The Graduation of Jake Moon
By Barbara Park

The "Hook":
"There are these three eighth-grade boys. They've just gotten out of school for the day. And they're about to take off in different directions, when they notice something going on in the trash Dumpster at the other end of the parking lot. They're still pretty far away from it, but they can see an old man sitting on the edge of the thing...'Hey! Don't jump, Pops! You've got everything to live for!' ...'Yeah! Plus I heard the food is much better at the dumpster down the street!' So after that, both kids totally crack up. But the third kid, see, he's just standing there not saying a word...you'd probably think he was the good kid. Only that's the weird thing about this story...On account of the third kid turned out to be the most shameful of all. Because the third kid was me. And the old man in the Dumpster was my grandfather." (p.1-3)

"Aaron was having a good time, too...but as the two of us were finishing our chicken, there was another noise at my door. It was Ma bringing dessert, I figured, so I didn't pay much attention.
But when the door pushed open, it wasn't my mother at all.
It was...guess who.
Skelly had been on his way to the shower and had heard voices. So he wandered on in and stood in the middle of my room.
And he wasn't wearing pants.
No pants at all, I mean.
No long pants.
No short pants.
No underpants.
And Aaron Friar busted out laughing so hard that orange soda came out his nose.
He didn't stop either. Not even when Ma ran in apologizing all over the place, and rushed Skelly back out the door. Not even when I explained to him about the Alzheimer's...I begged him not to say anything." (p.38-39)

Recommendation:
Have you ever felt embarrassed to be seen with someone? Maybe someone less popular, a little different, or even a relative? Most of us go through a period when we are growing up when think we are "too cool" to be seen with someone in our family. I admit, I have been there. For Jake Moon, he not only feels embarrassed, but he also feels a great resentment towards his grandfather (known as "Skelly") because of the situation he is put in. See, Jake's grandfather has a brain disease called Alzheimer's, which makes him do some pretty strange things as you will read in this book. Jake is given part of the responsiblity of taking care of Skelly but all he wants is to lead a normal teenage life. Just when things couldn't get worse for Jake, he comes home to find out Skelly has gone missing. If you want to know how things turn out for Jake and Skelly, you will have to read this book for yourself!

Other books I recommend by this author:
Mick Harte Was Here, Skinnybones

Recommendation by Mrs. Plantz