My Books

Reviews:

From CanLit for Teens

This tightly written, disturbing yet compelling teen novel portrays two lonely souls whose profound regard
for each other isn’t enough to save their friendship. Written using poetry throughout, it is a sharp read
that few will be able to put down.

Issues: peer pressure, homosexuality, violence and suicide.

Reviewed by Jen Waters. CM: Canadian Review of Materials, January, 2007 Recommended. "With its
alternating voices of male and female characters (including simple yet powerful poetic verse written in
Alex's journal), Fullerton has written a novel that will likely be well received by high school teens of both
genders."

KLIATT

FULLERTON, Alma. In the garage, a novel

Fitzhenry &Whiteside, Red Deer. 181 p. 0-88995371-0. $10.95. SA

Alex and BJ present as the most unlikely of best friends, she with a disfigured face and satiric wit, and he
with smooth good looks and an easy personality. Their friendship has survived parental abuse, hazing,
and emotional torment. Even as she acts cool under pressure, BJ longs for acceptance. Even as he exudes
confidence at school, Alex hides personal strife at home. In a quick read with heartbreaking results,
Alma Fullerton touches base with dilemmas faced by many teens today: a father with unreasonable
expectations; "friends" with hidden agendas; the true pain of realizing an attraction for the same sex; and
the tragedy of losing a best friend. Holley Wiseman, MUS, Columbus, OH

More reviews for In the Garage on Amazon.com

Ask for it at your local independant bookstore (orders go through Fitzhenry and Whiteside)
or order it here: Fitzhenry and Whiteside 1.800.387.9776

Review clips from The Critics - full reviews posted in the various review
sites, Amazon or Barnes and Noble

Children's Literature
The journal entries are filled with powerful metaphors and similes that
illustrate the tension that toils through his mind, as he thinks about the
many moments and captured times with his mother. The drama builds
to the end of the story.

From Booklist
In spare, fast-moving, very simple free verse, the teen's journal entries
evoke the boy's guilt, anger, and love. The complex, contemporary
debate is always in the background, and what the boy decides is the
climax of the story. This small book will take barely an hour to read, but
the moral issues it raises are haunting. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Kirkus Reviews
Readers should not be fooled by the size of this little book: A huge
problem is contained therein. Throughout the story, told in a minimalist
verse with repeating symbols and motifs, the narrator tries to find his
way through this terrible thing and to make the very decision that
brought the Terri Schiavo case to light: whether or not to turn off the
machines that support a life. A real page-turner. (Fiction. YA)

2008 Governor General Award Finalist!

Libertad: When 12 year old Libertad's mother is killed while working in
the Guatemala City dump, Libertad decides to take his 7 year old brother
Julio away from the dangers of the dump and on a journey to America in
search of their father.

Although Libertad is fiction, his journey is mostly based on a journey of a
real boy named Mariano. I've used Mariano's journey, combined with a
few other children's journeys to create Libertad's.

Each year, over 80,000 unaccompanied migrant children attempt to enter
the United States. The average age of these children is sixteen but there
are some as young as six or seven - some younger if sent by coyotes
(people who charge a great deal of money to take immigrants over the
border). If the children survive the journey, only a few of these children
remain in the US. The rest are deported, usually within two days.

The children who come by the way of smugglers or coyotes often don't
make it into the US or even to the border. Some die as they hide beneath
car seats, in small containers and or are left locked in the backs of
transport trucks under the hot sun. The largest countries of origin include
Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico.

For more information about how to help some of these immigrant children
visit Bridging Refugee Youth and Children's Services.

This organization has a program called 'Passing on Hope'. You can send
any inquiries and/or contributions to Jim Kuh at jkuh@usccb.org or at the
mailing address below to his attention.

Bridging Refugee Youth & Children's Services (BRYCS) U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 4th Street,
NE Washington,
DC 20017

During my research of the Guatemala City garbage dump, I learned that
approximately 10,000 people reside in shacks on the rim of the dump.
These shacks are made with whatever can be salvaged from the
garbage-tin, cardboard, and broken furniture. Some of these shacks have
power, others don't. There are about 100 people who live in large
cardboard homes inside the boundaries of the dump. All of the inhabitants
make their living recycling garbage, often specializing in looking for
specific items like glass, plastic, cans, or cardboard. Up until 2005
children as well as adults worked inside the dump. After a huge fire that
year, city officials no longer allowed children to work inside the dump
walls.

There's an organization called Safe Passage that helps make it possible
for the poor children of the dump to attend school.

Please visit their site for more information about their school at the
Guatemala City Dump (the same school Julio goes to) and what they do
for the children living there.

Pre-Order it through your local independant bookstore or here:

Amazon

Chapters/Indigo

Review
"Young people of all ages will be intrigued and affected emotionally by this exceptional story."
-- Winnipeg Free Press
"Fullerton weaves strands of beauty. . . It doesn't take long to read, but it packs an emotional punch.
Highly Recommended."
-- CM Magazine

"Alma Fullerton creates two characters who wend their way into the reader's heart with a story that will have even
the most reluctant reader forging forward with them to a better future."
-- The Brandon Sun

" The suspense is real and though readers may question some of the choices Libertad makes along the way, they
will celebrate his perseverance and ultimate success. With realistic detail and well-paced suspense, this survival
story is a good choice for reluctant readers."
-- The School Library Journal