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    Paper Things
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    Paper Things
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    Paper Things
    Audiobook7 hours

    Paper Things

    Written by Jennifer Richard Jacobson

    Narrated by Kate Rudd

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    When forced to choose between staying with her guardian and being with her big brother, Ari chose her big brother. There's just one problem-Gage doesn't actually have a place to live.

    When Ari's mother died four years ago, she had two final wishes: that Ari and her older brother, Gage, would stay together always, and that Ari would go to Carter, the middle school for gifted students. So when eigheeen-year-old Gage decided he could no longer live with their bossy guardian, Janna, Ari knew she had to go with him-even though she'd miss baking cookies with Janna and curling up to watch HGTV. What Ari didn't realize was that Gage didn't have an apartment yet.

    And now, two months later, he still doesn't.

    He and Ari have been "couch surfing," staying with Gage's friend in his tiny apartment, crashing with Gage's girlfriend and two roommates, and if necessary, sneaking into a juvenile shelter to escape the cold Maine nights. But all of this jumping around makes it hard for Ari to keep up with her schoolwork, never mind her friendships, and getting into Carter starts to seem impossible. Will Ari be forced to break one of her promises to Mama?

    Told in an open, authentic voice, this nuanced story of hiding in plain sight may have listeners thinking about homelessness in a whole new way.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateFeb 10, 2015
    ISBN9781501221644
    Unavailable
    Paper Things
    Author

    Jennifer Richard Jacobson

    Jennifer Richard Jacobson grew up in a family of storytellers. “My brothers,” she says, “had the ability to make us laugh until our bellies hurt. I wasn’t as hilarious, but I learned how to take the mishaps in life (especially the embarrassments) and turn them into a dramatic story.” Jennifer is the author of the middle grade novels Paper Things and Small as an Elephant, and the Andy Shane picture book series, among others. She lives in Maine with her husband and Jack Russell terrier. Visit her at JenniferJacobson.com.

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    Reviews for Paper Things

    4.5/5

    57 ratings11 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      A touching story that follows Ari and her brother Gage as they navigate homelessness after leaving their guardians home. Her struggles in continuing her success in school and staying in touch with friends, much less finding a place to sleep, shower & getting clean clothes, are made clear in the narrative. Ari is torn between taking care of herself and keeping promises to her deceased mom. The book is wrapped in a neat package with problems resolved.
    • 3/5
      Narrated by Kate Rudd. Ari doesn't see herself as homeless as she and big brother Gage couch-surf for several weeks after they leave Janna their guardian. But they are homeless and the lack of structure and stability impacts her schoolwork, hygiene and her friendships. Young readers will see that homelessness isn't limited to panhandlers and people mumbling on the streets, that it can happen to regular kids like themselves. Rudd gives youthful voice to Ari who believes Gage can make things all right, and we feel Gage's frustration simmering under the surface when he can't.
    • 3/5
      Paper Things is a realist novel about how close homelessness is to each of us.Ari is eleven and has a home with Janna and her brother Gage. Janna is their guardian, but Gage has never gotten along with her. When he's had enough, he tells Janna that he has an apartment and he's taking Ari with him. Ari wants to stay with her brother, yet she doesn't want to leave her home and Janna, whom she has grown to love. Janna agree to take Ari and Gage when their mother died because she had known their parents and would love their children. Gate lied; he doesn't have an apartment, so Ari and Gage float from shelters to friends each night. The novel emphasizes the difficulty of finding a place. One needs references to get an apartment; to get references, one needs to stay in an apartment. It's a catch-22. Also, one must offer first and last months rent. Many people can't get that much money together. Life also complicates things--in this day and age, you need a phone. Ari wants to attend Carter, which is by invitation. She has to have leadership roles and good grades. She's always been a very good student. Things are falling apart, both literally and figuratively. Her shoes are no long sewn together but flop, keeping her toes cold all the time. She often can't get homework done because she moves every night and may not have a computer or room to do her homework in other people's apartments or homes. She's also tired because it's hard to sleep in a different place every night. Her best friend no longer seems interested in being friends and is heard talking about how Ari smells. Showers are no longer always available. One student seems to want to help Ari, Daniel. Daniel doesn't know what's going on, but he likes Ari. He makes a "bucket list" for elementary school and wants Ari help to fulfill it. They reach a compromise. His friendship and one teacher's help keep Ari from completely falling apart.Ari has a great attitude and doesn't take her situation out on others. At some point, she has to analyze the situation and see if there are other choices. This realistic novel is one of those eye-openers as to what can really be going on in someone's life without anyone realizing it. We are all willing to judge with little information and without "putting on someone else's shoes." I do worry that some will find Ari a little childish because she likes to play with her cut-out paper dolls. The purpose of the dolls are to be a metaphor of what a perfect family is supposed to look like in ads and tv. This view is unrealistic and at some point needs to be reexamined for truth.
    • 5/5
      Thanks, Elana, for recommending this book! What a captivating and authentically captured book about how young teens plod through their lives with the same daily hopes and desires despite what their individual circumstances may be... in this case, being homeless. A must read!
    • 5/5
      This book is written for a young audience but it is not “dumbed down.” It touches on real issues that the homeless face, especially children.
      Definitely worth the read!
    • 5/5
      Excellent book on the topic of homelessness, on fostering, on finding ways to be a leader in your community even when you are having a really hard time. Also, great love expressed in a wide variety of ways, and friendship dynamics that model good and bad friendships. Contemporary large city, 5th grade protagonist, brother pulls her our of a stable foster home in order to maintain their family. Gage and Ari's situation is all too believable, and the storytelling is extremely effective at getting that across.

