The Alex Crow by Andrew Smith

Smith, A. (2015). The Alex crow. NY, NY: Dutton Books, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC.

 For this assignment, I had to choose a book from Andrew Smith's vast works. I was really excited, as Andrew Smith is truly one of my all time favorite authors. I wasn't sure if I wanted to reread one of my favorites: Winger,  Stand Off, and Grasshopper Jungle. So I opted to read a book that I have had on my TBR list (to be read) since NCTE 2014 ALAN Breakfast when Andrew Smith spoke to us about this book. He was finishing up his tour on Grasshopper Jungle which was being regarded as one of the most innovative books of the time. I quickly read Grasshopper Jungle as soon as I could get my hands on a copy. When The Alex Crow came out, it was one that I suggested to people based on the merit of being by Andrew Smith, but I had never seemed to make the time to read it. I had gotten a copy of the audio book and tried and failed many times to get into Ariel's world because of the choppy division and non-linear format, while listening. I knew that I still needed to read it, but I knew I would need to have a print format as well to fully comprehend the jumps in time and complexity of the narrative. Well, like every other Andrew Smith work I have read, The Alex Crow did not disappoint!

 The Alex Crow follows several distinct storylines: Ariel, age 14 (in his native land); Ariel, 15 (at Camp Merrie-Seymour for Boys); a schizophrenic bomber (who hears Joseph Stalin in his head); and the diaries of Dr. Merrie (on a failed Arctic exploration attempt in the 1880s). When you list out all of the narratives like I have just done, it seems like it would be difficult to follow, and it is at times but after you get accustomed to the style it is easy to follow. The main character and overarching story is of Ariel Jude Burgess. Ariel tells about his current life at the Camp Merrie-Seymour Burgess and about his many lives as a refugee before he came to America. All of the main story lines converge at the end as Ariel discovers a huge realization of what he gave up when he came to America, and also what he has gained. This book is strangely akin to those like Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughter House Five, in it's format and eccentricities. This is something that Andrew Smith is becoming more known for in his most recent works- "Keep YA Weird" as it says on his author website. Ariel's past lives give a keen insight into the lives and pasts of those who come to America as a refugee, and what they lived through to get there. While Ariel's current life shows a shared common experience of feeling like an outsider (someone from a different culture and background) can keep you separated from everyone. Ariel goes to camp with his brother, Max, after already having lived with him and his parents for nearly a year. They had not gotten closer, and it is only after this intense experience and Ariel speaking his truth "Why would I talk to someone who hates me so much?" that they can become friends and brothers. The melting man (schizophrenic bomber) storyline shows how things can go terribly wrong when you mess with human nature like implant a chip in their head, and Dr. Merrie's diary entries show you the origin story of the top secret facility that is trying to bring extinct animals back to life and fund the hellish camp that Max and Ariel are attending this summer. Overall it is a humorous and fun read with a lot of twists and turns and truly heartbreaking stories along the way.

 When Andrew Smith spoke about this story at the 2014 NCTE ALAN Breakfast, he spoke about how Ariel was inspired and driven by his English-language learners that he teaches. He even gave them recognition in his acknowledgements of this book. While many aspects of this book lend more toward science fiction, I recognize that the stories of Ariel's past are inspired by refugee's real experiences. Now I am not claiming that any of his students lived in a refrigerator for a few days, but the rawness of Ariel's stories of his former lives are true and real to help the reader understand how insane life can be for a refugee going through life feeling as if they have no future. It is hard to imagine a future when you are stuck in a terrible present, that requires a great deal of hope. For a lot of people who immigrate to America, it is hard for them to find that hope and they have an infinite amount of the horrible stories that Ariel endures on his way to his new life. I think that when just looking at the truth that Andrew Smith is able to tell through Ariel's story while also creating this fantastic and fantastical world with talking crows and exploding cats is truly one of a kind. 


Other books that you might like based on the experiences and stories in The Alex Crow: 

  • Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith (sequel should be coming out soon) 
  • 100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith 
  • Outcast United: The Story of a Refugee Soccer Team that Changed a Town by Warren St. John 
  • Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut 
  • Going Bovine by Libba Bray 
  • Brain Camp by Susan Kim 

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