The Year I was Grounded

by William New

Geordie likes baseball, crunching carrots, playing the trumpet in the school band and anything to do with water. Not quite telling the truth "You're grounded!" Over the year that follows, the world's truths turn out to be more interesting than Geordie ever imagined. Some discoveries are comic, some are exciting, some upsetting, some sad. And some are puzzling. Consisting of word puzzles, a series of poems and a diary, this book will delight young readers and teenagers alike.

Genres: Poetry

104 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2008

Reviews

[Kristy]

Weird book of poetry - journal entries, haikus, concrete poems failed to come together into a cohesive story for me. Just didn't work

[Lindy]

I picked this up at the library because I thought it looked like it'd be pretty cute. Maybe I'm just not the right age, because it wasn't.

[Canadian Children's Book Centre]

In his fourth book for young readers, William New tells the story of a year in the life of Geordie, who loves, among other things, playing baseball. The tale really begins when Geordie throws a baseball and accidentally breaks a window. To make matters worse, Geordie tries to wriggle out of the situation by lying. This gets him grounded for two whole weeks. Dad does, nevertheless, reassure Geordie by adding, “We love you…all day, every night – and in darkness and light, when you’re you, you’re just right.” Naturally, Geordie is not actually grounded for an entire year. However, the reader is invited into a year in Geordie’s world through his journal entries, his poems, and word puzzles. The layout of these elements is particularly intriguing as it’s so varied. Both funny and touching, these methods of telling the story of Geordie’s year will captivate readers. There is a clear ecological theme running through the book. When Geordie speaks of the year he was grounded, he also means the year he begins to grow up, appreciate the things around him that are truly important, and feel increasingly sure of himself. I was especially enchanted by the beautiful verse throughout the book, in particular “A Handful of Earth” and “Things I’ve Learned This Year.” As an enjoyable addition to this wonderful volume, the author offers the reader Geordie’s website where the answers to all of the word puzzles included in the book are located. This funny and poignant work is a delight for casual reading and would make an excellent book for classroom study. Because of its use of a variety of literary techniques and its imaginative page layout, it would be particularly appealing to reluctant readers.

Reviewed by Ann Shantz in Canadian Children's Book News
Spring 2009 VOL.32 NO.2

[Faith]

This book just didn't make much sense to me. It was jumbled and random, as if he just published a kid's "whatever" journal. There was no storyline/plot and I didn't really enjoy the poems either. Maybe I just couldn't appreciate this book, but I do not recommend it.