Nothing

Teller, J., & Aitken, M. (2010). Nothing. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature. On the first day of 7th grade Pierre declares "Nothing Matters" and then crawls up a tree to live. This book isn't really about Pierre, but about the impact his statement made on his classmates. The classmates decide the best way to get him down from the tree is to make a heap of meaning by giving up what is most precious to each of them. In the end, none of it matters and Pierre dies-by the hands of the same classmates. Wow! What a crazy book filled with "what just happened" comments from me. I can't image finding a place in a classroom curriculum for this book. I'm not saying not to read it, but it doesnt' have any positives traits to the storyline. It was difficult to find a place for this book to fit in. The classmates come together to get Pierre down from the tree and that makes me thing of "Adolescents need to learn how to get along with peers.", but in the end I'm not sure this is what happened. They get along with each other, but not Pierre, and ultimately they kill him.