Scrawl

Mark Shulman’s Scrawl is the detention journal of the school’s bully, Tod.  After he and his droogs are busted for breaking into the school, he’s sentenced to spend his daily detention in a hot, empty room with Mrs. Woodrow, a no-nonsense guidance counselor.  Not really sure why he escaped grounds-keeping duty, Tod only knows he’s supposed to write about himself, his family, friends and school life in a beat-up notebook and turn it in for Mrs. W.’s review. 

Through the journal Tod eventually opens up and we can see that he is a smart, thoughtful kid who lives a bad home life, isn’t socially accepted at school, and doesn’t have any qualms about using intimidation to get what he wants out of others. He’s definitely a realist (although surprisingly not as pessimistic and angry as he could be, given his situation)and he’s certainly not overly violent.  It’s really his intelligence and wit that keep him on the good side of the edge. He could fall easily into the life of juvenile delinquency which would lead to a much harsher, bleaker adult life.  Since Tod obviously has a working moral compass and the will to “pop” his droogs when he thinks they’ve crossed the line, it’s pretty clear Shulman intends Scrawl to be a redemptive story.  It’s not clear what grade Tod is in; some reviews say 8th grade, but I don’t recall having seen that mentioned anywhere. It easily reads like he is in high school which makes the crossover appeal great since there aren’t any drugs, sex, foul language or other objectionable issues that would it from being suitable for middle grade readers.

I like the conceit behind this book, but I was thinking how much more effective it could have been if it had been printed to look like handwriting on notebook paper. That’s an effective way of reinforcing the realism of the idea – it’s not a printed book but a real journal.   Mrs. Woodrow’s parenthetical notes could also have been written in another handwriting-like script, rather than just indented italics.  Patrick Carman’s Skeleton Creek series employs this style effectively and it immediately hooked me into thinking that I really was reading the teen’s thoughts.  This is, however, a minor complaint about an otherwise well-written, interesting, and authentic book. 

• Posted by Cori