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Small Steps by Louis Sachar

Summary

Two years after being released from Camp Green Lake, Theodore Johnson, also known as Armpit, invests in a friend’s money-making scheme. Despite X-Ray’s reassurances that scalping concert ticket is a sure money-maker and will not get him in trouble again with the law, things take a turn in a direction no one could possibly foresee.

Booktalk

After spending time at Camp Green Lake Juvenile Correctional Facility because of a fight, Armpit is determined not to have any future run-ins with the law. He’s back in school, works for a landscape company (having had much experience digging) and has a devoted friend in Ginny McDonald, his 10-year-old neighbor with cerebral palsy. He’s on the straight and narrow and working toward accomplishing the five goals he set for himself upon his return to Austin: "1. Graduate from high school. 2. Get a job. 3. Save his money. 4. Avoid situations that might turn violent. And 5 Lose the name Armpit." P. 4 Then X-Ray, a friend from Camp Green Lake shows up with a money making scheme he can’t resist. X-Ray assures him that scalping tickets is a guaranteed money making endeavor that won’t turn violent. Armpit is unsure at first, but X-Ray is very convincing, and the outcome of Armpit’s decision is not what anyone could possibly have anticipated.

257 pages, age 10 and up

Discussion questions

Warning! Some of the questions contain key elements of the plot. Do not read if you don't want to know what happens!

  1. Which characters did you like or dislike? Why? Are there any of the characters whom you’d like to meet or have as friends?
  2. Why do you think Armpit and Ginny are friends?
  3. Do you think the story could really happen? If not, what parts do you think didn’t seem believable? Do you think the treatment Armpit received at the concert (with the police and afterward) really happens to people? In what circumstance do you think it might happen?
  4. Do you think Armpit should have tried to get in touch with Kaira after the attack?
  5. What happened to Armpit and X-Ray in regards to the scalped/forged ticket and Detective Newberg? Do you think they should have been prosecuted? Why or why not? Do you think it should be illegal to scalp tickets? Why or why not?
  6. What does the title have to do with the story?
  7. Did the story turn out the way you wanted it to? If not, what would you have liked to be different? Why do you think the author didn’t write the story that way?

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