I think this was a good book. It reminded me a alittle bit about my life. About how I don't always get along with my parents, how I have boyfriends, and how my sister and I are close. I can relate to this book because it has a lot of similar things that happens with my life. I would recommend this book to teenage readers, because it has a teenage setting; teenagers in school, having boyfriends, moving out.

Dime is a problem teen living who provokes her conservative parents at every turn. She's a self-described "headbanger" with an older boyfriend who rides a motorcycle and has a jealous girlfriend who wants to fight Dime. When her parents can't take it anymore, she is sent to live with her quadaplegic brother in hopes that a different environment will help her get back on track.

Kicked Out is an Orca Soundings publication and written at a low reading level but on a subject that will appeal to teens. It is unfortunate that most of the choices for teens with low reading levels are like this book: poorly written, overly simplified, out of touch with real teen experiences. Dime is a stock character who chooses to be troubled and then rather inexplicably and rapidly (due to the scant 92 pages of large text) solves her problems and makes everyone happy. There is little in the way of character development leading to an altogether forgettable book.

This is a poor quality book with little to offer reluctant or struggling readers. Additionally, the proportion of these "hi-lo" books that deal with troublemaker teens is an implicit, and deplorable, judgment on low-reading-level teens. Nevertheless, there are few books on the market that attempt to provide teens with interesting stories at lower reading levels, so Kicked Out and other books from Orca may fill a needed gap in some high school, middle school, and public libraries. Librarians and educators serving teens are highly encouraged to inform publishers of the need for more and better hi-lo books. ( )

Grade Levels: 8th -12th

Category: Realistic Fiction

Read Alouds:
Page 3-5
This introduces our main character and the failing relationship with her folks.
Page 15.
Darren explains what the drift is between Dime and her folks.
Page 27-31
Reader’s theatre opportunity. A set up of rules and guidelines between Darren and Dime.

Summary: Dime refuses to get along with her parents. She often deliberately disobeys them in order to see what kind of punishment they can try and punish her with. Her brother and father planned to move her into her brother house to see if that would help her get out of trouble. The move was an amazing journey from rebellious child to a responsible young adult.

Themes:
Self doubt: Dime suffered from low self esteem, that she thought she could fixed with a hot body of a boyfriend. Gabe only made it worse, because of his pressuring. She definitely broke free.
Self Realization: Dime really found herself with the help of a wonderful older brother. Dime finds out that when she starts believing in herself, people start doing the same.
Maturity: This theme really goes right along with the self-realization. Dime grew leaps and bounds from cover to cover.

Discussion Questions:
1. Do you feel that you would be better off without the support of your folks?
2. What kind of life would you lead if only your quad brother controlled it?
3. Do you think Dime’s fight was a sign of her maturity or the opposite?

Reader Response: This book was a great journey of a young woman. Dime really had a great connect with my life, because my brother has been begging to move in with me, but I don’t feel he will learn as much as Dime did. She was a strong girl with so much to live for and she really wanted to be like her brother, a quadriplegic. She wanted to not feel.
And in the end, she was free as a bird. ( )

The Orca publishers have created a number of these easy to read novelettes directed at the teen audience. It's appeal is that the stories are easy to identify with--generally having to do with pains of being adolescent and being caught in between childhood and adulthood and making decisions within this context. It is short and easy to read. The book can be read very quickly. It is not superficial, however. The subject matter is very realistic and there is development of characters that the teen reader can easily idenitfy with. This book or any of its series would be a good recommendation of SSR in a class, as it's engaging to the teen reader. Also, it might be of pertinance to a guidance counseling program as it pertains to honest emotional difficulties that teens have.