the next great paulie fink by ali benjamin

Told via multiple voices, interviews, and other documents, The Next Great Paulie Fink is a lighthearted yet surprisingly touching exploration of how we build up and tear down our own myths.about others, our communities, and ourselves. /rebates/2f97803163808812fNext-Great-Paulie-Fink-Benjamin-03163808812fplp&. With each challenge, Caitlyn struggles to understand a person she never met. Who was this kid, anyway - prankster, performance artist, philosopher, or fool? Caitlyn's quest to understand Paulie is about to teach her more about herself than she ever imagined. Now hes disappeared, and Caitlyn finds herself leading a reality-show-style competition to find the schools next great Paulie Fink. They'll find their next great Paulie Fink through a reality-show-style competition, to be judged by the only objective person around: Caitlyn, who never even met Paulie Fink.

Her classmates are in for a shock of their own: Paulie Fink - the class clown, oddball, troublemaker, and evil genius - is gone this year.Īs stories of Paulie's high jinks unfold, his legend builds, until they realize there's only one way to fill the Paulie-sized hole in their class. When Caitlyn Breen enters the tiny Mitchell School in rural Mitchell, Vermont, she is a complete outsider: the seventh grade has just 10 other kids, and they've known each other since kindergarten. The Next Great Paulie Fink is more lighthearted and less lyrical than Ali Benjamins first book, The Thing About Jellyfish, but it does have moments that are genuinely touching. The satisfying ending will have readers cheering, and maybe even shedding a tear or two.In this highly anticipated second novel by the author of the award-winning, best-selling The Thing About Jellyfish, being the new kid at school isn't easy, especially when you have to follow in the footsteps of a classroom prankster like Paulie Fink. Readers of all ages are invited to think about what we know, how we know it, how we tell what we know, whether we can completely understand people and events from the past, and lots more. Tweens will relate to Caitlyn's need to fit in, and her struggles to understand the strange, new world in which she suddenly finds herself.Īlthough there's very little content of concern, parents and guardians may want to read along with, or even read aloud to, readers on the younger side to help them grapple with big ideas like Plato's cave analogy, what a scapegoat really is, and what the role of the fool was in Shakespeare. The Next Great Paulie Fink is more lighthearted and less lyrical than Ali Benjamin's first book, The Thing About Jellyfish, but it does have moments that are genuinely touching. This novel is an enjoyable balance of funny hijinks quirky, colorful characters and a genuine exploration of heroes, stories, courage, and fitting in.

The next great paulie fink by ali benjamin