Peanut

Author: Ayun Halliday

Illustrator: Paul Hoppe

Age Range: 11-15

Interest Range: 11-15

Genre: Real-life

Format: Graphic Novel

Plot: Sadie is starting sophomore year at a new school this year. Worried about having to start over from scratch, she decides to announce her peanut allergy to all of her new classmates immediately. The only problem: Sadie isn’t really allergic to anything. Sadie once met a girl who had a fatal peanut allergy and found her fascinating. Out of her desire to seem so interesting to all of these potential new friends, Sadie has decided to lie about herself. She gets her wish, quickly gaining a group of friends (and even a new boyfriend!), but learns that there are downsides. She has to be very careful about what she eats in front of anyone, and her new friends can definitely not come over to her house- what if her mom tried to serve them peanut butter milkshakes?! This is a story about how far some people will go just to not feel out of place in a new environment.

Review: This wasn’t the best coming of age story I have ever read, but it touched on an interesting idea. People make up stories about themselves all the time to try and fit in or impress people they have just met. How far would you be willing to take that tall-tale? I think this story is probably intended for older readers, since Sadie is moving from one high school to another. But because it deals with the topics of going to a new school and making new friends and does not go into any questionable themes that would make this strictly YA I think it is completely appropriate for tweens. In this age group, everyone worries about fitting in at some point. And who has not looked at another person or heard someone else’s story and thought to themselves “gosh, what if that was me?” This story was an interesting adaptation of that thought process to a real-life situation.

Themes: Coming of age, Making new friends, New school

Additional Info:

Main Character:

Sadie: Moving to a new school and falling out of touch with old friends, Sadie is concerned about fitting in. She wants to make new friends quickly and decides to lie about a peanut allergy to make herself more interesting. Eventually, the lie becomes too big to handle, and Sadie must deal with the consequences.

Cheryl: Sadie’s friend from her old school. Seems to forget about Sadie very quickly.

Louann: Sadie’s closest friend at her new school. Unable to forgive Sadie for the lie.

David: Louann’s best friend and one of Sadie’s new friends. Also loses contact with Sadie after the lie comes out.

Zoo: Sadie’s boyfriend. Very concerned about the peanut allergy at all times. Does not use modern technology (no phone, no computers at home, etc). Eventually forgives Sadie for lying.

Bibliographic Info:

Halliday, A. & Hoppe, P. (2013). Peanut. New York: Random House, Inc.

Tagline:

How far would you go to fit in at a new school?