Book Review: This is What I Did: by Ann Dee Ellis

This is What I Did: by Ann Dee Ellis
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date: July 2007
ISBN: 9780316013635
Source: Library

Logan witnessed something horrible happen to one of his friends.  The worst part, is that he did nothing to help.  The aftermath of this event makes him an outcast at school and outside of school, people treat him no better.  Logan struggles to deal with his own feelings of disappointment in himself and to feel like a real person again, while we slowly begin to understand what really happened that night.

Things I Liked:
This is a short book that really packed a punch.  Ellis' style of short sentences and simple prose allows the real power of the story to stand out.  We begin to feel sorry for Logan, at the same time that he is beating himself up over what he didn't do.  It really brought out the power that psychological stress can play on a person's mind and actions.  I love how Logan changes over the course of the story and the hopeful ending that it allowed.

Things I Didn't Like:
I admit that at times I thought it was a little to simplistic.  I don't think I understood or "got" all the things Ellis might have been trying to portray.  This is probably more a problem of me than the book, though.  I don't know, I just didn't really get into it as well as I did her other book Everything is Fine.  Perhaps it just didn't have the emotional punch that book did for me.

Read-alikes:
Everything is Fine by Ann Dee Ellis
Glimpse by Carol Lynch Williams

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !
a few here and there

mrg-factor: XX
some talk and a short scene with nothing really described

v-factor: ->->
some domestic violence

Overall rating: ***

I'm one of those readers who can only handle so much contemporary stuff before I get depressed. What about you?

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