Review of The Pecking Order
Posted: 13 Mar 2022, 15:39
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Pecking Order" by Steve Josse.]
The Pecking Order by Steve Josse is a tale of change. At Martin Luther King High School, Zack Diamond, an autistic often picked on, is determined to take revenge on Kyle, Zack's bully and a member of the MLK football team. After acquiring an assault rifle, Zack shoots Kyle, causing an uproar in Arcadia, California. School principal, Alan Carter, resolves to provide a more favorable environment for his students but is countered by the school board and parents who despise change. Alan might lose his position because of his vision to direct more money to intramural sports and counseling instead of using it to construct new gyms and hire extra coaches. Meanwhile, the school receives multiple bombing threats. Will Alan succeed in his cause, or will the school board deprive him of his position? Even if he was permitted to carry out his ideas, will they work in a school composed of more than three thousand students? What will be of Zack, now that he is awaiting trial? Will Kyle ever recover from his paralysis?
Initially, I felt the theme was extremely dark and depressing, as all students had multitudes of issues, especially regarding their parents' behavior. There seemed to be no escape from the continuous lack of change. I was proved wrong after multiples joined Alan and broke the norms. Josse performed an excellent job presenting his ideas for a better learning experience. He creatively implemented his vision in an engrossing story. He meticulously used the third-perspective view to give an insight into all the characters and their thoughts, giving each of them depth and relatability. He emphasized that by supporting the pecking order, we induce admiration towards those at the top, causing them to feel weighed down with unrealistic expectations, and despise those at the bottom, causing them to feel useless and depressed, leading to the same result as with Kyle and Zack.
The book is relatively short, containing only 256 pages, and addresses a range of themes like redemption, hope, comradeship, courage, and reflection. Among my favorite ideas was to include dance lessons for all students and eliminate the vote for a homecoming king and queen. The goal was to make homecoming more enjoyable for students who may not have participated otherwise. The word "compulsive" was also mentioned positively rather than negatively; the same goes for the word "impulsive." It emphasized that mental disorders enhanced rather than diminished our uniqueness. It was challenging to find one favorite character. Despite that, I believe Alan was my favorite, as he was the picture of an ideal principle who genuinely cared about his students. Due to spoiler content, I am unable to discuss one of my favorite moments in this book.
I thought the book at some point would be biased, but I was grateful this was not the case. Josse made sure to eliminate discrimination towards Jewish and Muslim individuals, which was a surprise I welcomed. The book's only negatives consist of errors. It needs another round of proofreading, and only then can it receive a perfect rating. A minor negative is there were some similar names, like Butch, Bruce, and Baker, while two characters had the same name, Karen.
In conclusion, I award this book a three out of four stars, deducting a star merely for the errors I encountered. Profanity, discrimination, alcohol and drug abuse, and mention of rape are present in this book to reflect what has become of society as a whole. All of this was limited towards the end as the theme grew more hopeful. There was no sexual content except for an on-screen kiss. Teachers, principals, and students will find this an enjoyable read. Fans of action and suspense will find it gripping, while those who prefer themes of hope will enjoy its second half the most.
******
The Pecking Order
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The Pecking Order by Steve Josse is a tale of change. At Martin Luther King High School, Zack Diamond, an autistic often picked on, is determined to take revenge on Kyle, Zack's bully and a member of the MLK football team. After acquiring an assault rifle, Zack shoots Kyle, causing an uproar in Arcadia, California. School principal, Alan Carter, resolves to provide a more favorable environment for his students but is countered by the school board and parents who despise change. Alan might lose his position because of his vision to direct more money to intramural sports and counseling instead of using it to construct new gyms and hire extra coaches. Meanwhile, the school receives multiple bombing threats. Will Alan succeed in his cause, or will the school board deprive him of his position? Even if he was permitted to carry out his ideas, will they work in a school composed of more than three thousand students? What will be of Zack, now that he is awaiting trial? Will Kyle ever recover from his paralysis?
Initially, I felt the theme was extremely dark and depressing, as all students had multitudes of issues, especially regarding their parents' behavior. There seemed to be no escape from the continuous lack of change. I was proved wrong after multiples joined Alan and broke the norms. Josse performed an excellent job presenting his ideas for a better learning experience. He creatively implemented his vision in an engrossing story. He meticulously used the third-perspective view to give an insight into all the characters and their thoughts, giving each of them depth and relatability. He emphasized that by supporting the pecking order, we induce admiration towards those at the top, causing them to feel weighed down with unrealistic expectations, and despise those at the bottom, causing them to feel useless and depressed, leading to the same result as with Kyle and Zack.
The book is relatively short, containing only 256 pages, and addresses a range of themes like redemption, hope, comradeship, courage, and reflection. Among my favorite ideas was to include dance lessons for all students and eliminate the vote for a homecoming king and queen. The goal was to make homecoming more enjoyable for students who may not have participated otherwise. The word "compulsive" was also mentioned positively rather than negatively; the same goes for the word "impulsive." It emphasized that mental disorders enhanced rather than diminished our uniqueness. It was challenging to find one favorite character. Despite that, I believe Alan was my favorite, as he was the picture of an ideal principle who genuinely cared about his students. Due to spoiler content, I am unable to discuss one of my favorite moments in this book.
I thought the book at some point would be biased, but I was grateful this was not the case. Josse made sure to eliminate discrimination towards Jewish and Muslim individuals, which was a surprise I welcomed. The book's only negatives consist of errors. It needs another round of proofreading, and only then can it receive a perfect rating. A minor negative is there were some similar names, like Butch, Bruce, and Baker, while two characters had the same name, Karen.
In conclusion, I award this book a three out of four stars, deducting a star merely for the errors I encountered. Profanity, discrimination, alcohol and drug abuse, and mention of rape are present in this book to reflect what has become of society as a whole. All of this was limited towards the end as the theme grew more hopeful. There was no sexual content except for an on-screen kiss. Teachers, principals, and students will find this an enjoyable read. Fans of action and suspense will find it gripping, while those who prefer themes of hope will enjoy its second half the most.
******
The Pecking Order
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
