Mills, Claudia Zero Tolerance, 231 pgs. Farrar Straus Giroux
Books, 2013. $16.99. Language PG (9 swears, 0 ‘F’); Violence G; Mature Content
PG;
Sierra is in seventh grade, she has good grades, she is a
leader at school and she has never gotten in trouble. She believes in taking
responsibility and always doing the right thing. One day, during lunch
she discovers that she grabbed her mother’s lunch bag by mistake. Inside
the bag, she finds that her mother packed herself a paring knife to cut her
apple. The school has a zero tolerance on weapons and Sierra knows
immediately that she has a problem. Her friends know that she didn’t do
it on purpose and tell her to pretend it isn’t there and that no one will know,
but she can’t do it. She knows the knife is in her bag so she does what
she believes is the right thing. She turns the knife into the
office. The principal, following school policy, sends Sierra home
and informs her parents that she will not be able to attend class until the
school board can meet to determine if she will be expelled. Until that time she
will be required to attend in-school suspension.
The book was a quick read with realistic, likeable
characters and provided some food for thought on our actions and
consequences. Sierra is a sympathetic character trying really hard to do
what is right but finds herself in an impossible situation wondering what she
should have done differently, if anything, as she navigates her way through the
unintended consequences of her actions. The book presents both sides of
the issue but neither demonizes nor makes light of either side and could be
used in a class discussion.
MS – ADVISABLE Reviewer: RB
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