Dancing Carl
Author | : Gary Paulsen |
Publisher | : Simon and Schuster |
Total Pages | : 116 |
Release | : 2012-05-22 |
ISBN-10 | : 9781442467118 |
ISBN-13 | : 1442467118 |
Rating | : 4/5 (18 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: Dancing Carl, Gary Paulsen's first novel, was a ALA Best Book for Young Adults and a Notable Children's Trade Book for the Language Arts. In the winter, life in McKinley, Minnesota, revolves around the rinks, where kids play hockey and grown-ups skate to scratchy phonograph records. Then, the year Marsh and his best friend, Willy, are twelve, Carl appears at the rink, wearing a battered, old leather flight jacket and doing a strange dance that is both beautiful and disturbing to watch. It is Marsh and Willy who discover the terrible secret behind Carl's dance, a secret that threatens to destroy him. But a small miracle occurs, and Carl's dance becomes a fragile and tentative expression of hope and the healing power of love.