Surviving the APPLEWHITES

Book Review:


Surviving the APPLEWHITES

Author: Stephanie S. Tolan



About the book:

This book is a novel written for children about the experiences of a family called the Applewhites and a boy named Jake. It is a fiction book, meant for kids eight years and above. It has also won a Newberry Honor Book medal.



The Main Characters

Members of the Applewhite family:



Destiny Applewhite- The youngest Applewhite in the family. He is four years old.

Edith Applewhite- Usually called E.D., she thinks that she’s the odd one out in the Applewhite family. She is thirteen years old.

Cordelia Applewhite- The most dramatic girl in the family. She enjoys dancing.

Hal Applewhite- He is a recluse who lives in his room and works on his paintings. He comes out only at night to take food. The Applewhites respect his ‘Artistic privacy’, and don’t ask him what he’s working on until he comes out and shows it to them, even if they don’t see him for months.

Sybil Jameson- (Her real name is Debbie: she changed her name and kept her maiden name when she married) She is a famous author, and is the mother of the Applewhite children.

Randolph Applewhite- He is the father of the Applewhite children. He works as a theatre director.

Archie Applewhite- Randolph’s brother, he works as a wood worker.

Lucille Applewhite- Her view of the world is completely sunny. She is an Applewhite by marriage. She is a poet.

Zedediah Applewhite- He’s the Patriarch of the Applewhite clan. He is the grandpa of the Applewhite kids. He makes handcrafted wood furniture along with Archie.



Other People:

Jake Semple: A boy who managed to get kicked out of every school on Rhode Island, and is famous for burning down his last school. Jake is a bully who swears and smokes.

Govindaswami- Lucille’s guru, he cooks amazing meals.

Jeremy Bernstein- A man who first came to interview Sybil and ends up in a car crash and comes to stay with the Applewhites.



Summary

Jake Semple is coming to live with the Applewhites and take classes in their home school! Everyone is determined to fish out the good kid under the bad exterior. Everyone except E.D. She’s the only one who thinks he’ll be a disaster. But, in fact, living with the Applewhites, Jake does change. Nobody except E.D cares if he swears, and he simply cannot smoke with Zedediah around. Then he starts actually becoming fond of the family’s dog, and soon he even likes Destiny, who keeps following him around. He realises that he is changing. He’s getting new feelings.



Later, Jake even accepts an offer Randolph gives him to join his latest theatre production. But, the president of the theatre is against the play just because her daughter (who is a horrible actor) didn’t get into the cast. So, she makes all the workers quit the show. But that doesn’t stop Randolph! The rest of his family do the work instead! But, the president refuses to let them have the show. There was nothing to do. The Applewhites had wasted weeks. Projects had come to a standstill just to make the show a success. Just as everyone was gloomily accepting the truth, E.D gets an idea! No one can stop the show! The Applewhites decide to have the show in their barn instead! Quickly a stage is built. Everyone, even Destiny, have hundreds of things to do. But, on opening night, something goes wrong. Everything is going well until the power goes out! What will they do now? Read the book to find out!



Review written by Sahithi Pingali