Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Two Roads from Here
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://teddysteinkellner.com/
CITY: Los Angeles
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
RESEARCHER NOTES:
| LC control no.: | n 2012032892 |
|---|---|
| LCCN Permalink: | https://lccn.loc.gov/n2012032892 |
| HEADING: | Steinkellner, Teddy |
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| 010 | __ |a n 2012032892 |
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| 100 | 1_ |a Steinkellner, Teddy |
| 670 | __ |a Trash can days, 2013: |b ECIP t.p. (Teddy Steinkellner) |
| 953 | __ |a xc05 |
PERSONAL
Son of Bill and Cheri Steinkellner; married Courtney Khademi (a litigation associate), October 28, 2017.
EDUCATION:Stanford University, B.A.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. Worked variously as an announcer for college basketball games, college improv instructor, and talk-show host for public television.
AVOCATIONS:Bachelor in Paradise, popsicles, dance movies, basketball video games.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
An alumni of Stanford University, Teddy Steinkellner aims his fiction writing toward middle-school and young-adult audiences. Much of his work is influenced by his own experiences in school, especially his middle-school years, and the bullying he encountered during this period of his life. Steinkeller’s parents, Bill and Cheri Steinkeller, have also been involved in creating content for youth audiences, among others. Both were part of the writing staff for the Disney show Teacher’s Pet, the stage version of Sister Act, and the renowned sitcom Cheers.
Trash Can Days
Trash Can Days: A Middle School Saga is the first book in a series, as well as Steinkeller’s debut release. The book features Jake Schwartz, who is just starting middle school and is on pins and needles about this new phase of his life. Along for the ride is his older sister, Hannah, one of the most popular girls in school and the head of a gossip blog that unashamedly dishes all the latest dirt about her schoolmates. Jake is also joined by his best friend, Danny, as well as the smitten and eccentric Dorothy. More changes are on the horizon for Jake than simply entering a new grade. Danny decides to carve a new identity for himself, and his chosen manner for this is to get involved with the school’s reigning gang, the Raiders, thereby slowly severing his ties to Jake. Throughout the book, each character develops and grows on the way to a sudden and violent climax.
A Publishers Weekly contributor remarked: “Steinkellner skillfully juggles a large cast, giving even minor characters distinctive voices.” On the Jewish Book Council website, Marge Kaplan wrote: “The author has a wonderful ear for the language of teenagers and the milieu in which they live.” New York Times contributor Jessica Grose felt that “Steinkellner has a sharp grasp of the insult-laden dialogue middle schoolers use with obnoxious abandon.” A writer on the Looking for a Good Book blog said: “Trash Can Days by Teddy Steinkellner may appeal to your junior high student if you live in areas where violence is a way of life and something that thirteen year olds have to face.” Charles Donelan, a reviewer on the Santa Barbara Independent website, suggested that “the drama that unfolds over the course of Jake Schwartz’s 7th-grade year will be familiar to many.”
Trash Can Nights
Trash Can Nights: The Saga Continues follows Trash Can Days and narrates Jake’s attempts to recover after being viciously attacked. While his bodily wounds are gone, he must deal with bullying from the school’s gang, whose power has greatly diminished since the incident with Jake. Danny is still with the gang and is now in charge of them; however, he is torn between loyalty to them and his desire to protect Jake from further harm. He is also being pulled further and further in to the gang’s increasingly risky and illegal activities. Hannah has moved from the cast’s public school to a private one, and she must deal with the shift in her social status. In the process, she starts being bullied by the school’s top-ranking clique. Dorothy has become Jake’s girlfriend, but their relationship struggles in the face of Jake’s issues with the Raiders.
A contributor to Kirkus Reviews commented: “Anyone who loved predecessor Trash Can Days … will keep reading to find out what happens next.” In Voice of Youth Advocates, Courtney M. Krieger remarked: “Although the novel boasts 432 pages, its fast-moving plot and interesting characters make it a quick, fun read for anyone.” School Library Journal reviewer Kefira Phillipe suggested that Trash Can Nights “is sure to be popular.” A reviewer on the Reading Nook Reviews website said: “I recommend this book for fans of Trash Can Days, but also for fans who are looking for a creative [middle-grade novel] that details what burgeoning teenagehood can feel like.”
Two Roads from Here
Two Roads from Here is a stand-alone novel for an older audience. It features five protagonists, all of whom are in their last year of high school and struggling with making some major decisions about their futures. Cole’s dream is to get into one of the best colleges in the country, but he worries his grades will not be up to snuff. As the pressure mounts, he begins to feel that the only way he can succeed is to cheat his way toward a high score on the upcoming SAT. Brian has focused his time and efforts over the past four years into playing football. However, his plans to join his team in the most important game of the year are thwarted when he suffers a concussion. Brian must decide whether he should protect himself or risk his health for the sake of his team. Nikki frets over whether she and her boyfriend should have sex and how her decision could affect their relationship. Wiley is head over heels for Allegra, a close friend, but he worries over whether it is worth it to tell her how deeply he feels about her. Meanwhile, Allegra is struggling over whether to choose between her dreams or her responsibility to her family. Her mother is ill with terminal cancer, but Allegra has been accepted to the prestigious Stanford University and wants nothing more than to attend. At the same time, she doesn’t want to leave her mother during what could be the last year of her life. Readers can help the characters choose which path to take.
Voice of Youth Advocates reviewer Deanne Boyer wrote: “Readers will be able to easily relate to the struggles of these high school seniors as they make life-defining choices.” A contributor to Kirkus Reviews remarked that “Steinkellner gives readers something to think about.” In a review for Publishers Weekly, a writer said: “The philosophical answers will pique readers’ interest.” Elizabeth Pelayo, a School Library Journal reviewer, called the book “a must-have coming-of-age story that will resonate with all types of YA readers.” Booklist Online contributor Michael Cart felt that the book is “impressively original.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Horn Book Guide, spring, 2014, Rebecca Kirshenbaum, review of Trash Can Days: A Middle School Saga, p. 94; spring, 2015, Rebecca Kirshenbaum, review of Trash Can Nights: The Saga Continues, p. 124.
Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2013, review of Trash Can Days; June 1, 2014, review of Trash Can Nights; April 15, 2017, review of Two Roads from Here.
Publishers Weekly, June 17, 2013, review of Trash Can Days, p. 64; April 10, 2017, review of Two Roads from Here, p. 75.
School Library Journal, May 2014, Kefira Phillipe, review of Trash Can Nights, p. 118; May, 2017, Elizabeth Pelayo, review of Two Roads from Here, p. 107.
