Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: Also Known As Rowan Pohi by Ralph Fletcher

About The Book: Bobby Steele and his pals, Marcus and Big Poobs, all public school kids from working class backgrounds, are waiting for tenth grade to start when they come across an application form for Whitestone Academy, a prestigious and posh private school. Just for giggles, they decide that a nonexistent kid should apply—and so Rowan Pohi is born. (Named for their favorite hangout, Pohi is IHOP spelled backwards.) Amazingly enough, the phantom Rowan is accepted at Whitestone.
Eager to escape the boredom of public school and his unhappiness at home, Bobby shows up at Whitestone’s new student orientation, reinventing himself as Rowan. He begins a suspenseful career as an impostor, hoping that the two worlds he’s living in will stay separate forever. For a short, exhilarating time, they do. Ralph Fletcher’s signature light touch in addressing serious issues in young people’s lives is evident in this story of identity lost and found. -Goodreads

First Line: It was Big Poobs who first suggested the idea.

What Others Are Saying: "Hearts will go out to Bobby as he learns that being true to himself is as important as realizing his dreams." -Publishers Weekly 

"The writing is effortless, the voice distinct and though at times I was afraid there would be too many loopholes for the plot to be plausible, Mr. Fletcher covered them all with believable outcomes. This is a quick and easy read (I read it in about two hours), and one I would highly recommend." -Book Twirps

What I Thought: Inventing an imaginary person is something that all of us have toyed with one time or another, even if only in our dreams. Bobby and his friends take it a step farther by including a local school in their little caper. I loved how they came up with the name, Rowan Pohi. Took me right back to when I was a kid. The fun really begins when Bobby impulsively pretends to be the imaginary character to impress a girl. The question then becomes how far will he take it. There are deeper issues that simmer underneath and often bubble over giving us glimpses of the family pressure that Bobby carries. I especially liked the way Fletcher explored the theme of acceptance and moving forward in spite of a difficult situation. It was a quick fun read and I think it would be great for boys. 

About The Author: Ralph Fletcher 

Website 

Agent: Ronnie Ann Herman  The Herman Agency

Who:  I grew up as the oldest of nine children, and my parents were each one of eight children, so we always had tons of relatives around. I grew up swimming in stories. I got them from my grandparents; I heard them from my wild Irish uncles; I traded them with friends and cousins. And I read them in books.

When:  The death of my brother stirred up a hornet's nest of emotions inside me--anger, grief, guilt. I needed some kind of container to hold all those feelings. It was around that time that I started reading poems. Poems appealed to me because they were short and intense--they aimed straight for the heart. I started writing poetry. For years my friends and family held a big poetry reading around the end of the year. These were B.Y.O.P. parties: Bring Your Own Poem. We sat around a big circle listening and reading poetry far into the night.

When I was about 28 I went back to school and earned a masters degree in fiction writing from Columbia University, in New York. I got to work with some wonderful writers (Richard Price, Gail Godwin, Edmund White) who left a mark on me. We had regular workshops where students would sit in a circle and respond to each other's work. At that time I began working New York City classrooms as part of the Teachers College Writing Project. I was helping teachers develop better ways of teaching writing. I lugged a big bag of books from class to class, and shared them with students to spark their writing. I didn't plan it, but I fell in love with books by William Steig, Cynthia Rylant, Katherine Paterson, Gary Soto, John Steptoe and others. I decided to try to write books for young readers. But it would take several years and many rejection letters before my first book (I Am Wings: Poems About Love) got published.

How:  When I was about 28 I went back to school and earned a masters degree in fiction writing from Columbia University, in New York. I got to work with some wonderful writers (Richard Price, Gail Godwin, Edmund White) who left a mark on me. We had regular workshops where students would sit in a circle and respond to each other's work. At that time I began working New York City classrooms as part of the Teachers College Writing Project. I was helping teachers develop better ways of teaching writing. I lugged a big bag of books from class to class, and shared them with students to spark their writing. I didn't plan it, but I fell in love with books by William Steig, Cynthia Rylant, Katherine Paterson, Gary Soto, John Steptoe and others. I decided to try to write books for young readers. But it would take several years and many rejection letters before my first book (I Am Wings: Poems About Love) got published.

Writing Advice: "I have always had an interest in young writers. When I do author visits I give young writers 3 bits of advice:

1) Get a writer’s notebook where you can write something every day. Practice is necessary to became better at anything.
2) Read everything you can get your hands on.
3) Don’t forget to be a kid. A real childhood is one of the most precious things any writer could have." --Getting Boys To Read

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