Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. Preaching disguised as literature. But it does have great artwork for teaching about the rainforest, so I feel kind of stuck with it until I find something better.
And the premise is bogus. One man cutting down one tree is NOT the problem. Hundreds of teams of men bulldozing entire square acres of the rainforest--that's the problem. So one man dropping his totally useless little ax and walking away... not gonna change anything.
But here in Santa Cruz, all the hippies love it.
I'm having an issue with another book... and Smish is gonna smack me...
I totally cannot get into Stargirl. I know, it's Jerry Freakin' Spinelli! The voice is great. How can I be so totally underwhelmed by it?
Two reasons: It's all telling and hardly any actual scenes, so I feel like I'm being held off at a distance from it. The tension isn't really there, because it's all so clearly over and done with.
Plus once again I just don't believe it. Freaky new girl has a brief moment of total popularity? If only... I was a bit of a Stargirl myself in high school. Dressed freaky, the only hippy chick during the big-hair 80s. A few people harassed me; lots of people ignored me. Not one person copied me, that's for sure.
I don't know. I just don't feel pulled into the story at all. Once I get reading, it goes quickly, and I do plan to finish it, but... it's not calling me to put aside other things just to sit down and read. It's feeling more like a chore than a treat.