This was a very nice approach to the disparity between 2 children in the 70's. I liked how the author approached social issues and the way the children bonded over their similarities. A good book for all middle schoolers to read.

This book about the friendships that form in spite of the racial divisions of a community in the late 1970s is well-presented and engaging. I was in love with the recess monitor reports that were interwoven into the overall narrative. It added another layer of authenticity to the already entirely believable story of the two boys forming a trusting bond and navigating the tumult of an interracial friendship in a time those sorts of friendships faced major hurtles. I also liked the stayed advice of Armstrong's elderly neighbor, who did everything slowly and deliberately. In all, I couldn't hand this to some of my youngest middle grade readers, but I could imagine an advanced reader in upper elementary school and certainly in middle school polishing this one off with fervor. It was really a compelling read, one the presents serious social issues with honesty and sensitivity, but without sugarcoating it. It's the sort of story that will hang around in the reader's mind for a long time after they finish reading, and hopefully inform their decision-making as they navigate social situations in their own life. Well done.

History books give us the headlines, historical fiction makes it real. When busing was in the news we heard from adults. But the kids involved had a whole different perspective. This story wraps that history into a warm hearted journey to friendship.

I LOVED this book. I loved getting to know Armstrong and Charlie and everyone else in this remarkable book. It felt so perfectly, awkwardly 6th grade, while also opening my eyes to an unfamiliar yet critically important part of the American story. We already have it for my library, but I plan to recommend it as much as possible going forward. I just wish I had read it as soon as it showed up on my NetGalley shelf.

An inspirational friendship story.

Although set 40 years ago, Armstrong and Charlie remains as relevant as yesterday’s police shooting of an unarmed black teen — or this morning’s borderline-racist Donald Trump tweet. Sure, the novel presents coming-of-age stories for two 12-year-olds: white Charlie Ross, the son of Jewish politically progressive parents, all of whom are still mourning the death of Charlie’s brother Andy a few months earlier, and black Armstrong Leroy, the hot-tempered son of a disabled veteran who left a leg in Korea and picked up post-traumatic stress disorder. The pair, who would otherwise have never met, do so when Armstrong’s parents agree to Opportunity Busing, which sends a dozen kids from the projects to tony Wonderland Junior High in Laurel Canyon, home of Frank Zappa, Jerry Brown, Joni Mitchell, Carole King and fabled Mulholland Drive. Armstrong and Charlie are antagonists from the very start, with neither ready to give an inch.

But Armstrong and Chalie isn’t a TV Afternoon Special: there are no easy resolutions to overcoming the frictions induced by class and race. The novel remains believable throughout, hopeful without becoming Pollyannaish or maudlin. Because of that, this novel might shine a beacon of hope at a time when schools have been re-segregating at an alarming pace.

While it isn’t quite like any of them, Armstrong and Charlie should join A Separate Peace, The Chocolate War, Wonder, and Harriet the Spy as another classic that explores schools and injustice. Highly, highly recommended.

This book is set during the desegregation of schools in California in the 1970s. Armstrong is part of a small group of black students who are now being bused into white school districts. Charlie’s parents want Charlie to be involved in welcoming these students. Armstrong’s bullying, Charlie’s recent loss of his brother Andy, and ever-increasing racial tensions make these two unlikely friends, but they slowly grow to respect and stand up for each other.

I thought the author did a great job of portraying the sputtering friendship of these two boys as they both face the challenges of growing up.

I loved this thoughtful kids’ book about two boys in 6th grade and their friendship. Sensitively covering issues of race, grief, class, and peer relationships, this little book has a lot of punch packed between its pages. Highly recommended for middle grades – I’d love to use it with my own students next year!

Thank you for my e-copy which I got through Net Galley.

Armstrong & Charlie
By Steven B. Frank
DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: I have a material connection because I received a review copy for free from Netgalley and the publisher.
Armstrong and Charlie are sixth graders this year. Both of them have reservations about the coming school year for very different reasons.

Armstrong is going to be bussed to a new school that is much better than the one in his neighborhood, so he will be leaving all of his friends. Everyone knows that friends are very important, and Armstrong is worried he won’t fit it.

Charlie will be losing some of his friends. Their parents aren’t as excepting as Charlie’s are about integrating his school. He also has a deeper problem. His brother died not too long ago and once he completes sixth grade, Charlie will be older than his brother ever was.

The school year starts out rocky, but soon the boys begin an awkward kind of friendship. It is shaky at best, and they don’t see each other out of school because Armstrong lives so far away.

Charlie’s mom and dad are not the same as before. The death of his brother has changed their family dynamic. Armstrong has a bustling family that includes four sisters and his parents. His mom is a nurse and his father was injured in the military.

