Review of SAHARA SPECIAL

Bibliography:

Codell, Esmé Raji. 2003. Sahara special. New York: Hyperion Books for Children. ISBN 0786807938

Review:

Sahara Special is the story of Sahara Jones, a young girl, whose struggle with school and her feelings since her father abandoned her family, has landed her in a special needs program. Aware that teachers and others form an opinion of her based “her file,” Sahara has given up on doing schoolwork and on herself, despite the fact that she want to be a writer. When her mother signs paperwork for Sahara to redo fifth grade, Sahara is placed in Miss Pointy’s class, a unique environment where she is presented the opportunity of discovering herself as she writes in her school journal and interacts with her teacher and classmates. Esme Raji Codell’s book centers on Sahara and the other students’ in an inner-city fifth grade class – an assortment of children including tough guy Darrell, tattletale Sakiah, pushy Kiarre, and brainy Paris who reflect the array of students found in a typical classroom. The fast moving, often sassy dialogue among the classmates rings true and draws readers in to the story. Despite the fact that the story is told from Sahara’s perspective, the author has included excerpts from various classmate’s daily journals throughout the story, allowing readers in to the private and real thoughts of the students and providing a different view of the story and of life itself. This technique helps to develop one of the book’s themes – “not to judge a book by its cover.” From the presentation of Miss Pointy, “who looked less like a teacher and more like one of those burnt-out punk-rock teenagers,” to the evolution of Darrell Sykes, who “has been in Special Needs ever since dinosaurs roamed the earth”, Codell creates an inspirational story of a girl and her classmates that teaches readers to value individuality. This a valuable lesson worth repeating for preteens who often judge others more by their appearance or what their friends say than by the person themselves.