The Schwa was Here <small><br>by Neal Shusterman</small>

For those of you who don’t know, a schwa (wiki) is something used in grammar. It is the “uh” sound in the word “the”. It is represented in the dictionary by an upside down e.

This is a humorous and diverting book about a boy who thought he was disappearing. The boy is Calvin Schwa --"the schwa" as his classmates call him-- and he is the type of person that never gets noticed -- even when he does wacky things, such as sing God Bless America in the boy’s bathroom while wearing an orange sombrero!

One day, however, a kid named Antsy Bonano noticed “the schwa”. Antsy had never noticed him before, even though he sat next to him at school. But something clicked and at that moment he realizes that the fact that the Schwa is practically half invisible could mean money. So they start a business called "Stealth Economics" using the “schwa effect” to get work.

Everything goes smoothly until a kid dares them to do something drastic. The dare is to go into old man Crawley's house and steal one of his fourteen treasured dog bowls. Well, right from the start everything goes down hill. Crawley sees Schwa’s shoes under his curtains and he and Antsy both get caught. It turns out all right though because out of all this chaos they meet Lexi, Crawley’s granddaughter. And in the end, Schwa, Antsy and Lexi turn out to be the best of friends.

I thought this book was hilarious. The best part was when Lexi and Antsy stole Crawley and took him in a helicopter. They took him all around New York.

This book was written by Neal Shusterman. (He is such a creative writer.) My favorite character would have to be the schwa. You might not have noticed him at first but once you finally see him you realize that he was a very unique and fun person. I wouldn’t have changed any part of this fascinating book.

I recommend this book to third graders on up. This book is for both guys and girls. In a nut shell, if you want a good laugh, grab this book off a shelf and get ready for a good old fashion knee slapper (as my mom would say : )

This book was also one of the American Library Associations's Best Books for Young Adults - 2005.

**Starred Review** School Library Journal

This review was written by Rocky B. "Girl Reviewer Extraordinaire

Reading Information:
Word Count: 57,922
Paperback: 228 pages
Accelerated Reading level: 5.0 / points: 9.0
AR quiz: 80744