Bluefish

Bluefish

By Pat Schmatz

14 ratings 10 reviews 12 followers
Interest LevelReading LevelReading A-ZATOSWord Count
Grades 6 - 8Grades 2 - 8W444279
Thirteen-year-old Travis has a secret: he can't read. But a shrewd teacher and a sassy girl are about to change everything in this witty and deeply moving novel.

Travis is missing his old home in the country, and he's missing his old hound, Rosco. Now there's just the cramped place he shares with his well-meaning but alcoholic grandpa, a new school, and the dreaded routine of passing when he's called on to read out loud. But that's before Travis meets Mr. McQueen, who doesn't take "pass" for an answer--a rare teacher whose savvy persistence has Travis slowly unlocking a book on the natural world. And it's before Travis is noticed by Velveeta, a girl whose wry banter and colorful scarves belie some hard secrets of her own. With sympathy, humor, and disarming honesty, Pat Schmatz brings to life a cast of utterly believable characters--and captures the moments of trust and connection that make all the difference.
Publisher: Candlewick
ISBN-13: 9780763663414
ISBN-10: 0763663417
Published on 8/6/2013
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 240

Book Reviews (11)

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anoo anoo

This book is so addicting! There should be a sequal pleaseee

Moving in with his grandfather, Travis tries to settle into his new routine with school. Finally he gets a teacher that forces him to learn how to read, meets a girl, and finds a best friend.

The book ''Blue Fish'' is an amazing story that people can relate to in so many different ways. To be honest with you once I started to read this book, I just could not stop. The author Pat Schmatz is a talented writer and now I really want to read every single book he wrote. In this book review, I will be telling you all the positives and negatives I have with the book. Honestly I have so much of positives I can't count them all.But one of them that I loved so much is about the main character Travis and his dog Rosco. When I was little I had a dog and I was so close to her and the day we gave him away to a friend, my heart broke. Just like Travis's when he found out Rosco got killed. I love that connection that Travis had with his dog. To prove this statement it says on page155 it says''He missed the smell,the dog hair all over his clothes, and Rosco's deep row-wow bark.'' A next example of a positive is about Travis's friend Velveeta. The reason why Ilike this story is becuase Velveeta is having a hard life but could still make the better of it . In support of this statement it says on page 88 '' The madre made real food again, and this time the butt showed... and they drank thier dinner while I ate mine.'' Velveeta has a mom who drinks too much and a brother who drinks and sells drugs. Tough life right? To be honest with you I have no negative reviews what so ever. The book '' Bluefish'' is a great book and I trult recomend this book to anyone who would like to read a book about a boy trying to learn how to read and deal with personal problems with his grandfather and a girl trying to find closure about a recent death. I would love to read it if I were you!

This book is about a boy ( Travis) who moves to a new school and he has to live with his grandpa. At the new school he meets a girl who is smart enough to know that he has a secret. It turns out that the girl has one too. Will we find out the secret? Read to find out their secrets.

this book is pretty good so far. so travis is the main character and he misses his dog rosco who somehow got lost one day. travis and his grandpa move to a new place and travis meets velveeta who has a mysterious story like travis's. they are good friends right now. i thought that it was nice when velveeta became friends with travis and sat with him at lunch.

ravis is missing his old home in the country, and he's missing his old hound, Rosco. Now there's just the cramped place he shares with his well-meaning but alcoholic grandpa, a new school, and the dreaded routine of passing when he's called on to read out loud.

This book is about a boy, and he has a secret, a learning disability secret. His life changes when he meets a remarkable teacher, and a sassy student.

I really enjoyed this book because this character is so different from all his other classmates. It's inspiring over the fact that he cant read even though hes in 8th grade, but he learns by trying. I recommend this book to anyone who is in 5th grade or above.

The cover caught my eye. I thought it was going to be a boring old book like many of the other books I read but I decided to give this book a try and read it. After reading the book, I was speechless. This book was awesome!! It makes me sad and happy at the same time. Loved it! I would recommend this book to others!! Enjoy!

An Eigth grade boy named Travis moved to town with his alcoholic grandfather. His school year started out baldy. The reason was because he skipped classes. Travis’ teacher offered him to teach him how to read. Travis wasn’t too convinced about that offer. But when Travis found out that he also got to choose his book he changed his mind and accepted the offer. He now got assistance on how to read properly. Travis would always circle the words he didn’t know and always erased

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