Voice of Youth Advocates, August, 2014, Courtney M. Krieger, review of Trash Can Nights, p. 73; June, 2017, Deanne Boyer, review of Two Roads from Here, p. 72.
ONLINE
Booklist Online, https://www.booklistonline.com/ (January 17, 2018), Michael Cart, review of Two Roads from Here.
Hometown Pasadena Online, http://hometown-pasadena.com/ (September 1, 2014), Kat Ward, “Trash Can Days & Nights: A Chat with Teddy Steinkellner,” author interview.
Jewish Book Council Website, https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/ (January 17, 2018), Marge Kaplan, review of Trash Can Days.
Looking for a Good Book, https://lookingforagoodbook.com/ (July 3, 2017), review of Trash Can Days.
New York Times Online, https://www.nytimes.com/ (August 23, 2013), Jessica Grose, “Runt and Trash Can Days,” review of Trash Can Days; (October 29, 2017), “Courtney Khademi, Teddy Steinkellner,” author profile.
Reading Nook Reviews, http://www.bookrookreviews.com/ (August 25, 2014), review of Trash Can Nights.
Santa Barbara Independent, https://www.independent.com/ (August 22, 2013), Charles Donelan, “Trash Can Days: Debut Novel Depicts Santa Barbara through the Lives of Middle Schoolers,” review of Trash Can Days.
Teddy Steinkellner Website, http://teddysteinkellner.com (January 17, 2018).
Teddy Steinkellner is a young adult, an author, and a young adult author. He grew up in Santa Barbara, CA, where he attended junior high, and, yes, got dumped in a trash can as a seventh grader. Teddy thought that writing a book about that unpleasant experience might help him get over it. Teddy was very naïve.
He graduated from Stanford University in 2011, where he majored in English and American Studies. It was also at Stanford where Teddy began work on his first novel, Trash Can Days: A Middle School Saga. Nobody at Stanford was surprised when Teddy wrote a book about middle school, because everyone there thought he was in middle school anyway. In related news, Teddy has yet to begin puberty.
In addition to being a YA author, Teddy has been a public access TV talk show host, an improv teacher at the college level, a college basketball announcer, and an evil boy genius.
Teddy lives in Los Angeles, CA with his girlfriend and a flabbergasting amount of toys.
Trash Can Days & Nights: A Chat with Teddy Steinkellner
By Kat Ward
Sep 1, 2014
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DSC_0366I was raised in Santa Barbara, CA, where, in seventh grade, I was dumped into my first trash can.
So begins the biography of Teddy Steinkellner. Teddy persevered and survived the next five years of middle and high school, after which he attended Stanford University, majoring in English and American Studies…and writing his first novel Trash Can Days: A Middle School Saga.
Teddy was kind enough to answer our questions, receiving our email and returning his answers in about 32 minutes—a Hometown Pasadena interviewee record.
HP: How did you come to writing a girl protagonist? Are you Hannah Schwartz or Dorothy? Or Jake? Danny?
TS: The germ of my book idea was the story of the two main boys, Jake and Danny, but at the same time, what I really wanted to do was to tell a story about the world of junior high in general, which felt impossible to do without incorporating a couple of distinct female voices. In addition, I wanted to capture a real cross-section of the middle school social spectrum, hence Hannah being a popular Queen Bee and Dorothy Wu being a Quasimodo-level outsider.
As for which character I am, I think I’m kind of all four equally. Jake obviously resembles a “young me” the most on a shy, awkward, Bar-Mitzvah-boy-praying-for-a-growth-spurt level, but there is also a wannabe-macho side of me, which is Danny, and an addicted-to-Us-Weekly side of me, which is Hannah, and a completely wacko, you-don’t-want-to-get-inside-this-brain side of me, which is Dorothy Wu. So, to paraphrase Walt Whitman, maybe I contain multitudes?
Jake Schwartz, stoic Bar Mitzvah boy; drawing by Teddy Steinkellner
Jake Schwartz, stoic Bar Mitzvah boy; drawing by Emma Steinkellner
HP: Any difficulty with finding Hannah’s voice, or Dorothy’s?
TS: For whatever reason, I had a much easier and more fun time writing the girl characters. Who knows if that’s because I let myself be freer in writing from those perspectives, knowing that I didn’t have to be accountable to any of my actual middle school memories, or if it’s because I’m secretly a thirteen-year-old girl at heart! I’d accept either explanation.
HP: The NY Times review—congratulations!—by Jessica Grose (“Alpha Dogs, Underdogs“) mentions the Schwartzes and Uribes, Jews and Mexican-Salvadorans. Why this mix? Any meaning or reason for this choice?
TS: The idea of having a wealthy Jewish boy, and his best friend, a working-class Latino boy whose family works for the Jewish family and lives on the property, comes straight from where I spent my junior high years, in Santa Barbara. I knew plenty of kids who fit both descriptions, and what I found so fascinating and kind of heartbreaking was that in elementary school, a lot of these cultural and class descriptions didn’t seem to matter at all, and then, when we all went to junior high, it was like everybody just went their separate ways all of a sudden. I never knew why exactly that was, and so I wrote this book to try and figure it all out.
Teddy_trash can_1
HP: The review says that you have a “sharp grasp of the insult-laden dialogue middle schoolers use.” How did your knowledge come about? (You look too young to be a dad of a middle schooler.)
TS: My body and brain left seventh grade long ago, but happily, or maybe sadly, I think my heart is still there. Yes, I am far too young to be the dad of a middle schooler (or the dad of anybody, really), but honestly, in deciding what to write about, junior high felt like the perfect setting, because a.) I was there just a little over ten years ago, and thus I can remember what it was like with reasonable accuracy, and b.) I’m far enough away from junior high now to have perspective on just how bananas-ridiculous it was, which helps me in writing a book that completely satirizes that world.
HP: The review also praises the story as nuanced, complex, not sugarcoated, and real (things aren’t neatly resolved at the end). Did you have an aim as you wrote this story? Is there something in particular that you would like/hope that a young reader understands, relates to, comes away with after reading Trash Can Days?
TS: I don’t think junior high resolves neatly for anybody at the end, so yes, that was exactly my aim in writing the story. When you’re a much younger reader, say an elementary school kid, I obviously think it’s great to read books with completely happy endings. But as you get older, you realize that sometimes things end well, and sometimes, well, they just end.
Teddy_trash can_2
HP: Your new release is Trash Can Nights. What’s in store for Hannah and company this go around?
