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1. Bibliographic Information:
Kephart, B. (2007). Undercover. New York: HarperTeen.
ISBN: 978-0-06-123894-9
278 pages
2. Plot Summary:
Elisa Cantor is a sixteen year old girl in high school. Her father is constantly out of town due to his consulting job, and her mother and her sister do not understand her. Feeling like she does not quite fit in at home or school, Elisa looks to nature and words to write poems. To help pass the time, Elisa goes to a pond at the edge of town to look at nature and get inspiration. When it snows Elisa is able to ice skate over the pond. At high school, Elisa is asked to write poems for her boy classmates so that they can date the girls they like. Elisa looks at the work as if she was an undercover agent, however, when she begins to help Theo Moses win Lila, Elisa begins to have feelings for Theo. Lila is far out of Theo’s league, but with Elisa’s help he slowly wins Lila over. Yet, when Theo and Elisa’s friendship starts to blossom, Lila gets jealous and threatens Elisa. Can Elisa ever tell Theo her true feelings or will she, like Cyrano de Bergerac, close her heart and keep Theo from the truth?
3. Critical Evaluation:
This book grows on the reader. The plot closely resembles the classic play, Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand, and even is studied in the book. The writing style takes some getting used to, but once the reader understands the importance of Elisa’s poetry, does one understand the purpose of the novel. The novel is a coming-of-age story, showing the growth and courage of a young girl’s self discovery both in terms of her identity, her self-confidence and her writing. Beth Kephart takes on an enormous amount of material in the book. She deftly incorporates poetry with serious themes including family relationships especially on the cusp of a divorce, isolation, finding one’s identity, and understanding the importance of friendship. Furthermore, Kephart’s treatment of these themes seems entirely realistic. There are no definite answers at the end of the book, except for Elisa’s confidence and courage of being herself, regardless of anyone else.
4. Reader’s Annotation:
Elisa Cantor is a sixteen year old who writes love poems for the boys at school to give to their girlfriends. When she writes letters for Theo Moses, will he realize that she’s writing to him from her heart?
5. Information About the Author:
Beth Kephart lives in Pennsylvania. Undercover won a best book of the year for Young Adult Books by Kirkus and Bank Street Best List awards.
6. Genre
Realistic Fiction
7. Curriculum Ties
This book could be used as an outside reading for an English class.
8. Booktalking Ideas
- How does Elisa use the play Cyrano de Bergerac to better understand her feelings about herself?
-Have you ever had a teacher that affected how you viewed the world?
9. Reading Level/Interest Age:
I think that 15 and 16 year olds will be most interested in this novel.
10. Challenge Issues:
This book does discuss family problems, however it is mild. The two parents are going through a hard time in their marriage, but the reader witnesses this through characters discussions.
Therefore, while I do not feel that this book would be considered a book that should be challenged, just in case refer to the American Library Association’s website:
http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/challengeslibrarymaterials/index.cfm/
Kephart, B. (2007). Undercover. New York: HarperTeen.
ISBN: 978-0-06-123894-9
278 pages
2. Plot Summary:
Elisa Cantor is a sixteen year old girl in high school. Her father is constantly out of town due to his consulting job, and her mother and her sister do not understand her. Feeling like she does not quite fit in at home or school, Elisa looks to nature and words to write poems. To help pass the time, Elisa goes to a pond at the edge of town to look at nature and get inspiration. When it snows Elisa is able to ice skate over the pond. At high school, Elisa is asked to write poems for her boy classmates so that they can date the girls they like. Elisa looks at the work as if she was an undercover agent, however, when she begins to help Theo Moses win Lila, Elisa begins to have feelings for Theo. Lila is far out of Theo’s league, but with Elisa’s help he slowly wins Lila over. Yet, when Theo and Elisa’s friendship starts to blossom, Lila gets jealous and threatens Elisa. Can Elisa ever tell Theo her true feelings or will she, like Cyrano de Bergerac, close her heart and keep Theo from the truth?
3. Critical Evaluation:
This book grows on the reader. The plot closely resembles the classic play, Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand, and even is studied in the book. The writing style takes some getting used to, but once the reader understands the importance of Elisa’s poetry, does one understand the purpose of the novel. The novel is a coming-of-age story, showing the growth and courage of a young girl’s self discovery both in terms of her identity, her self-confidence and her writing. Beth Kephart takes on an enormous amount of material in the book. She deftly incorporates poetry with serious themes including family relationships especially on the cusp of a divorce, isolation, finding one’s identity, and understanding the importance of friendship. Furthermore, Kephart’s treatment of these themes seems entirely realistic. There are no definite answers at the end of the book, except for Elisa’s confidence and courage of being herself, regardless of anyone else.
4. Reader’s Annotation:
Elisa Cantor is a sixteen year old who writes love poems for the boys at school to give to their girlfriends. When she writes letters for Theo Moses, will he realize that she’s writing to him from her heart?
5. Information About the Author:
Beth Kephart lives in Pennsylvania. Undercover won a best book of the year for Young Adult Books by Kirkus and Bank Street Best List awards.
6. Genre
Realistic Fiction
7. Curriculum Ties
This book could be used as an outside reading for an English class.
8. Booktalking Ideas
- How does Elisa use the play Cyrano de Bergerac to better understand her feelings about herself?
-Have you ever had a teacher that affected how you viewed the world?
9. Reading Level/Interest Age:
I think that 15 and 16 year olds will be most interested in this novel.
10. Challenge Issues:
This book does discuss family problems, however it is mild. The two parents are going through a hard time in their marriage, but the reader witnesses this through characters discussions.
Therefore, while I do not feel that this book would be considered a book that should be challenged, just in case refer to the American Library Association’s website:
http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/challengeslibrarymaterials/index.cfm/
11. Why was it selected?
I saw this book in Cole’s Young Adult Literature in the 21st Century text.
12. Citations
Challenges to library materials. (2010). In American Library Association. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/challengeslibrarymaterials/index.cfm
Cole, P. B. (2009). Young adult literature in the 21st century. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Kephart, B. (2010). Beth Kephart books. Retrieved from http://beth-kephart.blogspot.com/
Picture Retrieved from
HarperCollins Publisher. (2010). About the book. Retrieved from http://www.harperteen.com/books/9780061238932/Undercover/index.aspx
13. Awards
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