You Will Call Me Drog

July 1, 2011

The principles and practice of Aikido—and a talking sleeve puppet that won't let go of his hand—help a lad come to terms with suppressed anger over his parents' divorce.

Parker wrongly (or perhaps rightly) considers himself a "pretty happy, pretty ordinary kid" until the decrepit hand puppet he finds in a garbage can not only refuses to come off but delivers ill-tempered insults, often in the hearing of others. The refusal of his parents, his sixth-grade classmates and even his best friend Wren to believe that "Drog" has a mind of its own trigger outsized bursts of rage. Parker finds temporary peace in practicing the inner balance and (accurately presented, if a little too easily learned) harmonizing responses to attacks he picks up at a nearby school of Aikido. Eventually, though, he loses control of his temper and soundly thrashes a bully. Parker's shame ultimately leads to a breakthrough and better self-control. The puppet plays a secondary role to the martial art in resolving Parker's conflict, and though Cowing's efforts to keep who's really doing the talking ambiguous are too obvious, she engineers a cleverly credible way to separate boy and puppet at the end.

Readers might wish for more Drog and less emotional turmoil, but a sturdy debut nonetheless. (Fiction. 11-13)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

February 1, 2012

Gr 4-6-This first-person narrative begins with 11-year-old Parker reminiscing about the day that he and his friend Wren were wrapping up a productive day of junkyard scavenging. While she thinks the bald, green-faced puppet she finds is creepy, Parker is intrigued by its creative possibilities. When he slips the puppet on his hand, it says, "You will call me Drog," and Parker can't get it off, no matter how hard he tries. It's difficult enough trying to hide a puppet stuck to his hand at school, but Drog also has the habit of saying exactly what's on his mind whenever he pleases. While this candor causes Parker's class to laugh hysterically, it also earns him his first trip to the counselor's office and then a psychologist's. Eventually, military school is in his future if he can't figure out how to get rid of his puppet. The protagonist has a rather introspective and mature voice for his age, and his positivity and struggle to find his way make him likable. A subplot about a man with a notebook spying on Parker doesn't quite work, but the suspense and creepiness at the beginning evolve into a thoughtful coming-of-age story.-Brenda Kahn, Tenakill Middle School, Closter, NJ

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.