Signal

I am always looking for quality science fiction literature to add to my classroom library. I bought this thinking it would be a great addition to the science fiction section, but the themes presented in this book crossed so many genres it was difficult to find it's "proper place", which to me makes it such a treasure. I introduced this book to a student of mine that was having difficulties at home with his father after his mother passed away. He would often approach me and talk to me about the book and how his ilfe was so similar. It was a great way to help him deal with his grief and broach subjects that would have otherwise been awkward. I love this book and plan on using it as a literature circle book this coming year.

A great book for kids√ Each chapter brings more and more suspense! Then there was such an ending I couldn't believe it! Cynthia you did it again!😍👍

I would definitely recommend reading this book. It's a good sci-if book for kids about 16 and under to read.

Great book you should read it! If you don't read is book you are crazy! you need to read is book it is amazing.

It is a good book for people who like adventure Cynthia defelice is a really good writer and people in 5th grade will like her

5 stars this book is pure gold best book ever loved it and you should read this book it is not a wast of money

Cynthia DeFelice's book, Weasel, is one of my all-time favorites. I've read it to each one of my five kids. The author has a wonderful knack for creating memorable characters, and she does it again in Signal. Owen McGuire, son of a single-parent household and a father he just can't connect with, or even find much time to share with, is immediately a sympathetic individual. Told in first-person, the book progresses nicely, introducing Owen, his dog, and his life in a new town where he just doesn't fit in. I enjoyed the description of the town. DeFelice has great skill at making a setting be an important part of a story, and of finding the best parts of that background to show at the best times. With the way the town is, the reader never forgets how alone Owen is. Things change dramatically when Owen finds Campion. She's obviously been injured, though she doesn't tell him what happened to her, and she's hungry. Owen shares his food, then starts taking care of the strange girl. Readers can immediately see the bond that shapes up between Owen and Campion, and I thought that progression of the relationship was well done. The menace materializes soon after, but it doesn't really manifest as much as I'd thought it might. I was a little disappointed in this, though the climax at the end of the book was suspenseful. One thing that bothered me was how heavily the plot revolved around Campion being from another world. I thought it was inventive, but almost distracting in the end. Ultimately the story was all about Campion and Owen both realizing what they already had at home, and with each other. The book is easy to read and touches on a lot of relationship aspects and ideas of individual worth, so young readers will enjoy it well enough. However, it does take time to get to some of the action, so some patience will be required.

There are a few things that I love about this book. 1. It takes place on the shores of a finger lake in Upstate NY—where I’ve grown and spent all of my 29 years on this Earth. 2. Cynthia DeFelice is behind this great piece of fiction. 3. The cover is interesting and appealing, before you ever open the book to read it. Cynthia DeFelice again paints a very realistic picture of an adolescent who is going through some pretty serious changes in his life. His mother has died, his father is very consumed with his life, and doesn’t necessarily have everything together himself, let alone getting himself together for his son. And then we meet Campion: this poor, scared, alien-girl who mysteriously ended up near Owen’s home, and has no family to speak of, except the family from another planet. There is also a man—Ray, who is looking for her. Ray is a bit of a tough guy, and you’re never quite sure what the connection is. Until the ending, which will tear your heart out and stomp it on the floor. I bought this selection from a scholastic book fair, because I knew that my guided reading students would love it. I could see {from a teaching perspective} that this would be a great addition to any child’s library, but especially to children who have already read Weasel by C. DeFelice--- there are a multitude of similarities of the story outlines, and it would be interesting for a middle-grade level to take these texts and really dive deeply into them. Cynthia DeFelice is also just a good author “to know”…as she has written a LOT of awesome books that appeal to young readers. My fifth grade students—upon receiving this book said the following: Student 1: “Signal… the cover looks pretty cool…” Student 2: “OMG! It’s by Cynthia DeFelice!” Student 1: “That’s awesome. After we read Under The Same Sky, I tried to read all of our libraries books by her…” {that’s super powerful stuff, peeps!} Original Review posted at [..]