    • 4/5
      When Ari and her older brother Gage were left orphans upon the death of their mother, they came under the guardianship of Janna. But Gage and Janna butted head constantly. And when Gage turns 18 (and this is where the book starts) he lies to Janna and tells her he has an apartment lined up, and he's moving out - and taking Ari with him.But he doesn't have an apartment, or a job. The two are homeless. At first it isn't too bad spending a few nights with one of Gage's friends here or there, but in time, they've worn out their welcome and become street people. All the while, Ari, once a shining academic star at her elementary school, is struggling to keep up her grades, and losing hope that she will be accepted to a prestigious local middle school that she's been dreaming would be her next step. Her best friends at school begin to shun her, as she is often unclean and distracted. But a boy in her grade who she'd never paid any attention to seems eager to befriend her, in spite of her body odor and greasy hair. Ari, and sometimes her brother too, get support from some unexpected people. As this is a middle grade book - you know things will all work out in the end.The middle of the book is slow moving. Although this does make getting through that middle stretch a little dull, it's important. The reader needs to see and feel how worn down, miserable and exhausting being homeless is, even for a short time. The tedium of that middle stretch gives that emotional impact.Only real drawback - I found it hard to swallow that Gage would voluntarily go out to be homeless and drag his 11-year-old sister with him; and that Janna would have so willingly allowed Ari to go with Gage, even if she did think he had an apartment lined up.
    • 5/5
      Ari and her nineteen year old brother, Gage, have been living with Janna since their mother died a few years ago. One of her mother’s final wishes was that Gage and Ari would always stay together. But, things are different with Janna and a lot of days are a struggle for Gage. One day he loses his temper and decides to leave. Ari knows she has to go with him, even though her life with Janna is stable. Plus, Janna helps her with her homework at the school for the gifted that she attends (her mother’s other final wish) and she takes care of her. They have to stick together, so she goes with him. Janna thinks they are living in an apartment, but Gage hasn’t been able to find anything. Instead they have been staying with different friends and sleeping on couches. Other days they sleep in the car and occasionally the shelter. Ari doesn’t have a lot with her and she has to try her best to clean her school uniform, so no one will know she isn’t living with Janna anymore. Her favorite thing to do is to lay out her paper families. She cuts them out of catalogs and makes up stories about them. She knows them and they comfort her. Keeping track of your belongings isn’t easy when you are coming and going all the time, sometimes in a hurry. Can Ari and Gage continue trying to make it on their own? How will Ari continue at school with her ever changing living arrangements? Will Janna find out what is happening? Your heart will go out to Ari as you navigate her new life with her.