TS: My sister refers to to Trash Can Nights as “the cable drama version of Trash Can Days.” Most of the characters are in eighth grade around, and as anybody who has ever been fourteen years old knows, eighth grade gets INTENSE.
(Editor’s note: Warning, spoilers in following paragraph.)
Hannah goes to a new private school where everyone is even more gossipy and judgmental than her (if that’s even possible). Jake deals with the fallout of the first book’s conclusion (spoilers!), and with a strange new sense of celebrity that he wants no part of. Dorothy deals with her moody new boyfriend (also a spoiler!), and eventually discovers life as a playwright. And Danny has risen through the ranks of gang life to become someone that his old friends would hardly even recognize. That’s all not to mention some epic games of spin-the-bottle, a friendship-destroying TP session, a truly absurd Michael Jackson dance-off, and about a million billion cats!
Trash Can Nights
HP: What is you favorite time of day and, if you don’t have prior commitments, what do you like to do with it?
TS: I love the late afternoon or early evening, right after I’ve finished a full day of writing, when I feel like I’ve earned an evening of total relaxation. Sometimes I’ll grab dinner with my girlfriend Courtney and tell her about what I’ve written that day, and sometimes we’ll go out and see a movie. And of course, because I am writing about junior high after all—sometimes I’ll give myself homework! I’ll get a story or character idea at night, and I’ll have to hash it out fully no matter what else I planned on doing, and for whatever reason those always end up being the best ideas of all.
HP: Favorite vice…
TS: Eating popsicles. Playing as a 6’8” version of myself in basketball video games and dunking on dudes’ heads. Watching movies where people overcome their problems through the power of dance. And, currently, and I will 1000% regret admitting this… Bachelor in Paradise.
HP: Least favorite chore…
TS: Cleaning the bathroom. The ultimate “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation.
Hannah Schwartz and Danny Uribe; drawing by Teddy Steinkellner
Hannah Schwartz and Danny Uribe; drawing by Emma Steinkellner
HP: In the quarter of a century that you’ve lived, is there a life lesson or experience that has been branded upon you? Something, good or bad, that has shaped what you believe, how you choose to live, etc. Or something that’s cumulative?
TS: My mother is a repository of helpful/occasionally annoying Jewish mom advice, so there are a million things I could say here, but right now, the one that’s sticking out to me is, “the most important thing in life is to just show up.” Actions speak so much louder than words, and the truest way to show someone you care for them is to be there whenever they need you by showing up in literal, physical form. And I promise that’s not just a shameless guilt trip to get people to show up to my TRASH CAN NIGHTS signing at Vroman’s, this Friday night, September 5th, at 7 pm! But maybe the knowledge of how to spring a guilt trip is the greatest lesson a son can ever receive from his Jewish mother.
HP: You live in L.A. proper, yes? Do you know Pasadena at all? If so, and you have time to spend, freely (no appointments!), what would you choose to do, see, eat?
TS: I love Pasadena with all my heart! My sister and her husband have lived there for the past three years, so I am there all the time. In no particular order, I love eating at Abricott or Ginger Corner Market, seeing a foreign or indie movie at Leamlee’s, buying books at Vroman’s (of course), and since I am a Stanford grad, I’ve been kind of a regular at the Rose Bowl the past two years. No big deal!
ncaafb-stanford-cardinal
~~~
Author’s Event: Teddy will be discussing and signing Trash Can Nights at Vroman’s on Friday, September 5th, starting at 7 p.m. Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena 91101. For complete details, please visit VromansBookstore.com.
~~~
Find out more about Teddy at TeddySteinkellner.com and on his Facebook page.
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Courtney Khademi, Teddy Steinkellner
OCT. 29, 2017
Photo
Credit Ryan and Jayna Caliendo, Burgundy Blue photography
Courtney Zinat Khademi and Teddy John Steinkellner were married Oct. 28 at the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History. Emma Steinkellner, a sister of the groom who became a Universal Life minister for the occasion, officiated.
The couple met at Stanford, from which they graduated, and where the bride also received a law degree.
The bride, 29, is a litigation associate at O'Melveny & Myers, a law firm in Los Angeles.
She is a daughter of Julia R. Mallory and Monib Khademi, both of Mill Valley, Calif. The bride’s father owns Cypress Praxis, an asset management firm in Mill Valley. Her mother owns a corporate development consultancy, also in Mill Valley, that bears her name.
The groom, 28, is the author of three young adult novels: “Two Roads From Here,” (Simon & Schuster, 2017); “Trash Can Days: A Middle School Saga,” (Disney-Hyperion, 2013) and “Trash Can Nights: The Saga Continues,” (Disney-Hyperion, 2014).
He is the son of Cheri Steinkellner and Bill Steinkellner of Santa Barbara, Calif. The groom’s parents are writers for screen and stage, best known for their collaboration on the TV shows “Cheers” and Disney's “Teacher's Pet,” as well as the Broadway musical “Sister Act.”
Steinkellner, Teddy. Two Roads from
Here
Deanne Boyer
Voice of Youth Advocates.
40.2 (June 2017): p72. From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2017 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC http://www.voya.com
Full Text: 4Q * 4P * S
Steinkellner, Teddy. Two Roads from Here. Simon & Schuster, 2017. 448p. $17.99. 9781-4814-3061-6.
Should Allegra go to college even though her mom has been diagnosed with cancer? Will Wiley lose his best friend if he professes his love for her? Does Nikki want to sleep with her boyfriend to celebrate after the big game? Will it hurt if Brian plays in the big game even with a concussion? Is it a big deal if Cole cheats on the SATs to try to get into Stanford? Each of the five seniors is faced with a choice between two paths at the beginning of the school year. By graduation, they will have faced the ups and downs of their decision-making. Which one is the better one choice?
Two Roads from Here is full of unexpected plot twists, moments of crisis, and overlapping storylines. Steinkellner weaves the characters' stories together, showing how each teen's choice impacts the others. By telling the story of both paths, Steinkellner explores the different elements of each teens personality as they grow and change for better or worse. Although the two story lines can be hard to follow at times, the author delivers an impactful plot encouraging readers to think seriously about how their choices affect themselves and others. Readers will be able to easily relate to the struggles of these high school seniors as they make life-defining choices.-- Deanne Boyer.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Boyer, Deanne. "Steinkellner, Teddy. Two Roads from Here." Voice of Youth Advocates, June
2017, p. 72. PowerSearch, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A497860355 /GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS&xid=e316f89d. Accessed 23 Dec. 2017.
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Steinkellner, Teddy: TWO ROADS FROM HERE
Kirkus Reviews.
