

Even though I’m not exactly in the “young adult” demographic, I was taken in by the different voices that Mr. Instead of being told what is happening by a narrator, the reader absorbs the documents and puts the story together for him or herself. Gosselink’s book in the same way I love how the narrative develops in my own document novel. (Yes, he annoys people at home, too.) I love the way the narrative is built in Mr. The Defense contains letters from Thaddeus’s friends and enemies, reports the principal completed to explain his student’s behavior, the minutes from the tenant board in Thaddeus’s building and more. Yes, this is a “document novel.” Just like the one I’ve written. Although exiled, the young man compiles a series of documents to demonstrate that he is innocent of any charges that have been unfairly leveled at him. Does being persecuted keep Thaddeus down? Of course not. How is he repaid? An extended stay in in-school suspension.

Ledbetter is just trying to help Principal Cooper increase the productivity of students and teachers at his school. Thaddeus Ledbetter is a precocious seventh-grader who is as snarky as he is smart. Here is a very kind review of the book from A Book and a Hug.Įlement of Craft We’re Stealing: Characterization Gosselink has written for his local paper. Ledbetter, novel Author: John Gosselink Date of Work: 2010 Where the Work Can Be Found: The book can be found at fine independent bookstores everywhere, including Boise, Idaho’s Rediscovered Books.īonuses: Here are some of the humor columns Mr. Title of Work and its Form: The Defense of Thaddeus A.