      Paper Things by Jennifer Richard Jacobson was a book a library assistant told me I had to read because it was her favorite book. I took a picture of it with my cell phone, so I wouldn’t forget. Imagine my surprise a month later when I am at the Connecticut Children’s Book Fair and I see the cover of the book that’s on my phone. It was a delight to meet Jennifer Richard Jacobson and her presentation was so interesting. I was excited to start reading Paper Things and I was not disappointed. Ari tugged at my heart strings, and I kept thinking about the challenges in her life. Kids who are going through a tough time will find a character that they can relate to and be inspired by. I can understand how Ari’s paper families comforted her. I would recommend this book to anybody in fifth grade and up who likes a book that makes your heart ache for the main character, and you can’t help but hope it will have a happy ending.
    • 5/5
      Ari is a fifth-grader who dreams to go to Carter Middle School just like her family did. But Ari’s situation isn’t exactly normal. Her mother died four years ago wishing that Ari and her older brother Gage stay together always. But now that Gage is nineteen, he decides he can no longer live with their guardian, Aunt Janna. Ari decides to leave with Gage, but after two months, Gage still hasn’t found an apartment for the two of them. Instead, they have been staying with whoever is willing to take them in. All of this “couch surfing” is taking its toll on Ari’s schoolwork, cleanliness, and friendships. Can this situation go on forever? Or will Ari be forced to make a tough decision and break her mother’s dying wish?Ari is a strong character who does not even realize she is homeless at first. As Gage and Ari’s situation develops, Ari discovers a strength she never knew she had and opens up to the people around her. In the book PAPER THINGS, Author Jennifer Richard Jacobson reveals a whole new perspective on homelessness. It is not just what we see on the streets of big cities, homelessness is so much more. How many children in our schools are in situations like Ari? Books are mirrors, reflecting our own lives; and windows, showing us the lives of others. PAPER THINGS would be an excellent addition to any classroom/school library.
    • 4/5
      When Ari’s older brother, Gabe, doesn’t want to live with their guardian anymore, Ari chooses to leave with him and they become homeless. Gabe can’t find a steady enough job to get an apartment, so Ari and Gabe switch between staying with Gabe’s girlfriend and two roommates, Gabe’s friend in a tiny apartment, and sometimes a juvenile homeless shelter. All of this change makes it hard for Ari to keep up with school and her friends, particularly when she is trying to apply to Carter, the middle school for gifted students. The only constants in her life are Gabe and her paper things, the people from catalogs she cuts out to be her paper families. When things are getting too hard in her turbulent life, Ari manages to make new friendships and realize that she wasn’t alone through any of what she has been through, enabling her to get out of her homeless situation.

      Paper Things is a beautiful book that will have the reader thinking more thoughtfully about homelessness. Ari is a strong, thoughtful character in spite of everything she goes through. She’s always positive and tough. Gabe is a great character too, willing to do whatever it takes to do what he thinks is best for Ari, even though he might not be right all of the time. The relationship between Gabe and Janna (their guardian) is never fully explained, so the reader is left wondering why Gabe is putting himself and his sister in such a difficult situation to get away from her. The ending is wrapped up a little too conveniently, but the lighthearted tone of the book makes it so the change from homelessness to not being homeless isn’t jarring. Paper Things shows that even though life can be difficult sometimes, there are still people around to help others get through hard times and have reason to hope for a brighter tomorrow.
    • 5/5
      Thanks, Elana, for recommending this book! What a captivating and authentically captured book about how young teens plod through their lives with the same daily hopes and desires despite what their individual circumstances may be... in this case, being homeless. A must read!