Smiles To Go by Jerry Spinelli | Teen Ink

Smiles To Go by Jerry Spinelli

March 2, 2017
By Anonymous

The title of this novel is Smiles To Go by Jerry Spinelli. The genre of the book is Fiction. The setting of the book is in one of the main character's home, the hospital, and Dead Man’s Hill. The time of the story is present.

 

The major character of the book would be Will. He is a student that loves to play chess, combine science chemicals, and. He is a chess champion. He is always playing chess or skateboarding. Will probably focuses more on playing chess or his crush Mi Su. Once Will found out that a proton died, he was sad. Jerry Spinelli doesn’t tell the readers what age the characters are in the book. Will’s personality is obviously smart, courageous, and a very caring person. Will is sort of in a relationship with a girl named Mi Su. He planned out a date for the both of them on Valentine’s Day. His whole plan was to look at the stars and throw gold stars above their heads when he tries to lean in and kiss her. He was scared to kiss her because he didn’t know how she would react but turns out she enjoyed it. Will was shocked at her reaction. They had a couple stuff in common. Mi Su and Will were really good friends when they were younger. They ended up being a thing


Some minor characters in Smiles To Go are Mr. Bontempo (Anthony Bontempos’ dad), Korbet (has a crush on Tabby and lives next door to Will), and Tabitha Tuppence “Tabby” (Will’s younger sister). They don’t really play a big role in the book. BT is the opposite of Will. Will discovered that BT kissed Mi Su before Will. Will hates Tabby for no reason. Tabby looks up to BT which causes her to make stupid decisions.


When high school freshman Will Tuppence was five or six years old, he learned from a science-savvy neighbor that protons are “unsmashable” and last forever. Since that revelation, Will has been obsessed with astrology and believes that, because he is made up of zillions of protons, he is unsmashable too. On Saturday, September 26th at 10:15, Will’s world changes after he hears a report of a proton dead. Since that day, his calendar begins with PD1, the day he hears of the Proton’s Death. For Will, the death of the proton means that nothing, including him, lasts forever. When it’s time for Will to defend his chess title, he trains with his dad and focuses on winning, but Tabby does her best to distract him. She messes with his chess trophy and is eager to try out his skateboard, the Black Viper. At the championship tournament, he is ready to win in the semifinals, when his arranged world comes crashing down and he wonders if his life will ever be the same. The climax of the story was when Tabitha went down Dead Man’s Hill and ended up going to the hospital.


I would recommend this book out to 12-year-olds and older. Jerry Spinelli included big words in the novel. Jerry is a writer that likes to use big use just to spice up the story a bit. I like how Jerry explained the characters from Will’s point of view. Smiles To Go is a thoughtful book about family and friends(ships) and showing us readers what’s really important in life.



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