Sahara Special

By Esme Raji Codell

Recommended for grades 4-8

We’ve all heard the saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Things—and people—aren’t always what they seem on the outside. No one knows this better than Sahara Jones, the title character in Sahara Special by Esme Raji Codell. Though she is an avid reader, writes her own “Heart-Wrenching Life Story and Amazing Adventures,” and aspires to be a writer, she has spent years in school turning in incomplete, half-heartedly attempted assignments and trying hard not to be noticed. This behavior gets her assigned to a “Special Needs” teacher (thus her classroom nickname “Sahara Special”) and leads to her repeating the 5^th grade. As she begins 5^th grade for the second time, Sahara finds that a new teacher, Madame Poitier, has been assigned to her class. “Miss Pointy,” as the children call her, is slowly able to persuade Sahara to show her secret self and unleash her writing talent. In the process, Sahara also learns to deal with the hurt of her father’s absence and begins to imagine an exciting future.

Esme Raji Codell uses much humor and beautifully descriptive language to tell this story of a girl not daring to live up to her potential. Students (and adult readers) will identify with many of the school experiences, humorous and otherwise, included in the book. Miss Pointy is an especially wonderful and quirky character who is shown being patient and loving with her class as well as openly exasperated at times with their behavior. Sahara’s story will remind readers of the importance of making peace with our past and striving to be who we were meant to be.

Sahara Special was a 2006 Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award nominee. It is the March selection for the Mother & Daughter Book Club at the library. Two copies of the book are available in the KPL Youth Department in the Junior High Fiction section.

Reviewed by Laura Abbott

KPL Youth Department Clerk