(Apr. 15, 2017): From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Steinkellner, Teddy TWO ROADS FROM HERE Simon & Schuster (Children's Fiction) $17.99 6, 20 ISBN: 978-1-4814-3061-6
Five high school seniors face major choices.White, fat lineman Brian Mack has a concussion; should he play in the big game or quit the team in order to prevent further injury? Mexican- American Allegra Rey has been accepted to Stanford, but her mother is terminally ill; should she stay home or go to college? White detention-dweller Wiley Otis is Allegra's best friend, and he's been in love with her for years; does he tell her and risk losing her friendship? White girl Nikki Foxworth loves her boyfriend, but should she have sex with him? Black, gay, "deviously bitchtastic" Cole Martin-Hammer wants desperately to get into an elite school; will he cheat on the SAT in order to achieve his dream? Deeply drawn characters and skillful use of multiple first- person narratives take readers down two possible paths, "Road One" and "Road Two." Nikki confronts sexism and double standards head-on by refusing to be prude- or slut-shamed. Cole is a gossipy cliche, but he's redeemed by a gradual maturity. Unquestioned by characters or the text, Wiley's behavior indicates he believes he's earned romantic status because he's been a good pal to Allegra; this can be problematic. "Destiny or decision?" The answer may be unknowable, but Steinkellner gives readers something to think about. (Fiction. 14-18)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Steinkellner, Teddy: TWO ROADS FROM HERE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Apr. 2017.
PowerSearch, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A489268537/GPS?u=schlager& sid=GPS&xid=ea03cbfb. Accessed 23 Dec. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A489268537
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Two Roads from Here
Publishers Weekly.
264.15 (Apr. 10, 2017): p75. From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Two Roads from Here
Teddy Steinkellner. Simon & Schuster, $17.99 (448p) ISBN 978-1-4814-3061-6
In a novel addressing the age-old question of fate versus free will, Steinkellner (Trash Can Days) places five teens at crossroads. football star Brian needs to decide whether to quit the team after receiving two serious head injuries. Allegra isn't sure if she should accept a scholarship to Stanford and abandon her needy family. Wiley, who's
in love with Allegra, is trying to find the courage to admit his feelings; dance team member Nikki is pondering whether to go all the way with her boyfriend; and thespian Cole is contemplating a scheme to cheat on the SATs.
Structured as two separate stories in one, the novel reveals what happens when the characters make one decision, then what happens when they make the other. Is one choice more "right" than another? Will the teens end up in the same place regardless of what they choose? The philosophical answers will pique readers' interest, but keeping track of the characters and their various options amid the switching realities may prove a challenge for some. Ages 14-up. Agent: Alex Glass, Glass Literary Management. (June)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Two Roads from Here." Publishers Weekly, 10 Apr. 2017, p. 75. PowerSearch,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A490319345/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=06e07106. Accessed 23 Dec. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A490319345
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Steinkellner, Teddy: TRASH CAN NIGHTS
Kirkus Reviews.
(June 1, 2014): From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2014 Kirkus Media LLC http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Steinkellner, Teddy TRASH CAN NIGHTS Hyperion (Children's Fiction) $16.99 7, 15 ISBN: 978-1-4231-6923-9
Being a teenager--at least in this book--is a lot like having multiple personality disorder.In the first chapter of the novel, Dorothy and Jake are typing the number 3407 into a calculator--it sort of spells "LOVE" upside down. By Chapter 20, Jake is TPing her house, and she's stalking him with a pair of binoculars. Every major character goes through a personality change. Danny is selling drugs for the Raiders in one chapter and fighting the gang members in another. After a while, MPD starts to feel like a metaphor for the entire book. Steinkellner is capable of writing nearly flawless sentences ("Darrell snickered like a female weasel" is both funny and apt), but there are whole chapters of shockingly bad writing. Often, they're bad on purpose. There are lengthy excerpts from songs and stories written by the students: " 'Never you mind that, my Handsome,' Princess Dorothy said as she held Jacobim's head against her ample bosom...." Unfortunately, they are not so bad they're good. They're just bad. The real problem is that reading the book feels exactly like being in junior high, complete with awful poetry.Anyone who loved predecessor Trash Can Days (2013) will keep reading to find out what happens next, but other readers may find themselves looking for a story without quite so many mood swings. (Fiction. 12-18)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Steinkellner, Teddy: TRASH CAN NIGHTS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 June 2014. PowerSearch,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A369549143/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=04a0401c. Accessed 23 Dec. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A369549143
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Steinkellner, Teddy: TRASH CAN DAYS
Kirkus Reviews.
(June 15, 2013): From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2013 Kirkus Media LLC http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Steinkellner, Teddy TRASH CAN DAYS Disney Hyperion (Children's Fiction) $16.99 8, 20 ISBN: 978-1-4231-6632-0
Good news for readers with short attention spans: Picking up this novel is like reading several books at once. It begins as a realistic story about middle school. The problem is that it's exactly like middle school. It's full of pointless gossip, casual bigotry, and romances that stop and start without a second thought. Anyone who's spent time in an actual middle school may slam the covers shut. Fortunately, 11 pages into the book, Dorothy Wu shows up. Dorothy indulges huge crushes on video game characters. She uses the expression "Holy Table," because she doesn't want to glorify "cows" or "smokes" or "molys." The other characters are never quite as appealing, but as the story progresses, their personalities start to change. The school's gossip blogger, for example, develops a social conscience. For most of its second half, the book is everything a middle school novel should be: funny, dramatic and quite moving. Then it changes again, turning awkwardly sentimental in the last several chapters. And once in a while, it becomes a jarring, violent story about gang warfare. But no one who reads those sections of the book will ever join a gang. Some readers will get whiplash, but any time they're not enjoying the book, all they need to do is flip a few pages. (Fiction. 10-14)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Steinkellner, Teddy: TRASH CAN DAYS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 June 2013. PowerSearch,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A333599371/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=ff06e7b8. Accessed 23 Dec. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A333599371
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Steinkellner, Teddy. Trash Can Nights:
The Saga Continues
Courtney M. Krieger
Voice of Youth Advocates.
37.3 (Aug. 2014): p73. From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2014 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC http://www.voya.com
Full Text:
4Q * 4P * M * J
Steinkellner, Teddy. Trash Can Nights: The Saga Continues. Hyperion, 2014. 432p. $16.99. 978-1-4231-6923-9.
