Creech's short yet layered chapters are filled with parallels to think about (including an awkward contrivance when Leo stumbles on his dad's journal, written when Dad was Leo's age) but nothing slows down the action. Leo has wild, private fantasies of himself as a hero and a genius. Meanwhile, he is thrilled to act in the school play, even if his role is the Old Crone, and great scenes capture the joy and the awful mess-ups of rehearsals and the final performance (the short play appears as an optional read at the end of the book). The compelling drama is the family story, some of it told as a play--the farce of fights, grudges, and putdowns in Leo's crowded home and across generations, and also the anguish of family secrets. Who is the Rosaria Dad writes about in his journal? Why is Dad sad and angry? What changed him during the last few years? There are no easy resolutions, only haunting questions about growing up.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2006
When twelve-year-old Leo, from a rambunctious Italian-American family, discovers a journal his father wrote at his age, he stumbles on a family secret. Leo also gets a small role in a school play, the production of which weaves through the story. Leo and his family are vividly drawn, and the multiple stories draw together at the end. The school play is appended.

(Copyright 2006 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

November 1, 2005
Second to youngest in a rambunctious Italian-American family, twelve-year-old Leo spends much of his time in a private fantasy world. His family calls him "fog boy" and "sardine," but in his dreams Leo plays a starring role where his talents are always recognized. When he discovers a journal his father wrote at roughly his age, he stumbles on a family secret and begins to understand that the adults -- mother, father, grandparents, and aunts -- have interior lives and past experiences. Leo also gets a small role in a school play, the production of which weaves through the story as each actor must consider what his or her character was like when young. Loss is one of the book's themes: loss through premature death, loss through separation, and loss of confidence after dislocating events such as his father's heart attack three years before. Though the subjects are serious, they are played out with humor. Creech prefaces the book with a much-needed cast of characters and closes it with the text of Leo's school play; many of the (very short) chapters include a few lines written out as dialogue, emphasizing the book's theatrical nature. It's all a little choppy, but Leo and his family are vividly drawn, and the multiple stories draw together at the end.

(Copyright 2005 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)