Cheating for the Chicken Man by Priscilla Cummings

2018-2019 Maud Hart Lovelace Reading List

Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Grade Level: 5^th and up

Reading Level: 4.9 (10 points)

Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers (July 14, 2015)

My Rating: 4 out of 4

Readability: Great story, may need previous books to fully connect.

MHL Division: Division 2

Summary: 
High-school freshman Kate promised her dying father to look after her older brother, who is just back from juvenile detention. This year, that seems to involve paying off the bullies at school by doing their schoolwork.

This book has been getting good reviews from my reading group. They pointed out that it was the sequel from the book The Red Kayak which was a previous Maud Hart Lovelace nominee.  I discovered that it is actually the third book of a trilogy. A tragedy happens in the first novel that involves three friends and The Red Kayak is from the point of view of Brady. The Journey Back is from the point of view of Digger and Cheating for the Chicken Man is from the point of view of Kate who is JT’s sister.  I do think this book benefits from at least reading the first book to fully connect with the situations and issues. However, if you read this one first, you will probably be looking for the other titles to read.

There are a lot of issues going on this book. It involves bullying, environmental farm issues, ethical decisions, forgiveness, mental illness, grief and people who are learning to live and do the right things. Lots of issues to think about and discuss! Since it involves high school students, this book could also be classified as young adult too. 

In this story, Kate tries to help her brother, JT, who has just come home from one year in juvenile detention. JT’s former bullies are back tormenting him and Kate takes things into her own hands.  She also tries to deal with family situations and farming issues they have on their chicken farm on her own. Of course, without support, her ideas fall apart on her. This story shows us how one mistake can have repercussions for a long time. This is a type of book that teaches us more empathy for each other in our own lives. 

Buy all three books and read them one after another! Great realistic fiction.