First Boy

by Gary D. Schmidt Narrated by Jesse Bernstein

Overview

Mr. Heavy Legs walked past Cooper and got into the jeep. He turned on the ignition and backed up to Cooper. He handed him a card with a single phone number on it. “I'm not forcing you to come, kid. Not yet. But things are going to start happening fast. Very fast. Call if you want me. And one thing more: Next time I see you, I won't be asking you to come.”
“Do you know what happened to my father?”
“Of course I do,” said Mr. Heavy Legs.
Then he drove away.

“You're my first boy, Cooper, my first boy,” his grandfather tells him just before he dies. Now, fourteen-year-old Cooper Jewett has no one, not even a dog to keep him company. The only thing that keeps him going*is looking after the dairy farm.
All of a sudden, strange*and inexplicable things begin to happen. Big men in suits with black sedans are all over Cooper's small New Hampshire town. The President of the*United States invites Cooper for a chat at her headquarters. Her opponent insists that Cooper join him on his campaign. Cooper's house is searched at night, and his barn is burned down. His neighbors, even the sheriff, are behaving strangely. Why?

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Political intrigue meets small-town New Hampshire in this story of identity, perseverance and love. Cooper Jewett works hard on the dairy farm where he lives with his grandfather. But it's the only life he knows and a life he loves. When his beloved grandfather dies, leaving him alone, Cooper intends to keep the farm running, remembering his grandfather's phrase of fondness for him, "You're my first boy, Cooper, my first boy." But keeping up with school, milking, chores and cross country practice is running Cooper ragged. And when a local senator comes campaigning through town, along with the U.S. President, a mystery begins to unfold, and it turns out that "first boy" may have more than one meaning. Burns has a youthful-sounding voice and an enthusiastic approach, but he takes a while to get the pacing of his performance right, ultimately overcoming a slow, halting read and easing into a rhythm with dialogue. Schmidt's tale has its share of contrivances and quirky characters, but the compelling premise and Cooper's genuine dedication to farming-and to the people who love him-will help listeners stick around. Ages 12-up.(Nov. 2005) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Gr 5-8-While not as richly layered as Schmidt's Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy (Clarion, 2004), this novel touches on similar themes. When Cooper Jewett's beloved grandfather, whose endearment for the 14-year-old is, "You're my first boy," dies suddenly, the teen finds himself completely alone. He's never even seen a picture of his parents. Cooper is determined to stay on the New Hampshire dairy farm that he loves, although school, cross-country practice, and endless chores make that decision nearly impossible. The Big Men in black sedans who begin to follow him, ransacking the farm and setting fire to a barn, set off a series of events that ends with him being kidnapped and meeting the president. Senator Wickham, a candidate for the Democratic nomination, wishing to smear the incumbent, uncovers a scandal and believes that the President and the First Gentleman (yes, that's right: a woman president and a nice touch) are the boy's parents. However, since the president refuses to take a DNA test, readers are never certain whether or not Cooper is indeed the First Boy. He just wants to be home with his friends who love him and, in the end, he is able to stay. Cooper's grief, solitude, and loneliness are poignantly and realistically drawn, and secondary characters add humor to this fast-paced tale. At times, but not nearly as often as in Lizzie Bright, the writing reaches the lyricism so compelling in that novel. Like Turner in that book, Cooper learns how memories keep loved ones alive.-Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Sinister black sedans clash with rolling farmland as D.C. invades rural New Hampshire in Schmidt's latest foray into dirty politics. Fourteen-year-old Cooper Jewett is a dairyman through and through, so when Grandpa, his last remaining relative, dies, he stoically vows to "make do." Little does he know that his challenges will soon exceed fighting loneliness, keeping up in school and running the farm solo-indeed, that life as he knows it will be jeopardized when the cold, calculating Senator Wickham decides to use the orphaned Cooper as a tool in his bid for the presidential nomination. (Grandpa always said Wickham "should hold a pile of manure in each hand while he talked so people could plainly see what was coming out of his mouth.") Cooper, once "clutched by the stillness of his house," is soon catapulted into a full-blown action adventure complete with dangerous thugs, stolen cars and narrow escapes. In this suspenseful, surprisingly over-the-top novel, Cooper finds out who he is and what he's made of through a dizzying series of unlikely events that show him, ultimately, that love conquers all. (Fiction. 12+)

From the Publisher

This fast-paced and suspenseful story by Newbery and Printz Award winner Gary Schmidt, set on a New Hampshire dairy farm, creates both a bucolic rural existence and scenes of political greed and ambition . . . the novel is reminiscent of Anthony Horowitz's Alex Ryder stories and will find a delighted audience of young listeners who like adventure as well as happy endings brought about by hard work and good intentions.” —School Library Journal

“Political intrigue meets small-town New Hampshire in this story of identity, perseverance and love.” —Publishers Weekly

“Political intrigue comes to rural New Hampshire in this quiet thriller. Readers will root for this appealing protagonist.” —The Horn Book Magazine

“It is a timely novel of coming-of-age into a society increasingly divided along cultural lines.” —Voices of Youth Advocates

“Cooper's grief, solitude, and loneliness are poignantly and realistically drawn, and secondary characters add humor to this fast-paced tale.” —School Library Journal

“. . . the political machinations are fun. Best of all, though, are the realistic portrayal of a young teen alone, the unsentimental details of his work, the lyrical sense of the place he loves, and, above all, the meaning of family.” —Booklist

“. . . an outrageous adventure story and a moving tale of self-discovery.” —Grand Rapids Press

“This quick paced mystery thriller will keep readers turning the pages.” —Palmetto Parent

APR/MAY 06 - AudioFile

Cooper Jewett is 14 when his beloved grandfather dies, leaving him with a dairy farm to look after. Bizarre things happen--big men in black sedans follow him, the farmhouse is ransacked, the barn is set afire, and he even meets the president, who may be his long-lost mother. While Jesse Berns reads with gusto, he has a strange idea of a rural New Hampshire accent. Cooper’s elderly allies, Mrs. Perley (“gracious goodness”) and Mr. Searle, are lovely old-fashioned characters voiced with humor, dignity, and pretend crotchetiness. All Berns’s characters are distinctive and fun. What a pity he can’t laugh--amusement and menace sound exactly the same. A.B. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171966263
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	10/11/2005
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	10 - 13 Years

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