San Paulo Junior High has become a gang-free zone since Jake Schwartz's stabbing. Fully recovered physically, Jake proves unprepared for the emotional abuse he must endure from gang members who blame him for the new lockdown. His girlfriend, Dorothy Wu, tries to be understanding, but the more Jake is bullied, the more he pushes her away. Jake begins to wonder if he should have transferred to the private school with his sister, Hannah, even though she must withstand mean girls trying to destroy her. Through all of this, Jake's former best friend, Danny Uribe, finds himself more deeply entrenched in the local gang responsible for Jake's stabbing. Even though he helped save Jake's life, certain choices draw him to a dangerous path.
Dealing with the aftermath of Jake's stabbing, Trash Can Nights serves as the quirky sequel to Trash Can Days (Hyperion, 2013). Steinkellner's sequel effectively provides backstory to bring readers up-to-speed without being overly repetitive for those who read the first novel. Through the use of humor, the author creates an authentic world of characters and events that reflect middle school angst complicated by gangs, bullying, mean girls, social media, relationships, and drama. The use of multiple genres and perspectives also helps readers gain a deeper insight into the lives and struggles of teens. Although the novel boasts 432 pages, its fastmoving plot and interesting characters make it a quick, fun read for anyone. This novel, as well as its companion, would be a wise addition to teachers' and librarians' shelves. --Courtney M. Krieger.
Krieger, Courtney M.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Krieger, Courtney M. "Steinkellner, Teddy. Trash Can Nights: The Saga Continues." Voice of
Youth Advocates, Aug. 2014, p. 73. PowerSearch, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc /A378680554/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS&xid=9fbe3db6. Accessed 23 Dec. 2017.
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Trash Can Days: A Middle School Saga
Publishers Weekly.
260.24 (June 17, 2013): p64. From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2013 PWxyz, LLC http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Trash Can Days: A Middle School Saga
Teddy Steinkellner. Disney-Hyperion, $16.99 (352p) ISBN 978-1-4231-6632-0
Four middle-school students narrate this exploration of friendship, relationships, and class in California. Jake Schwartz is nervous about starting seventh grade, but at least his best friend Danny Uribe, whose parents live and work at Jake's family's mansion, will be at his side. But Danny decides he wants some space from Jake, both to reconnect with his Latino cousins and to pursue Hannah, Jake's older sister. Eighth-grader Hannah, meanwhile, is obsessed with gossip until she becomes the subject of it, and socially awkward, unrepentantly geeky Dorothy Wu lives vicariously through the fantasy stories she writes while pining for Jake. Debut novelist Steinkellner uses IM conversations, Facebook posts, school bulletins, emails, and text message exchanges to flesh out the kids' complicated lives, pulling in everything from gang pressures and ethnic tensions to hurtful gossip and even the administrative pushback their new English teacher is facing. In a story that's funny, crass, painful, and optimistic, Steinkellner skillfully juggles a large cast, giving even minor characters distinctive voices and making their disappointments and growth feel real. Ages 10-14. Agent: Alex Glass, Trident Media Group. (Aug.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Trash Can Days: A Middle School Saga." Publishers Weekly, 17 June 2013, p. 64. PowerSearch,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A334484798/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=c075e808. Accessed 23 Dec. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A334484798
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Steinkellner, Teddy
Elizabeth Pelayo
School Library Journal.
63.5 (May 2017): p107+. From Book Review Index Plus.
COPYRIGHT 2017 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Full Text:
STEINKELLNER, Teddy. Two Roads from Here. 448p. S. & S. Jun. 2017. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9781481430616.
Gr 9 Up--A middle grade author ventures into YA territory with his latest realistic novel. Follow the stories of Brian, Allegra, Wiley, and Nikki as they navigate their senior year of high school. Brian loves football, but when he sustains an unexpected head injury, should he play in the big game? Allegra is accepted to Stanford, but will she go? Wiley loves his best friend, but should he tell her? Nikki has a mistake in her past that she's running from--will she choose to please others or herself? This novel asks the eternal question, do we control our destiny by our choices, or is our fate predetermined? Readers will be completely drawn in by the unique text structure of this story. Steinkellner follows a pattern reminiscent of a "Choose Your Own Adventure" format, where teens see the story through two totally different threads. The narrative alternates between "Road One" and "Road Two" scenarios, where events in the plot change based on the characters' choices. Those who enjoyed Susan Beth Pfeffer's Life as We Knew It or Emery Lord's When We Collided will be captivated by this title's alternating character views and dramatic plotlines. VERDICT A must-have coming-of-age story that will resonate with all types of YA readers.-- Elizabeth Pelavo, St. Charles East High School, IL
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Pelayo, Elizabeth. "Steinkellner, Teddy." School Library Journal, May 2017, p. 107+.
PowerSearch, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A491032180/GPS?u=schlager& sid=GPS&xid=0cb61db3. Accessed 23 Dec. 2017.
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Steinkellner, Teddy. Trash Can Nights
Kefira Phillipe
School Library Journal.
60.5 (May 2014): p118. From Book Review Index Plus.
COPYRIGHT 2014 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Full Text:
STEINKELLNER, Teddy. Trash Can Nights. 432p. ebook available. Disney-Hyperion. Jul. 2014. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9781423169239.
Gr 6-8--Danny, Jake, Hannah, and Dorothy are back in the sequel to Trash Can Days (Hyperion, 2013). Jake is dealing with the fallout after being stabbed at the end of the seventh grade. Dorothy is as unique as ever, writing and in love with Jake. Despite having his first strike and a summer at the Teen Center, Danny is still a member of the Raiders, a local gang, and fast assuming a leadership role. Hannah has started ninth grade at a new school and quickly realizes that she is no longer the queen bee. Over the course of the year, romances come and go and friendships shift. Danny has to contend with the realities of gang life, Dorothy has her heart broken, Jake has to figure out who he really is, and Hannah just wants revenge on the mean-girl bullies. Written in four alternating viewpoints, IM, Facebook status updates, plays, short stories, and school announcements, this realistic portrayal of a middle-school experience-a time of big changes and the beginnings of self-awareness. Reading the first book is not necessary, although it will add to the enjoyment of the sequel, which is sure to be popular.--Kefira Phillipe, Nichols Middle School, Evanston, IL
Phillipe, Kefira
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Phillipe, Kefira. "Steinkellner, Teddy. Trash Can Nights." School Library Journal, May 2014, p.
118. PowerSearch, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A367298872/GPS?u=schlager& sid=GPS&xid=e785eb56. Accessed 23 Dec. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A367298872
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Steinkellner, Teddy: Trash Can Nights
Rebecca Kirshenbaum
The Horn Book Guide.