The boy’s personal lives do not mingle – until a weekend trip with their class. The question is – will the boys grow closer or will they make choices that will cause their differences to explode?

This is a great book for kids in middle school. It is a time of changes and sometimes they feel like they are the only ones feeling left out or different. Armstrong & Charlie shows them they are like other kids their age.

I really like where this book ended up. At first it seemed a bit cliché with the racial issue of the white family being from the “better” area of town and the black family being from the “worse” side of town. For a few chapters I almost wished it had been flipped, with Charlie being bussed.

But as the story unfolds, the author squashes all of my doubts. It is an interesting plot with enough surprises to keep me turning the pages to see what happens next. The choices the boys make have consequences, both good and bad. The author isn’t afraid to let the reader know what could and does happen as the boys grow up during the school year.

I highly recommend this book.

Copyright © 2017 Laura Hartman

Armstrong & Charlie is one of those books that I greatly enjoyed and just can’t find the words in me for a good review. I hate when this happens because we all know I can rant for days about terrible books, yet there are times when I read something I would gladly recommend and I choke up! Ugh! -_-

This book is set in the 1970s in California, which is a big change of scenery for me, especially for middle-grade. Armstrong and a handful of other students were selected to be bussed to Charlie’s school, Wonderland. This is a new experience for both boys and on the first day of school, perhaps because tensions are high and perhaps because the students are afraid of being misunderstood, Charlie and Armstrong get off on the wrong foot. This starts a feud between the two of them that carries itself throughout the school year, slowly morphing into a solid friendship.

I wanted to slap both boys just as much as I wanted to see them get the upper hand over the other. Charlie and Armstrong are both clever and stubborn and Armstrong’s wit had me laughing several times.

Towards the end I wanted to cry, but Sweetbeeps was in the room and while he wouldn’t have minded my waterworks, he would have been confused as to why I was sitting in front of my laptop sniveling and then I would have had to explain like, the whole book, and he wouldn’t have had time for that, so I just bottled it up.

I know this review is basically rubbish as far as giving you any information on what I liked, but I warned you! I found it poignant and funny and I think that this is a book that perfectly captures that awkward time in sixth grade where you’re not quite a little kid anymore, but also not a teenager yet. The running theme throughout the book is “different, yet the same” and I think this is an excellent contemporary (wait, is it still contemporary if it’s set over 40 years ago?!) read if you’re looking for that theme or just something a little deeper and more meaningful in your middle-grade. Again, sorry this review is so awkward! But I really enjoyed the hell outta this book!

There are, of course, dozens of books about racism and the civil rights movement for every age level. For the most part these books explore blatant, systemic racism. Frank has taken a more subtle approach. Given a school that is the subject of busing, we do get some obvious racism, students leaving the school, bullying. The bulk of the prejudice, though, is more subtle. Its based on assumptions and snamp judgements. Its the kind of prejudice we may not even realize is happening. Frank's characters question everything. Even open and accepting characters have moments of bias. It's a subtle, nuanced cast of characters. The issues in the novel are perhaps a bit too easily resolved, but it's an important addition to the conversation about racism, prejudice, and assumption.

I really enjoyed this book. At the beginning I couldn't see how these boys could ever be friends (sorry, Armstrong is a devious little thing, and Charlie doesn't have a whole lot of backbone), but I loved watching the story unfold. They helped bring out the best in each other, and I would love to read more about these characters as they get older.

I would say this is definitely middle school (language, french kissing, etc.) although your mature fifth graders will probably be fine with it. Most of it is things many of them see on TV or hear on the bus, anyway.

Although I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher (via netgalley) all opinions remain my own.

I thought this book was wonderful. Giving us a view of what it was like right after the segregation ended, when they were busing inner-city black children into the outlying "white" schools. I had never read a story like this one. It was quite amazing to me to see the struggle both sides of this story had.

I loved the characters. Even the pain in the butt (at least at first) Armstrong was, in the end, a quite likable boy. You get to know the things that made him the person he is. And then there is Charlie, another boy with a deep history. It is interesting to see how the boys interact. You also see how Armstrong is treated by other students, staff and even the families of the white school students.

This book finished quite open, but still enough closure with the ending of the school year. Seriously a book that makes you think about things.

This middle grade historical novel for fans of Gary Schmidt and Kristin Levine features two deeply flawed yet imminently sympathetic male characters. When Charley's Los Angeles elementary school, Wonderland, is slated to receive bussed students in an effort to desegregate schools in the 1970's, the parents of many of Charley's friends send them to another school. But Charley's parents aren't interested in participating in "white flight" so Charley will spend his 6th grade year trying to make new friends. Almost immediately, Charley finds himself in conflict with Armstrong, one of the new African American students who responds to uncertainty by lying and bullying. Charley begins working out, in hopes of being able to defend himself against this new threat, and spends a fair amount of energy trying to avoid any kind of confrontation with Armstrong. But, of course, the two find themselves frequently brought together by fate, and as they slowly begin to learn more about each other, they move from antagonism, to uneasy truce, and eventually to friendship. Frank explores racial inequity with honesty and autheticity. Most characters, expecially Armstrong and Charley, are richly drawn with both flaws and heroic qualities. This title is a perfect option for enriching units on the Civil Rights Movement and school desegregation.

