Quaking
by Kathryn Erskine

    QUAKING by Kathryn Erskine
    Category:  Contemporary
    Age Recommendation:  Grades 9+
    Release Date:  6/21/07
    Publisher:  Philomel
    Reviewed by:  Julie M. Prince
    Rating:  5 Stars


    How can you not love a book that starts like this:

    “Families come in all varieties but with no warranties. I have lived with first cousins twice removed,
    second cousins once removed, and now a third cousin who is removing herself. I call her Loopy. Because
    of her large earrings. And because she is insane.

    Loopy drives like a ten-year-old car thief on a sugar high.”

    From the very beginning, Matt (not Mattie, and certainly not Matilda) has a chip on her shoulder. She’s angry
    and cynical, and she has good reason to be. Loopy is about to dump her off at “the next hostile takeover.”

    “I finally found a second cousin of mine, but you need to make it work, Matt. This is the end of the line
    for you.”

    The end of the line is the home of Sam and Jessica Fox and their disabled foster son, the Blob. These aren’t
    Matt’s kind of people. For one thing, they’re Quakers. They believe so strongly in peace that they don’t even
    have the good sense to run and hide when bullies challenge them. They just stand there. That’s what Sam calls
    it—taking a stand. As far as Matt can tell, it’s just being plain stupid. Everyone knows you’re supposed to run
    from bullies, and that’s just what she intends to do if the Rat decides to make her the next Victim of bullying at
    her new school.

    Kathryn Erskine never underestimates her readers as she allows this story to push the limits and tackle issues that
    most sweep under the rug when company is coming. I love Matt’s sarcastic commentary on the state of the
    world as she faces the challenge of her own life. There is no doubt that this character is strong and capable—
    much like the writer who created her.

    This is a book I’ll keep on my shelf and come back to again and again.