Having read the previous two YA books about brothers
growing up in New Jersey, GARLIC BREAD FOR EUGENE and
LEMONADE FOR EUGENE, I was keen to continue the adventure.
Henry takes looking after his younger brother very
seriously as their dad has died. Their explorations of life
and the neighbourhood invariably tell us a lot about their
community. This tale involves GRILLED CHEESE FOR EUGENE.
While eating lunch in the school cafeteria, Henry checks
the school website and sees some changes coming. The kids
realise that closing the chess club and gardening club must
be because the school can't pay for supervision. Couldn't
parents be asked to volunteer? And the new rules on only
healthy food even for parties don't sound like fun.
Everyone is quick to complain but there's nothing kids can
do. Or is there? Eugene thinks that if Henry ran for class
president he might be able to make a difference. Henry just
wants to concentrate on football tryouts, and doubts the
staff would listen anyway.
Butchie, the school janitor, has been a prominent figure in
the past, and now we learn more from him about
relationships. Even though he is in his fifties, the
situation he faces could be faced by younger people as
well. Each generation thinks they invented falling in love
and having their feelings hurt, but we see there is nothing
new. Butchie also observes times changing in the seafront
community.
Alisha Westland is a competent young lady who is determined
to be class president, and she's even putting money behind
her publicity campaign. Money that Henry just doesn't have.
If it's not to come down to boys voting for a boy and girls
voting for a girl, Henry and Eugene will need to create a
proper campaign platform and start demonstrating that kids
can create change.
I like that we see you can win and also lose, that
politicians have ways of swaying voters and that there are
some people who will help more than others. Terms are
explained throughout the story. The two friendly kids will
stay in many readers' hearts and we'll hope for another
enjoyable adventure. GRILLED CHEESE FOR EUGENE by Michael
Heath is well worth the read and we can learn a lot about
life.
In the third installment of the Eugene Series, Henry is persuaded by his school lunchroom buddies to run for eighth-grade class president when budget cuts and polices set forth by the board of education affect the entire student body. Butchie, the janitor, has misgivings with Henry’s political ambitions. He knows the parents of Henry’s opponent and they are a power couple who will stop at nothing to ensure their daughter’s victory. Henry and his brother Eugene can count on Butchie to help with the campaign, even when his love life with Gail Paisley is causing distractions.
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