Whirligig

Fleischman, Paul. Whirligig. 1998. 133p. ISBN 0-8050-5582-7. Available at FIC FLE on the library shelves.

Brent Bishop has always tried to impress the people at his school, and he’s had his eye on beautiful Brianna. But when she rejects him at a party in front of everyone, Brent loses face. Drunk and unhappy, he gets back in his car and drives away. Hoping to die, he takes his hands off the wheel, and lets the car drift….

The ensuing arrest, trial, and sentencing for the manslaughter of a girl he killed while driving drunk leaves him numb. He can’t believe he murdered someone. Then during a restitution meeting, the victim’s mother gives him one task: To travel to the four corners of the United States, build and place a whirligig that looks like her daughter there. Brent agrees to do it, and begins his trip of redemption.

Told from five different perspective, Brent’s trip through the United States is interspersed with the voice of a person whose life is changed by the whirligig Brent has placed in their little corner of the world. A tale of redemption in the face of an unspeakable tragedy, readers will appreciate the growth Brent undergoes during his travels, and will be reflecting on how our actions affect people we do not know long after we’ve done them.