Also Known as Rowan Pohi

September 26, 2011
What begins as a practical joke ends up as an identity overhaul for freshman Bobby Steele. It all starts when Bobby and his buddies fill out an application to prestigious Whitestone Prep, a local private school, for a fictitious student they name Rowan Pohi (the last name is IHOP spelled backwards). Much to their surprise, Rowan is accepted, and Bobby takes the gag a step further, attending classes as Rowan. Swept away by Whitestone’s extraordinary facilities and friendly student body, Bobby feels happier there than at his own dismal high school, where everyone knows about his father’s abusive past and his mother leaving home. As might be expected, things soon go awry. The premise requires suspension of disbelief, and the resolution is too pat, but Fletcher (The One O’Clock Chop) creates many poignant moments regarding Bobby’s stressful home life and the brutal, impulsive act that tore his family apart. Hearts will go out to Bobby as he learns that being true to himself is as important as realizing his dreams. Ages 12–up.

October 15, 2011
Fraud pays. "Pohi" seems like a great last name for a fictional high-school applicant invented in an International House of Pancakes: IHOP, Pohi, see? It's a a lark for Bobby and his friends, sitting there surrounded by all those privileged Whitestone Prep kids, to fill out a Whitestone application for "Rowan Pohi," Boy Scout, National Honor Society inductee, soup-kitchen volunteer and football player. But when "Rowan" gets accepted to Whitestone, Bobby takes a good hard look at his wrong-side-of-the-tracks life and realizes this could be the opportunity of a lifetime. Whitestone's teachers and facilities are miles away from those of Bobby's crappy public high school, and of course there's the girls. Bobby almost immediately falls for Heather, "a study in whiteness: white T-shirt, white shorts, white teeth, blonde hair. And long legs." Bobby has antagonists both in and out of school, but his ultimate success at Whitestone seems undeserved; the class inequities of the system are less important to the Whitestone decision-makers than the fact that Bobby's a nice guy with a tragic back story. A recurring evocation of faux–Native American stories, culminating in a 5-year-old's assertion that "[b]eing Spider-Man is way cooler than being an Indian," will insult Native (and other) readers. Lightweight fluff in the Chris Lynch/Chris Crutcher mode, if that's possible. (Fiction. 13-15)

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

January 1, 2012

Gr 8-10-Bobby is looking for an escape from his troubled home life and mediocre school. On a whim, he and his friends fill out an application to a ritzy private school on behalf of a made-up persona, and when "Rowan Pohi" is accepted, Bobby takes the chance to start fresh under a fake name. Although this premise is enticing, the idea that a prestigious academic institution would accept a student under false pretenses so easily, without requiring test scores, previous transcripts, and immunization records, is difficult to accept. The book's overly neat ending is problematic, as is the protagonist's little brother coping with his troubled home life by deciding that he's an Indian and wearing a feather in his hair-until he concludes that being Spider-Man is "way cooler." It's not unheard of that a five-year-old would hold these views of Native American culture-kids are kids; they're still learning about life, but it's troubling that the author chose to go this route. Character development is thin. The most compelling aspect of the story is Bobby's struggle with the aftermath of his father's shocking act of domestic violence against his mother and her subsequent departure from their family. His confusion and pain are genuine and heartfelt. Also, themes of class differences, identity, and self-acceptance are thought-provoking, but ultimately this uneven read is at best an additional purchase.-Allison Tran, Mission Viejo Library, CA

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2011
Grades 7-10 Sitting at IHOP, lamenting the start of tenth grade at their lackluster public high school, Bobby and his friends decide to fill out an application for the fancy local prep school. Their applicant is the imaginary Rowan Pohi (IHOP backwards), who has everything going for him: honor society, football star, soup kitchen volunteeryou name it. When Rowan is accepted, Bobby decides to take the spot in hopes that he can attend classes where no one knows about his abusive past. Of course things go wrong when Bobby tries to live a double life, adding some humorous moments to an often sober story line. Bobby's family and home life are authentically depicted, and teens will respond to Bobby and root for his crazy idea to work. (Maybe he can even nab the girl in the end, too.) Though the resolution is a little too neat, readers already invested in the story will not mind.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)