Smiles to Go | 
 enlarge | Author: Jerry Spinelli
Publisher: Joanna Cotler
Category: Book
List Price: $16.99
Buy New: $5.30
You Save: $11.69 (69%)
New (44) Used (13) from $4.25
Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 23626
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.2 x 1.2
ISBN: 0060281332
EAN: 9780060281335
ASIN: 0060281332
Publication Date: May 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW COPY, NO UGLY REMAINDER MARKS.
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Product Description
What is stargazer, skateboarder, chess champ, pepperoni pizza eater, older brother, sister hater, best friend, first kisser, science geek, control freak Will Tuppence so afraid of in this great big universe? Jerry Spinelli knows.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Smiles To Go September 15, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
After my 4th grade teacher read Maniac Magee aloud to my classmates and me, I remember telling people for years to come that it was my favorite book. It wasn't until I rediscovered it in a `children's literature' class in college that I came to truly appreciate how great the book was and how incredible of a storyteller Jerry Spinelli is. Books like Maniac Magee, Wringer, Loser, and Crash have made him one of the most recognizable names in children's literature, and deservingly so. With his most recent novel, Smiles To Go, Spinelli returns to a format similar to that of his highly popular book Stargirl, to tell a story about science and wonder, friendship and jealousy, and family and love.
Ninth grader Will Tuppence is a (young) man of Science. His world revolves around physics, protons, stargazing, and Monopoly pizza parties. Upon the discovery that protons decay (meaning everything will eventually fade away) Will begins to examine the relationships in his life more carefully, especially those with his younger sister Tabby, and his two best friends BT and Mi Su.
If there's one thing I've learned about Spinelli's books, it's that characters drive his story. It's never the other way around. I can't imagine Spinelli deciding to write a novel about racism in a divided town, or bullying in schools, or the effects of the Holocaust on children, without having his characters in mind long before. With him, it always feels as if so much time was spent "getting into" his characters. Spinelli characters always come first, story second. Smiles To Go, like so many of Spinelli's stories, is essentially a character study. Will is who decides where this story goes and it responds to him.
Words come easy to Spinelli. His writing is so effortless and clear. I once told my 5th graders that Spinelli's books contain "little words and big ideas". This book is no exception. Science terminology aside, this book is very readable, yet there's a LOT going on in young Will's mind. There's jealousy toward his friend BT's cool and carefree attitude, and there's blooming, hormonal love toward Mi Su. Will's anxiety builds throughout the story and his constant planning and often annoying attention to the most minute details, makes him extremely neurotic, but very believable.
So after bragging up Spinelli's writing, I have to be honest. If Will's relationships with his two best friends would have been all this story contained, Smiles To Go would've been your average 3 star, quick read. Will's relationship with his younger nuisance of a sister Tabby, is what really gives this story its wings and allows it to become something more. Tabby is that annoying sister whose purpose on Earth is to bother her brother, or so Will thinks. She saves all the black jelly beans (his favorite) only to toss them in the trash can when he's watching. She interrupts his time with his friends, worships and adores BT (only adding to Will's jealousy), and spills embarrassing family secrets at inopportune times. There's a major age gap between brother and sister and Will chooses to fill that gap with hatred.
When Spinelli brings this relationship to the forefront in a horrible turn of events, which forces Will to examine some of his sister's actions a little more carefully, he learns that maybe he's been in the wrong, in never truly giving his sister a chance. This section of the book is heartbreakingly powerful and when Will, this boy of science and reason, turns to his sister's 6 year old admirer, Korbet, for advice on love and life, we know we're reading something special.
The beginning of this story is very slow and dull, this even coming from an avid Spinelli fan. But if you stick out all the proton and stargazing talk and hang around for the great finale in which Will and his sister Tabby are put under the microscope, you'll be in for a treat, and glad you made the effort. Heck, you may even watch more closely the next time your little sibling tosses your favorite jelly beans in the trash.
A Teacher's Perspective September 9, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
In this Contemporary Realistic Fiction piece, Spinelli spins a tale that winds through a young boy's first experience with love, including a complete preoccupation with the object of his affection to the point of neglecting his chess game, to his relationship with a much younger sister and ongoing competition with his best friend.
The main character, Will Tuppence, struggles with fear and jealousy as he experiences two main types of conflict, person against person, and person against self. All in all, the book is about relationships, family, and the topsy-turvy feelings of first love.
Smiles to Go would be a fantastic book club feature in the classroom for small groups of students to read and discuss. Open ended questions to explore might include:
*How are you similar and/or different to Will?
*If you were Will, how would you acti differently?
*Write a continuation for this story. What would happen next?
