I, Claudia by Mary McCoy by Marissa Posada

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Justification: I chose this title because it is a Printz Honor Book. I also liked the Synopsis of the book. Someone who doesn’t want to be noticed is thrust into power. She wants to use the power for good, but she questions herself if power really corrupts. This sounds compelling. I want to know the answers Claudia finds about power.

Evaluation: There are a couple examples of drawing a line in the sand. One example is when Claudia says that even though the people are horrible to each other, no one messes with the turtles. A couple of chapters later the turtles are killed. This was done to show how horrible things were at the school that even the innocent turtles were hurt. Another example is when Claudia’s case worker asks if Claudia is a good judge of character. Claudia responds with “what do you think? Have I?” Obviously the reader knows that Claudia does not have good judgement in people.

This book has good examples of dialogue that helps to flesh out the characters. A recurring example is the conversation between Claudia and the case worker. This helps to clarify a lot of Claudia’s views about the story she is telling. The case worker’s questions also help to provoke the reader’s thoughts on the situation. Another example of dialogue that fleshes out a character is Maisie. Claudia thinks that Maisie doesn’t notice that she is distancing herself. But Maisie’s Dialogue shows that Maisie does take note and questions her about it.

This book has a couple of unexpected insights. The comfort of history is that you survived is the first unexpected insight. If you aren’t around to leave a record of your story then you probably did not survive the ordeal. Claudia went from someone who was ignored to President of the Honor Council. It was not an easy rise to power and not everyone survives. (Spoiler) The fact that Claudia came out whole and is able to leave a record of her time at Imperial Day is a success in itself.

Response: This relates to me in that I went to high school and I had an older cousin that went to school with me. Claudia’s situation was similar and vastly different than mine, I had no confidence to join any student government position. My views were challenged in the amount of confidence that Claudia had. She was able to accomplish so much in high school by having the confidence to put her plans in action. I really enjoyed the text. It was so compelling I had to stay up and finish it that first night.

Conclusion: This book has examples of drawing a line in the sand, dialogue, and unexpected insights. This is a great book on the power struggle in an elite high school. I f you like Game of Thrones and 90210, this is a book for you. I recommend this book to anyone who questions what power can do to people.

APA Citation: McCoy, M. (2018). I, Claudia. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda LAB.