Garvey's Choice by Nikki Grimes

From Goodreads,

"Garvey’s father has always wanted Garvey to be athletic, but Garvey is interested in astronomy, science fiction, reading—anything but sports. Feeling like a failure, he comforts himself with food. Garvey is kind, funny, smart, a loyal friend, and he is also overweight, teased by bullies, and lonely. When his only friend encourages him to join the school chorus, Garvey’s life changes. The chorus finds a new soloist in Garvey, and through chorus, Garvey finds a way to accept himself, and a way to finally reach his distant father—by speaking the language of music instead of the language of sports."

Goodreads - Garvey's Choice

In case you haven't noticed, there's been a theme to the books I've been reviewing.  They are all works of poetry!  April is National Poetry Month, which means reading lots of fantastic books that are quick and easy to read.  This book was quick to read, but I thought it was far from fantastic.

Garvey is a chubby kid who is constantly being pressured by his Dad to play sports.  But Garvey isn't the athletic type.  He enjoys astronomy and reading, and a newfound love for chorus.  Through singing, Garvey must try to find his voice to hopefully communicate to his Dad, that he isn't an athlete.

This book was an extremely short read.  I did not like how short this book was because I didn't feel like I had time to digest what I was reading.  This book had the general storyline of a child who is overweight and doesn't see eye to eye with a parent, they find something that they enjoy, and they finally get along with their parent.  There was nothing special about this book.  Also, due to the length of this book and the fact that it was written in prose, I felt like I didn't connect with any of the characters.  All of the characters lacked detail and depth, even Garvey the main character.

I give this book 1 star.  I felt like it was over before it even started, and being totally honest I felt like there was no depth to this.  This book was a total let down because it the summary for this book held a lot of potential.  My students love poetry and quick reads, which will be the only reason that I will put this book in my classroom library.