26.1 (Spring 2015): p124. From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2015 The Horn Book, Inc. http://www.hornbookguide.com
Full Text:
Steinkellner, Teddy Trash Can Nights
428 pp. Hyperion ISBN 978-1-4231-6923-9 $16.99
(3) Jake Schwartz and his friends' saga continues: eighth grade commences and the foursome scatters to different schools. Ramifications from the previous year's gang-related drama (Trash Can Days) haunt all four in myriad ways as the narrative's innovative (sometimes distracting) multimedia format (emails, social-media comments, fliers, etc.) documents new challenges. Dorothy emerges as the true star of this sequel as she wackily celebrates individuality.
Kirshenbaum, Rebecca
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Kirshenbaum, Rebecca. "Steinkellner, Teddy: Trash Can Nights." The Horn Book Guide, Spring
2015, p. 124. PowerSearch, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A409717124 /GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS&xid=73a50ece. Accessed 23 Dec. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A409717124
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Steinkellner, Teddy: Trash Can Days: A
Middle School Saga
Rebecca Kirshenbaum
The Horn Book Guide.
25.1 (Spring 2014): p94. From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2014 The Horn Book, Inc. http://www.hornbookguide.com
Full Text:
Steinkellner, Teddy Trash Can Days: A Middle School Saga 348 pp. Hyperion ISBN 978-1-4231-6632-0 $16.99
(4) When Jake starts seventh grade, he doesn't expect much to change--after all, he hasn't. Unfortunately, his best friend Danny has, and his transformation results in a rift. The tribulations of Jake's popular sister Hannah and wacky friend Dorothy add additional perspective to this accurate and unexpectedly deep portrait of modern junior-high life. Lengthy passages of phone texts and IMs are distracting.
Kirshenbaum, Rebecca
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Kirshenbaum, Rebecca. "Steinkellner, Teddy: Trash Can Days: A Middle School Saga." The
Horn Book Guide, Spring 2014, p. 94. PowerSearch, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc /A366238449/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS&xid=9037212a. Accessed 23 Dec. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A366238449
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08/25: MMGM: A review of Trash Can Nights by Teddy Steinkellner + giveaway (Disney Hyperion)
8/25/2014
Picture
Happy MMGM!
Today, I'm reviewing the Trash Can Nights. It's a follow-up to Trash Can Days, and just as entertaining as the first book.
MMGM is a feature hosted by (fabulous) author Shannon Messenger on her blog every week!
-J
Title information:
Trash Can Nights by Teddy Steinkellner
Hardcover, 432 pages
Published July 15th 2014 by Disney-Hyperion
Format read: ARC via publisher
ISBN: 1423169239
Amazon
Indiebound
Book Depository
Two-second recap:
In his follow up to Trash Can Days, Steinkellner brings us back to the world of San Paulo Junior High School, as Jake, Danny and the gang work to take on another year.
Secrets, broken relationships and a return to bad habits, makes this a nice though occasionally flawed follow-up to Steinkellner's debut novel.
Synopsis:
Jake Schwartz is back at San Paulo Junior High completely unprepared for his new celebrity status as the-boy-who-survived-a-gang-brawl. Facing unwanted attention from both foes and fanatics, Jake is out to make some changes-for better, or for worse.
On the Eastside of town, Jake's former best friend, Danny Uribe, has stepped up in the ranks of the local gang, the Raiders. Now that Danny is calling the shots, he has to start making some tough decisions. Life as a Raider may not be all that Danny thought it would be.
Meanwhile, Hannah Schwartz is starting a new school year at Costa Blanca Preparatory Academy. No longer perched at the top of the social ladder, Hannah must fight for her position on the popularity pole. But frenemies have set their sights on Hannah, and they won't make it easy for her to get ahead.
And as for Dorothy Wu, no one is as excited as she is about starting the eighth grade. With her new drama class friends and her boyfriend, Prince Jacobim, by her side, what else could a Wu ask for? But Dorothy has never navigated rocky relationship waters before. Can she help save Jake from the moody blues? Or will Dorothy end up dumped in the trash can, too?
In this remarkable follow-up to Trash Can Days, Teddy Steinkellner delivers a contemporary story that is as hysterically funny as it is heartbreaking. In the end, there will be epic dance-offs, stunning sleepover secrets, life-changing spin-the-bottle sessions, and-oh yes-lots and lots of cats.
Full review:
I heard a lot about Trash Can Days last year, so when I had the opportunity to read Trash Can Nights, I enthusiastically took the opportunity.
In his sophomore novel, Teddy Steinkellner brings us back to the world of San Paulo Junior High, and back into Jake, Danny, Hannah and Dorothy's lives. After the events of the previous year, all four characters have gone through a number of significant changes, Jake especially.
Jake is unprepared to face his post-stabbing spike in popularity, and begins to make a number of dramatic changes in his life, that will impact him and all of those around him, for better and for worse.
Steinkellner follows up the saga of Jake, Danny, Hannah and Dorothy in this second chapter to their story, with the same degree of enthusiasm and intricate plotting that made the first book so successful. Even though the characters are all interlinked once more, they're also living out ramifications of the choices made in the first novel, often times in unexpected ways.
While all of the storylines had nice subplots and high points, I was particularly struck with Danny's development. He's still suffering from many of the choices he made in the first book, and Steinkellner does a good job in showing how Danny begins to learn from his mistakes in a manner that manages to refrain from being preachy and/or condescending. It's realistic storytelling at its best, and I think all readers will appreciate it.
Of special note: Educators and parents should be aware that there is a fairly large jump in maturity between this book and the first book. More on this in Things that didn't work/Things to consider.
Things that didn't work/Things to consider:
My one overarching issue with the book is that characters occasionally exhibited behavior that felt a little too old for their age range.
E.g. One character is devastated when another character ends their relationship, and basically starts stalking the other character. The first character's borderline obsessive desire to make up with the second character is relatively understandable given the personality, but stalking still felt like it had gone a little too far.
There was also an excessive amount of drug use, bad language and sexual innuendo which just felt a little out there for me, at least. It kind of felt like Steinkellner temporarily veered into a YA mindset, without really thinking about the ages of his characters.
Final verdict:
Trash Can Nights was a fun middle-grade romp that definitely shows the ups and downs of being a teenager, and how relationships can evolve for better and for worse over time. While some of the situations that the young teenagers find themselves in may feel exaggerated at times, readers will undoubtedly also remember equally outlandish behavior from their own pasts.
I had a great time reading this book, and I'm definitely looking forward to Teddy Steinkellner's upcoming YA debut, Seniors. This is a young author with a lot of promise, and I look forward to seeing his star on the rise.