Once again, Newbery Medal winner Jerry Spinelli shows why he is such an accomplished and acclaimed author. August 11, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
When high school freshman Will Tuppence was five or six years old, he learned from a science-savvy neighbor that protons are "unsmashable" and last forever. Since that revelation, Will has been obsessed with astrology and believes that, because he is made up of zillions of protons, he, too, is unsmashable.
But on Saturday, September 26th at 10:15, Will's world changes after he hears a report of a telltale flash that signals the death of a proton. Since that day, his calendar begins with PD1 --- the day he hears about the Proton's Death. For Will, the death of the proton means that nothing --- including him --- lasts forever.
When Will is not in school, practicing on his skateboard or trying to avoid his annoying little sister, Tabitha (Tabby), he looks forward to playing Monopoly with his best friends, Mi-Su and Anthony Bontempo (BT). On special occasions, he and his pals --- sometimes with Tabby tagging along --- attend star parties, where they line up behind high-powered telescopes and gaze in wonder at the stars.
Will is, by nature, a sensible planner who follows the rules. BT is the exact opposite, a risk taker who lives for the moment. While BT is the first to skateboard down Dead Man's Hill, Will is reluctant to even try.
Will is curious about girls but unsure how to handle his first kiss. Always the planner, he writes down the details and rehearses his conversation to ask a girl to the freshman dance, only to find out that another boy has beaten him to it.
When it's time for Will to defend his chess title, he trains with his dad and focuses on winning, but Tabby does her best to distract him. She messes with his chess trophy and is determined to try out his skateboard, the Black Viper. At the championship tournament, he is poised to win in the semifinals, when his orderly world comes crashing down and he wonders if his life will ever be the same.
Once again, Newbery Medal winner Jerry Spinelli shows why he is such an accomplished and acclaimed author. This story flows along like a lazy river on a sunny afternoon, and then out of nowhere, storm clouds form and whitecaps threaten. SMILES TO GO is a thoughtful and moving book about families and friendships and what's really important in life.
--- Reviewed by Donna Volkenannt
Spinelli Does it Again August 9, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
"For I have promises to keep," B.T. recites in Jerry Spinelli's new teen offering, "And smiles to go before I weep / And smiles to go before I weep." Although Will Tuppence's close friend B.T. is more prepared than usual for his recitation in English class, something is not quite right (although it is prescient) about his recitation of Robert Frost's Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening, just like nothing is quite right in Will Tuppence's life.
For one, the rock hard foundation of his (and everything's) existence, the proton, is dying. For another, he isn't quite sure how he feels about his friend Mi-Su, but thinking about her and B.T. kissing at the star-watching party makes him feel on less solid ground. And, as if everything in his life wasn't enough of a mess, he has to contend with a little sister who bursts into his room, breaks his things, follows him around, and is a general nuisance. And all the while, protons could be dying.
Will Tuppence really isn't too different from your average teen novel hero, and nothing about the overarching structure here is really original here - the sibling fights, childhood friendships blossoming into teenage romances, skateboarding, finding one's place in the universe... all really your typical fodder for a coming-of-age novel. Even some of the more specific details, such as the novel's climax, will hardly surprise more veteran readers of the genre.
However, this one was authored by Jerry Spinelli, who has given us the likes of Stargirl, so you can expect him to bring his own brand of magic to this all too common story. For one: the proton. Protons are not the usual concern for your average young protagonist, but Will Tuppence runs with a slightly geeky crowd (although this is not remotely the focus of the novel), and he himself has always been fascinated with the proton. It reassures him to know that even when he decomposes, particles of Will Tuppence will always be floating about the universe.
But like a stand in for a dead dog, or a dying uncle, when Will gets the news that protons can die, it is like the ground drops out from under him. I love how Spinelli uses this tidbit to reflect the uproar of Will's internal, and eventually external, world.
The characters, mostly Will's best friends and fellow Monopoly players, B.T. (who just cruises through life, "Wheelin' and dealin'," as he says during their weekly Monopoly games) and Mi-Su, really pop. I especially love Mi-Su for her cavalier, time-to-play attitude about romance, rather than the love-me-or-I'll-die puppy-loves presented in so many YA/Children's novels.
I could go on. I won't. It is a great read and really worth anyone's time. Will have great boy appeal, although may be a harder sell for reluctant readers.
Growing up is Hard. May 15, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Will Tuppence your typical freshman until he finds out that protons can die. This changes his whole outlook on things. He has to deal with the fact that his little sister keeps pestering him as he trie to train for the upcoming chess tournament. Also he saw his best friends Mi-Su and BT kissing and wonders why he hasnt tried to kiss Mi-Su yet and will he get the chance to. Also BT has just rode a skateboard down Dead Mans Hill, how can he do anything to match that. A funny and entertaining look at the struggles of a teenager dealing with the new changes in his life. A great read I would highly recommend this book.
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