Meet Armstrong Le Rois & Charlie Ross as they both dread starting 6th Grade at Wonderland.

Charlie's family live in Laurel Canyon in the Hollywood Hills, but most of Charlie's friends are going to other schools, and by the end of the year, he'll be older than his older brother every got to be.

Armstrong has to get up at 5.30am to get to Wonderland as part of the Opportunity Busing Program. He doesn't want to be the token black boy in an all white school. He wants to stay at Holmes where he can get up at 7am.

This is the first year trialling desegregation in education in Los Angeles in 1975. In a world where racial prejudice is rife, can the boys overcome their differences?

Told in turn from each boy’s perspective, and packed with a wry humour, this is a heartwarming tale of fights, friendship, tolerance and understanding. The many threads are woven together masterfully to create tension and empathy for both boys, who are “different, yet the same.” A triumph!

There are racially derogatory terms used within the story to recreate some of the bigotry of the era, but at no point do they ever feel as if they've been thrown in just to shock.

This is definitely one for my bookshelf. The tolerance, understanding and empathy depicted are needed just as much in our world today.

Proof courtesy of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing. Maybe you could and a copy to Donald Trump...

Students are going to love Armstrong and Charlie! Can't wait to share!

This is an excellent book that will help children learn about the desegregation of public schools in the 1970s. The story is told from the alternating point of view of the book's 2 main characters, Charlie Ross and Armstrong Le Rois. Neither of the 2 boys are looking forward to the start of the new school year in 6th grade. Each boy has his own personal issues, fears and challenges.

The story is set in Los Angeles, CA in the mid 1970s. The 2 boys come from 2 very different social and economic worlds.
Charlie Ross is a white student who lives in upscale Laurel Canyon. He has more than 1 reason for not wanting to start 6th grade. 1). ALL of his best friends will be going to different schools while Charlie will remain at Wonderland Avenue Elementary. 2). Charlie will get older than his brother who recently died. Charlie is saddened by that and also feels guilty that he will experience more in life than his brother was able to.

Armstrong Le Rois is a black student from South Central L.A. Armstrong is not at all enthusiastic about going to a new school, especially when he learns he has to wake up at 5:30 AM instead of his usual 7:00 AM. Armstrong's parents signed him up for Opportunity Busing. He and a few other black students are to be integrated into a white school in Hollywood Hills.

The school year starts with some challenges as the schools 1st experience with desegregation. There are a few racial issues that come up. At the beginning, Armstrong has a bad attitude and I hoped the book wasn't going to stereotype Armstrong. It didn't. In fact, the book portrayed Armstrong as a better person than all of Charlie's old school buddies! Charlie and Armstrong do butt heads at the beginning but as they learn more about each other they develop a close friendship.

What I liked. The story gives an excellent 1st person account of this very historical time, from the point of view of 2 children. The book is family oriented and both boys have strong family bonds and support. It relates that both sets of parents want the same for their children, a good education, acceptance and unity.
What I didn't like. I didn't like the white boys torturing the lizard. It was cruel and served no purpose.
I definitely didn't like the white kids (Charlie's old school friends) stealing and trying to teach Charlie how to shop-lift. I didn't like that the book treated this behavior as if it's not more important than eating cereal for breakfast.

What confused me. The book begins with the 1st “Incident Report” dated 1974, later in the middle of the book an “Incident Report” is dated 1976. The book covers 1 school year. What happened to 1975? (perhaps this is a typo in the ARC I received that will be corrected before print)


I received the book free from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review posted on goodreads, netgalley and moonshineartspot.blogspot.com

Armstrong and Charlie are amazing characters that will warm your hearts and remind you of what it is to be human. In the beginning of the story Armstrong is a bully, and understandably so. He believes ne needs to act tough to survive. Charlie is tring to have a good year after his friends all go to different schools to avoid the desegregation of Wonderland School. Both characters have loving, strict parents who help to shape both boys. There is much to be said in the book for kindness, understanding and prejudice without being didactic. Everyone could spend a little time with Charlie and Armstong. Some of the kissing talk may be a bit mature for those younger than fifth grade.

Haven't read one on here this good for a while. Super excited to see it gain success. Full review on Goodreads.

Heart touching and shows that even through thick and thin, we are all pretty much the same inside... same wants, needs and desires,, same aches and pains... nice ending, too!