I recommend this book for fans of Trash Can Days, but also for fans who are looking for a creative MG that details what burgeoning teenagehood can feel like.
Giveaway time!
About the author:
Picture
Teddy Steinkellner is a young adult, an author, and a young adult author.
He has written two novels, Trash Can Days: A Middle School Saga and Trash Can Nights: The Saga Continues. Both books tell the story of four middle schoolers -- Jake, Danny, Hannah, and Dorothy -- as they experience the hilarity and the humilation of junior high.
Teddy is a 2011 graduate of Stanford University, where he majored in English and American Studies, and where he began writing Trash Can Days. He currently lives in Los Angeles, CA. He was indeed dumped in a trash can himself as a seventh grader, but luckily he managed to avoid receiving any purple nurples or swirlies.
Trash Can Days: A Middle School Saga
Teddy Steinkellner
Hyperion Books 2013
347 Pages $16.99
ISBN: 978-1-4231-6632-0
amazon indiebound
barnesandnoble
Review by Marge Kaplan
Four teenage junior high students, each with a distinctive approach to life, typify some of the many differences among students of that age. Jake Schwartz is the nerd of the group. He loves studying, is really a “little boy” in many ways, and rationalizes the rejection of his peers by denying the hurt it brings. Hannah, his older sister, is an often thoughtless social “queen”. They live a wealthy suburban Jewish lifestyle and Danny, the Hispanic son of their housekeepers, lives on the premises and is Jake’s close friend. But Danny is maturing more quickly than Jake and is more ready to enter the school social scene which threatens their friendship. Jake's friend, Dorothy Wu does not fit the stereotype of an Asian teenager. She is not good at math, loves writing fantasy stories, and develops a writing group that brings her unexpected friendships and popularity. Ethnic backgrounds and maturity levels combine with personality traits and play a big part in the development of each character. Danny’s gang involvement and Jake’s upcoming bar mitzvah are also catalysts in the action that change each of these four students as they move slowly and cautiously toward the adults they will become.
The author has a wonderful ear for the language of teenagers and the milieu in which they live. The passages in which the teenagers text each other reveal their true feelings about a variety of subjects. He also shows how little parents and teachers actually know about the interactions of their children and students. This includes the cruelty of the teenage years as well as the risk taking that can often be life threatening. Recommended for ages 12-15.
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Book Review
Sunday Book Review
Alpha Dogs, Underdogs
‘Runt’ and ‘Trash Can Days’
Children’s Books
By JESSICA GROSE AUG. 23, 2013
The movie “Mean Girls” is nearly a decade old, but the “burn book” at the center of Tina Fey’s screenplay remains an evergreen plot device. Mostly written by the popular girls, these burn books are public logs of carefully calculated insults lobbed at social rivals and undesirables. Like everything else in the past 10 years, the burn book has moved online, and Facebook and Tumblr are littered with hateful messages written by aggressive tweens.
In two new young adult books, Nora Raleigh Baskin’s “Runt” and Teddy Steinkellner’s “Trash Can Days: A Middle School Saga,” wealthy, entitled queen bees are dedicated to harassing their peers online. The difference is that “Runt” has a straightforward message to impart: Don’t sink to the level of the mean girl. “Trash Can Days” has a more nuanced, more entertaining take on the socially powerful — one that doesn’t fit into the tidy parameters of an “Afterschool Special”-style lesson.
The top girl in “Runt” is a sixth-grade sylph named Maggie Carey, who will not allow her minions to get lunch unless she’s first in line. The main object of her derision is the bright and friendless Elizabeth Moon, whose single mother runs a kennel out of their home. Besides being awkward and boastful about her own intelligence, Elizabeth’s major social crime is she smells like the dogs her mother takes in. Maggie starts a meanspirited fake page on a fictional version of Facebook called person2person in order to mock Elizabeth. Pretending to be Elizabeth, she uses the moniker “Smelly-Girl” and makes up other fake person2person profiles for Smelly-Girl to befriend.
Baskin uses the animals Elizabeth’s mother looks after to make a heavy-handed, book-long metaphor about alpha dogs (Maggie) and submissive dogs (Elizabeth and the other characters in the book). Elizabeth discovers that Maggie is the author of the Smelly-Girl page and vows to take revenge, to throw off the shackles of her submissive status. Though she has an opportunity to humiliate Maggie, Elizabeth ultimately takes the high road, and makes a pal in the process, the artistic and self-possessed Freida. Maggie never stops disparaging her. The message here — that virtue is its own reward, more valuable than popularity — is an admirable one, but it isn’t particularly satisfying in the dog-eat-dog world of middle-school mean girls.
The alpha of “Trash Can Days” is Hannah Schwartz, a charismatic and beautiful eighth grader who starts a blog called Dirty Little Secrets. Hannah is so powerful, and so aware of her own power, she doesn’t even bother to disguise her identity: she refers to herself as “Queen Hannah.” Her tabloid-style reporting is merciless. “Ashley Clarke was recently spotted at the movies canoodling with David Harmer, the youngest of the Harmer boys. That’s all three of them now, isn’t it, Ashley?” Hannah snickers.
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Mean-girl high jinks provide the main action in “Runt,” but “Trash Can Days” is more complex (as it should be, since it’s geared toward a slightly older reader), and the Dirty Little Secrets blog is just an amusing diversion. While Maggie is always the top mean girl, Hannah’s status goes up and down, but her self-assuredness never falters. “Trash Can Days” has three narrators in addition to Hannah: her brother, the prepubertal seventh grader Jake Schwartz; Danny Uribe, Jake’s erstwhile best friend and the son of the fabulously wealthy Schwartzes’ live-in maid and gardener; and a delightful, Pokémon-loving weirdo named Dorothy Wu.
The book’s most gripping plotline concerns Danny’s growing alienation from Jake. Danny has a growth spurt over the summer before seventh grade, and Jake suddenly seems a little babyish. But Danny’s also beginning to notice the gaping class and ethnic differences between his Mexican-Salvadoran working-class family and the rich, Jewish Schwartz siblings, with their movie producer dad and stay-at-home mom. He’s started spending more time with his cousins and their crew, and he can’t find a way to tell them about how the Schwartzes paid for him to go to an expensive summer camp. “Not unless I want them to start calling me ‘Jew-lover,’ ” Danny laments, “or ‘gay’ or ‘gay Jew-lover.’ ”
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Steinkellner has a sharp grasp of the insult-laden dialogue middle schoolers use with obnoxious abandon. Just as he doesn’t sugarcoat the way his characters express themselves, the relationship between Danny and Jake doesn’t resolve itself neatly or painlessly. But becoming a teenager is just like that — sometimes sad and often messy.
