flipped

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Book Reviews and Synopses

Flipped

Wendelin Van Draanen

Draanen, Wendelin Van. Flipped. Scholastic Inc. New York, N.Y. 2004.

Flipped is about learning to come to terms with and accept ones differences, and embrace who one is. It’s a heartwarming story that, even through the worst, shows that anyone can be a hero despite any circumstances or difficulties they may face.

Dabney is a baby chick; at least, that’s what everyone tells him. Whenever he hops out of the chicken coop and into the outside world, all the other chicks laugh and tease him about his brown fur and weird appearance. All the mother hens hush their offsprings and tell them not to associate with him. Dabney lives a fairly lonely life, his only company his adoptive mother hen, and the insects that dwell in the coop. The only adventure he has is whether he’ll survive the teasing to see the next day.

Dabney had always known that he was a different from the other chicks, but it never really registered in his mind. Sometimes when he hops back into the coop, exhausted from a long day where his peers did nothing but harass him, his mother crows him a lullaby and cleans his fur. She is always telling him that he is her “special little baby” and that she wouldn’t change him for the world. It helps a little, but it never lasts long. He always falls asleep full of grief and worry for tomorrows’ torment.

On a slightly cloudy day, a hen gives birth to a peep of chicks. Dabney approaches cautiously, smelling the most unpleasant scent from far away. When he finally gets close enough to see the wonder of reproduction, one newborn asks him, “What are you?” After hearing the innocent and unbiased question, Dabney’s life changes drastically. He goes on to embark on a spiritual journey, and he feels that to do so, he must leave the farm for a time. However, one oddly cold night, he comes back to the chicken coop only to find a dog inside, with the wild look of hunger in its eyes...

Flipped faces tough questions and situations head on, making the book more engrossing than ones that dance around unpleasant subjects. Flipped puts the reader in the mind of the main character, taking them through all his hardships, and allowing them to connect more fully with him. Wendelin does this in a way quite masterful, although there are some sections where the wording is a little clumsy. All in all, Flipped is a good read for any rainy day.

4 out of 5 stars.

Contributed by J. Rodriguez

December 3, 2012