LitPick Review
Me and Sam-Sam Handle the Apocalypse alternates between two stories: one before and one after the tornado. Before the tornado, Jesse's dad is arrested for stealing the money in the library fund, which he did not do. Jesse, and her new friend, Springer, decide to investigate who really took it, while also standing up to bullies. They also try to train Sam-Sam to sniff out containers so he can learn to be a bomb-sniffing dog. After the tornado, Jesse runs back to her house in search of her beloved dog. Eventually, the stories connect and they find out who stole the money and realize that even though Sam-Sam is bad at sniffing out containers, he can do other important things.
Opinion:
I really liked this book. The two story perspective worked together really well, and I really enjoyed the theme of standing up for yourself that was shown through the bullying. Jesse has autism, and there is a group of friends who bully her because of it. Instead of being understanding, they make fun of her for being different. We find later in the book that the three kids bullying them have their own issues as well, and they aren't as bad as they act. But Jesse and Springer both stand up for each other, and it is really cool. I also loved the theme of family. Jesse's family understands her and her disorder and try to help the best that they can. Jesse wants to be just like her mom when she grows up, and when her dad gets in trouble for something he didn't do, she even goes against his wishes to help him and ends up figuring it out so that he isn't punished. Lastly, the book had a really good message of friendship. Springer helps Jesse and doesn't treat her differently because of her autism, which is really cool. Overall, this was just a really good book and I would definitely recommend it.
