Shelley Pearsall

This “luminescent” (Kirkus Reviews) story of anger and art, loss and redemption will appeal to fans of Lisa Graff’s Lost in the Sun and Vince Vawter’s Paperboy. NOMINATED FOR 16 STATE AWARDS! AN ALA NOTABLE BOOK AN ILA TEACHERS CHOICE A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR Arthur T. Owens grabbed a brick and hurled it at the trash picker. Arthur had his reasons, and the brick hit the Junk Man in the arm, not the head. But none of that matters to the judge—he is ready to send Arthur to juvie forever. Amazingly, it’s the Junk Man himself who offers an alternative: 120 hours of community service . . . working for him. Arthur is given a rickety shopping cart and a list of the Seven Most Important Things: glass bottles, foil, cardboard, pieces of wood, lightbulbs, coffee cans, and mirrors. He can’t believe it—is he really supposed to rummage through people’s trash? But it isn’t long before Arthur realizes there’s more to the Junk Man than meets the eye, and the “trash” he’s collecting is being transformed into something more precious than anyone could imagine. . . . Inspired by the work of folk artist James Hampton, Shelley Pearsall has crafted an affecting and redemptive novel about discovering what shines within us all, even when life seems full of darkness. “A moving exploration of how there is often so much more than meets the eye.” —Booklist, starred review “There are so many things to love about this book. Remarkable.” —The Christian Science Monitor

The Seventh Most Important Thing

"In 1963, thirteen-year-old Arthur is sentenced to community service helping the neighborhood Junk Man after he throws a brick at the old man's head in a moment of rage, but the junk he collects might be more important than he suspects. Inspired by the work of American folk artist James Hampton"--

Hannah Yang

Wow, that was a surprise!


I had preeeetty low expectations for The Seventh Most Important Thing since I didn't enjoy the last middle grade book I read so much. But I loved it. The story was so unique and I loved the premise as soon as I heard it. Also, I didn't even realize it was historical fiction until I read the Author's Note. The real one looks gorgeous. I've got to see it someday. 

In The Seventh Most Important Thing, Arthur Owens is your average kid until he picks up a brick and throws it at the Junk Man. While the judge is ready to send Arthur to juvie, the Junk Man wants Arthur to help him collect the Seven Most Important Things. Glass bottles, foil, cardboard, pieces of wood, lightbulbs, coffee cans, and mirrors. 

At first Arthur's disgusted. Pick through people's junk? Become the Junk Man? No thank you. But when Arthur discovers the incredible masterpiece that the Junk Man is creating, and he starts to find the most important things in his life, his 120 hours of community service don't seem so bad after all. Yet, the seven most important things aren't the only secret the Junk Man keeps..

The story itself is A-plus-perfect so I won't comment on it anymore. The writing was great too.

I loved the characters in this book. Arthur Owens was pretty complex for a middle grade character - although at first he was a total jerk (come on, even though your dad died, you don't throw bricks at strangers. You just don't.) he really grew on me. He begins as a pretty aggressive, isolated person, but after meeting Squeak/Reginald/Reggie and they become friends, and after becoming closer with Mr. Hampton, he starts to soften up. Arthur's character definitely developed a lot from the first page to the last.

Mr. Hampton / the Junk Man was another great character that I only wished we got to see more of. I really didn't expect (view spoiler)[him to die (hide spoiler)] and it crushed me. I loved his quirks and also that he wasn't portrayed as a perfect character. You'd expect him to be flawless: he saves Arthur from going to juvie, he works on a stunning and mysterious piece of art, etc. but he is also pretty capricious and confusing (and bad at spelling) at times, which was great!

The other characters all had their quirks and ways to be recognized. Squeak, of course, was the smart friend and I loved how determined he was the whole story. Determined not to let the basketball incident get to him, determined to befriend Arthur, determined to help Arthur with the project, etc. Arthur's mom was sensitive and sweet and prone to crying. Barbara was energetic and adorable. Officer Billie always says Stop but she's also nicer than she seems. The list goes on.

Basically, if you're looking to read a quick, really original book with a plot you won't find anywhere else and characters you'll love, The Seventh Most Important Thing is the book for you! I'd even recommend it to adults. Some middle grade books are way too cheesy to handle but this one is great.

Nadine 

What I liked about the book is what also disturbs me. It's great that the life of a folk artist is brought alive for a YA audience, it's also a great story of a youngster making a stupid mistake that nearly defines him but is redeemed and set back on track by a combination of support and self volition.
What disturbs me is that some reviewers already cast this as historical fiction when it's not. It's supposition and literary device blending just enough fact with a huge dollop of what the author wants to say. And the real hero of the story, the landlord- is made out to be a slimy money grabbing villain - not cool. 
So 3 stars.

Ella Zegarra

ok ¿cuándo empezamos con la producción de la película? ¿Morgan Freeman cuando llega al set?

Este es el tipo de película que me hubiera encantado ver cuando era chica. Digo película, porque en ese tiempo no leía.

Historias como esta le falta a los niños de esta época, algo sencillo con ese ligero toque de fantasía que lleva el libro a un nivel... *-*

En serio, necesitamos películas basadas en libros como este y no solo para los niños.

Original de: El Extraño Gato del Cuento

Tengo una malísima memoria, demasiado mala, da un poco de vergüenza de tan mala qué es. Entonces, para poder reseñar un libro, tiendo tomar apuntes, pero a veces, ni siquiera con eso es suficiente. Por lo que decidí sería buena idea hacer resúmenes en un cuaderno y así recordar el libro, sobre todo si es el de una serie. Fácil en teoría. Lo hice bastante rápido con Into a Million Pieces, luego lo intenté con The Seventh Most Important Thing... ya había terminado una hoja y no podía pasar del primer capítulo con tanto detalle que quería poner, le agregaba más y más y más. Al final no pude hacer un pequeño resumen, así de impresionante este es.

Me gusta cuando los libros van directo al punto, este lo hace, empieza segundo antes que Arthur decida tirar la piedra. Yo sinceramente creí que la historia se desarrollaría únicamente alrededor del porqué, pero no.

Se me hizo tan fácil ver The Seventh Most Important Thing adaptada a ese tipo de películas que ves de pequeñ@ y se vuelve tu favorita durante años, luego la olvidas para que de la nada de adulto re aparezca y vuelvas a recordar todo lo que la historia te conmovió.

Tengo un lugar especial para las historias que tienen como protagonistas a ancianos y niños, lo comente una vez cuando tuve que vivir algo muy triste, siento un gran cariño por lo viejitos. Eso de "me llevo mejor con gente mayor que yo", lo llevó al extremo. Las abuelos tienen tanto que contar. Shelley Pearsall trae una historia real adaptada, Junk Man o Chatarrero, existió en la vida real, y sus siete cosas más importantes también. ¿Qué son? ¿Por qué lo son? Tienes que leer el libro.

The Seventh Most Important Thing es de los libros que me dejan sin palabras, me emocionó demasiado poder leerlo, ojalá te animes a leer también, a pesar que no sé que escribí en esta reseña jajaja 

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