Downsiders
by Neal Shusterman
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Book Summary Information
Author: Neal ShustermanIllustrator: Greg Harlin
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1999-06-01
ISBN: 0689803753
Number of pages: 256
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Book Reviews of Downsiders
Book Review: Amazing Classroom Read
Summary: 5 Stars
Downsiders
By, Neal Shusterman
Publisher: Aladdin Paperbacks
Reading Level: 7.2
Number of Pages: 256
Genre: Science Fiction
Plot Synopsis: Neal Shusterman's Downsiders is a fun, and exciting science fiction adventure in which very different two worlds try to intertwine. The world as we know it is only half of reality. We are the Topside, but beneath us, in the hills and valleys that lie beneath our surface is a whole society, they are the Downside. The two worlds co-exist fine, the Topside knowing nothing of the Downside, and the Downside's sneering the choices of the Topside until a twelve year old boy's curiosity and tenaciousness prove burdensome. Talon Angler risks life and limb to travel Topside to learn of the curious ways of Topside culture. In his adventures he manages to peek the interest of a Topside girl who finds little interest in her current world. Fourteen year old Lindsay sees the Downside as the world of exceptions and possibilities she's been looking for. Talon and Lindsay's relationship blossoms as both the Topside and Downside continue in their prejudice ways.
As Lindsay and Talon grow closer Talon makes a series of bad decisions that land him in trouble with the Downside laws. Ironically, it is his best friend, Railborn, who turns him in. Talon's bringing of an outsider Downside will cost him dearly. As he is sentenced to execution, bigger problems begin, and as the Fates would have it the Topside begins "discovering" the Downside world. When the two worlds threaten to collide not everyone is as accepting or happy at the prospect of living together. Or will their long held biases get in the way of harmony? Will Downsiders become Topsiders? Will Topsiders become Downsiders? Whose world was first? Whose is better? And where would you want to live?
Negative Aspects: The vocabulary and concepts of this book can be quite challenging. The themes are deep and require extensive communication. That said Downsiders makes a great classroom novel as students can easily be discussed and discovered in literature circles, sharing their ideas while learning from one another. Even if you're not reading it as a class stick with it. Buy one for both you and a friend to read and discuss together. Ask yourself hard questions. What would you have done in each of the characters shoes?
Personal Appraisal: As a sixth grade teacher I chose this book for my classroom based on its challenging vocabulary and complicated themes. The overwhelming theme of personal bias and cultural biases are easily discussed throughout the context of the book. We've had great classroom discussions and unveiled many of our own biases as a classroom and as individuals. It easily integrates into Character Counts curriculum, or any character education program as each character presented is easily scrutinized and evaluated. My students have experienced advancement in reading fluency, increased vocabulary, and have also grown personally through their own self-reflections. I highly recommend Shusterman's Downsiders as a classroom novel for sixth grade and up, or for individual student seventh grade and up.
Summary of Downsiders
Beneath the sewer grates and manholes of the city lies a strange and secret world called the Downside. Every Downsider knows that it's forbidden to go Topside, and most fear a collision of the two worlds. But fourteen-year-old Talon is curious about what goes on above ground, and one day he ventures out in search of medicine for his ailing sister. There he meets Lindsay, who is as curious about Talon's world as he is about hers. When Lindsay visits the Downside for the first time, she marvels at the spirit of the Downsiders, and the way they create works of art from topside "trash," like old subway tokens and forgotten earrings. As awed as she is by the Downside, however, she also questions its origins, and when she finds out that this fantastic world is not all it appears to be, she is determined to tell Talon the truth. Then a construction accident threatens to crush Talon's world, and his loyalty is put to the test. Can the truth save the Downside, or will it destroy an entire civilization? Neal Shusterman takes readers on an amazing journey into a place that's only a few steps away, yet beyond their wildest dreams.
Meticulous 14-year-old Lindsay isn't exactly thrilled about moving to the chaos that she believes is New York City. Her flighty "career college student" mom, now divorced, has dumped her on her city engineer dad, "a man who lived his life twenty minutes behind schedule and in a perpetual state of apology." Lindsay is certain that nothing better awaits her than prep school boredom and constant battles with her evil stepbrother Todd. But she is wrong. Quite by accident, Lindsay discovers an unusual boy named Talon who resides in a secret city beneath New York--a kind of underground Oz called the Downside. Talon and Lindsey are fascinated by the differences in their dual worlds and soon grow equally fascinated with each other. But when Lindsay's dad's construction project hits a snag that reveals the Downside, it is not only the blooming relationship that hangs in the balance, but the entire future of the Downside as well.
Downsiders is both funny and compelling. But while Lindsay and Talon's observations of their distinct environments is humorous (Talon compares Lindsay's French braid to a "gator's tail" and, despite Talon's explanation that "time is of low importance," Lindsay still thinks it's strange that Talon wears his watch around his ankle), Neal Shusterman also uses their relationship to illustrate how much a particular culture both shapes our identity and affects how we view people from backgrounds other than our own. This call to look beneath the surface is cleverly and subtly woven through an original story with broad appeal. (Ages 10 to 16) --Jennifer Hubert
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