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Alone in the evenings when Irene goes to work, Ambrose pesters Cosmo, the twenty-five-year-old son of the Greek landlords who live upstairs. Cosmo has just been released from jail for breaking and entering to support a drug habit. Quite by accident, Ambrose discovers that they share a love of Scrabble and coerces Cosmo into taking him to the West Side Scrabble Club, where Cosmo falls for Amanda, the club director. Posing as Ambrose’s Big Brother to impress her, Cosmo is motivated to take Ambrose to the weekly meetings and to give him lessons in self-defense. Cosmo, Amanda, and Ambrose soon form an unlikely alliance and, for the first time in his life, Ambrose blossoms. The characters at the Scrabble Club come to embrace Ambrose for who he is and for their shared love of words. There’s only one problem: Irene has no idea what Ambrose is up to.
In this brilliantly observed novel, author Susin Nielsen transports the reader to the world of competitive Scrabble as seen from the honest yet funny viewpoint of a boy who’s searching for acceptance and for a place to call home.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
January 8, 2010 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781770490758
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781770490758
- File size: 686 KB
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Languages
- English
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Levels
- ATOS Level: 4.8
- Lexile® Measure: 800
- Interest Level: 4-8(MG)
- Text Difficulty: 3-4
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Reviews
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Starred review from December 1, 2008
Gr 5-7-Twelve-year-old Ambrose Bukowski and his widowed, overprotective mother, an adjunct professor, move frequently. When he almost dies after he bites into a peanut that bullies put in his sandwich, just to see if he is really allergic, Irene has had enough, and she decides to homeschool him. While she teaches at night, Ambrose gets to know 25-year-old-Cosmo, recently released from jail and the son of the Bukowskis' warmhearted Greek landlords who live upstairs. Ambrose discovers that he and his neighbor both love Scrabble, so, without his mother's knowledge, he talks Cosmo into taking him to a Scrabble Club. For the first time, Ambrose has a friend, but when his mother finds out, she starts packing up to move again to get him away from the ex-con. This prompts Ambrose to run away, determined to get his mother to listen to him. Ambrose is a neat kid who is comfortable in his own skin, despite always being an outsider. Cosmo knows he made some wrong choices, but he is regretful, as well as caring and thoughtful, and a great morale booster for Ambrose. This is a tender, often funny story with some really interesting characters. It will appeal to word nerds, but even more to anyone who has ever longed for acceptance or had to fight unreasonable parental restrictions."Shannon Seglin, Patrick Henry Library, Vienna, VA"Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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January 1, 2009
Ambrose, an allergic misfit with an overprotective mother, is taken out of public school when bullies sneak a peanut into his sandwich. After becoming unlikely friends with his neighbor's son, a reformed ex-convict, and visiting the West Side Scrabble Club, his confidence soars. The smart chapter titles are creatively formed from Scrabble letters. It's a laugh-out-loud funny--and encouraging--story. Glos.(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
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