RUNT
By Nora Raleigh Baskin
194 pp. Simon & Schuster. $15.99. (Middle grade; ages 8 to 12)
TRASH CAN DAYS
A Middle School Saga
By Teddy Steinkellner
347 pp. Disney-Hyperion Books. $16.99. (Middle grade; ages 10 to 14)
Jessica Grose is the author of “Sad Desk Salad.”
A version of this review appears in print on August 25, 2013, on Page BR18 of the Sunday Book Review with the headline: Alpha Dogs, Underdogs. Today's Paper|Subscribe
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TRASH CAN DAYS – Teddy Steinkellner
Posted by Daniel on July 3, 2017
Posted in: CHILDREN'S, Uncategorized, YA. Tagged: 3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children's Books, Reviews, Young Adult. Leave a comment
Four youngsters are about to start middle school – Hannah and Jake Schwartz, Danny Uribe, and Dorothy Wu. They attend San Paulo (California) Junior High. They of course have the ‘usual’ concerns including who likes who, friendships that come and go, who is going to be the best basketball player, and how to be the ‘queen bee’ and stay on top.
But these four students have an additional challenge facing them. Gangs are in the neighborhood around the school. Gangs are recruiting, and one of the San Paulo Junior High students will see an opportunity to be a big shot by joining the gang. But the consequences may prove disastrous.
Author Teddy Steinkellner has packed a lot of story into this middle grade YA novel. He tells the story from all four points of view, along with a few extra bits (such as the school announcements from the Principal). But it’s not just a narrative that makes up this story, we have text/on-line chat transcripts, stories written for classes, sign-up sheets, sex-ed Q&A sheets, and just about anything else that middle schoolers might use to communicate.
Steinkellner does a really nice job of keeping the story moving and the multiple points of view and forms of story-telling really help this. A lot of what happens here is the ordinary – the day-to-day concerns about friendships – which will be of interest to many students. We don’t get much classwork – we understand that they have a sex-ed class, math class, and creative writing.
But maybe junior high students in California grow up a lot faster than those in the Midwest. In rural U.S. we don’t have the gang problems that provide the real conflict in the story. (WARNING -POTENTIAL SPOILER AHEAD) The scene of the gang initiation is beyond violent. It is brutal and it is vehement. Our thirteen year old gets beaten within an inch of his life and each strike, each blow to the head, each gouge to the eyes or punch to the groin is meticulously described by the victim while he counts the seconds. His goal is to survive the brutal attack for a specific length of time and then he becomes a member of the gang.
While I don’t believe that we have these issues in the rural Midwest, I can see some of the more aggressive middle schoolers deciding that this sort of initiation might be a good idea to prove how tough he is and starting it up.
When a gang-related stabbing happens later in the book, it isn’t unexpected to the adult reader – in fact it’s the only potential outcome for a friend who’s become a gang member – it is also quite violent and exciting.
Though there isn’t a lot of violence here, what there is comes on without warning and is detailed explicitly. And it isn’t really needed. There’s enough here to appeal to middle school readers, but the inclusion of gangs and violence sets it apart and makes it much less appealing.
Looking for a good book? Trash Can Days by Teddy Steinkellner may appeal to your junior high student if you live in areas where violence is a way of life and something that thirteen year olds have to face, but the gang violence inside may drive other readers away.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
* * * * * *
Trash Can Days: A Middle School Saga
author: Teddy Steinkellner
publisher: Disney-Hyperion
isbn: 1423166329
hardcover, 352 pages
Trash Can Days
Debut Novel Depicts Santa Barbara Through the Lives of Middle Schoolers
Thursday, August 22, 2013
By Charles Donelan
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The vast majority of us are just as happy to let what dim memories we may have of 7th grade go slip-sliding away sometime around high school, but that doesn’t mean we should. Trash Can Days, the new novel by 2011 Stanford grad and Santa Barbara public school alum Teddy Steinkellner, makes a good case for looking back on the hormone-saturated free-for-all that is middle school with wised-up curiosity and genuine affection.
Set in a city that bears more than a passing resemblance to Santa Barbara, Trash Can Days is told from multiple perspectives and uses an unusually broad range of voices. There’s plenty of traditional first-person narration from the quartet who form the book’s core — privileged 7th- and 8th-grade siblings Jake and Hannah Schwartz, 7th-grade jock Danny Uribe, and the writing- and fantasy-obsessed Dorothy Wu — but there are also passages rendered through tweets, Facebook status updates, instant messages, emails, official school announcements, and even some good old-fashioned hand-written notes.
None of this would matter were it not for Steinkellner’s powerful one-two punch of precisely calibrated diction and sturdy, suspenseful adult-grade plotting. The drama that unfolds over the course of Jake Schwartz’s 7th-grade year will be familiar to many, as it refers to some of the most striking public events involving middle schoolers in our city over the last decade.
It would be a pity if the provincial self-appointed censors who get off on “protecting” young teenagers from the truth suppress this wonderful story, as it has much to teach about the way gangs have infiltrated our culture down through the middle-school years, and about what the ups and downs of early romantic experiences can teach those willing to learn from them.
4•1•1
Trash Can Days by Teddy Steinkellner (Disney-Hyperion) is available at area bookstores.
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Two Roads from Here.
Steinkellner, Teddy (author).
June 2017. 448p. Simon & Schuster, hardcover, $17.99 (9781481430616). Grades 9-12.
REVIEW. First published May 18, 2017 (Booklist Online).
Steinkellner’s often antic coming-of-age novel features not one, not two, but five coprotagonists who tell their respective but interconnected stories in their own first-person voices. There is Allegra, the class valedictorian, who dreams of going to Stanford; Wiley, her best friend, who is in love with her; Cole, a brilliant borderline sociopath; Nikki, the beautiful new girl in school with a secret; and Brian, aka Big Mack, the requisite football hero. Straightforward so far, but here comes the twist: each of the kids will unwittingly experience two realities, figuratively traveling two different roads with different consequences. For example, in one reality, Brian, with a possible concussion, sits out the big game; in the second, he chooses to play and winds up brain damaged. As the action proceeds throughout the school year, this narrative strategy becomes complicated as it’s increasingly—and frustratingly—difficult to remember what has happened to whom in which reality. That said, the book is compulsively readable and unfailingly well written, and the characters are nicely individualized. Impressively original.— Michael Cart
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Books For Youth - Fiction - General Fiction