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Sister Slam and the Poetic Motormouth Roadtripx$3.99
  (3 reviews)
Best Price: $3.99
I was smitten,
bitten
by a love bug
or something.
I didn't
even care
that I'd
just been hit.
I was in deep
smit.
Laura Crapper, a seventeen-year-old combat-boot-wearing poet with spiked red hair, renames herself Sister Slam and hits the road with her best friend, Twig. On the way to a slam poetry contest in New Jersey, they hit a pig, get pulled over by the cops, fight with one of the judges, lose the contest, get into two more fender benders, fight with each other, and finally land on the front page of a New York City newspaper for their amazing impromptu performance at the famous Tavern on the Green. The girls and their fresh style of poetry take the city by storm, but when Laura's father back in Pennsylvania has a heart attack, she must face her fears about home and the still-raw loss of her mother. This inspiring romp of a coming-of-age story, written entirely in Laura's in-your-face slam poetry style, proves you don't have to give up your home to live your dream.
Told in the jagged rhythms of rap, with unexpected rhymes and frenetic energy, Sister Slam is a soul sister to Francesca Lia Block's Weetzie Bat. Hip but innocent, sharp but sweet, fresh out of high school in Banesville, Pennsylvania, plump Laura Crapper and her skinny friend Twig ("an indie-goth-hippie chick like me") set out in their '69 Firebird for the Sixth Annual Tin Can, New Jersey Poetry Slam: "We'll be driving/ into the so-cool/ School of Real Life./ The College Of Reality!/ The University/ of Gray Road, Blue Sky,/ and Yellow Lines," exults Twig. As a mark of the importance of the occasion Laura chooses a new name "so hot it sizzled/ and blistered your fingers/ like Crisco-fried ham./ My new name was: Sister Slam!" In Tin Can the new poets bomb when the subject of Sister's angry poem turns out to be one of the judges. And like all road trips, this one has its bad moments (their car is totaled by a collision with a Mustang) and its wild surprises (the driver turns out to be a hunky guy named Jake with "avocado-hotto eyes"). A spontaneous performance at a restaurant catapults the two poets into fame on the slam circuit, with success beyond their dreams as they rant onstage in thrift store chic--until real life intervenes. Teen slammers will snap their fingers along with Twig and Sister in this lighthearted and innovative verse novel. (ages 12 to 16) --Patty Campbell
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Customer Reviews
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Sister Slam and the Poetic Motormouth Roadtrip
By A7H93B03WMFKX on 2004-05-16
"It doesn't matter if you're an amateur or a pro poet. Nobody knows until they try it, what a riot it is to sizzle in competition in the sport of spoken word. Sixth annual Tin Can, New Jersey, Poetry Slam." And there you go. In this poetically perfect book, Sister Slam and the Poetic Motormouth Roadtrip, by Linda Oatman High, Sister Slam (formerly known as Laura Crapper) and Twig are off on their first road trip to Tin Can, New Jersey for their first ever poetry slam. They're hyped and excited, and composing rhymes all the time. The main characters are so unique and intriguing, and they complement each other so well. The plot is great, filled with excitement, then disaster, and finally a surprise ending. The book was totally rocking and here's why.
The main characters in Sister Slam are obviously Sister Slam/Laura Crapper and her best friend Twig. Sister is an overweight, ok well clown white fat as she puts it, hippie-gothic rocker chick. She's eighteen and fresh out of high school. She's a poetry slammer and is so is her best friend Twig, the other main character. Twig is stick thin, hence her name. She, like Sister, is a retro-goth and proud of it. Composed and totally self confident, she's also a poetic bombshell. They're both ready to go conquer this slam, and the world, but with this plot you'll never expect what's coming next.
As I said Sister Slam and Twig head off for the poetry slam in Tin Can, New Jersey. But it doesn't stop there. Sister Slam and move along to New York City after failing desperately at the slam. Sister falls in love and they win over all of New York with their amazing rhymes. But then disaster strikes and Sister Slam and Twig have a tough decision to make. They must decide to either go home in the middle of their poetry tour to deal with the problem, or to stay in New York and finish it out. Then the book is finished off with unexpected surprises. I must commend the author for putting in some awesome and unexpected twists. The plot is so unreal and unexpected that it's believable.
All in all I thought the book was phenomenal. I would definitely recommend it to my friends because it's a miraculous, dream come true story that you won't want to put down. It's written in poetry throughout the entire book which is refreshing. It has a good rhythm to it, making you speed up during the exciting moments, heightening the excitement, and then slows you down when need be. It makes the book flow so well and you feel very involved in the story. The poetry gives the book a marvelous energy to it and will make this a book you'll want to go back and read again. Over all I give this book Sister Slam and the Poetic Motormouth Roadtrip by Linda Oatman High, five stars and two thumbs way up.
It's got a hook, lots of lines, but it's a stinker
By A3BBXEHFZCW0KN on 2004-06-29
This book is great...for about 2 pages. The wacky, edgy character, unique voice and hip slam-poetry format will draw you in, but it won't keep you there. The poetry is bad - the author tried WAY too hard - and quickly wears thin. The plot is contrived, predictable, unrealistic. While the book certainly has its moments and a few of the poems are really, really good, this is not a book I could recommend to anyone.
Interesting Non Traditional Read
By A2BEU7GPGNIG44 on 2004-08-10
Sister Slam and the Poetic Motormouth Road Trip is a exciting read for teens and young adults. This book by Linda Oatman High is all about Laura Crapper (yes, her last name is Crapper can you believe it??. Laura is quirky and unique. She talks in poem or rap style, or at least that's how the book is written. The short chunks make this book easy to read. To me this book is a poetry/fiction hybrid.
Laura just happens to have a cool car, a '69 Firebird. Laura describes herself as being overweight and between the lines one gathers that she isn't as financially well off as some of her school peers. When Laura and her best friend Twig decide to set out on a road trip the day after their high school graduation the adventure ensues. Oh yeah, Laura Crapper changes her name to Sister Slam.
It seems as if the author is trying to create a coming of age story, a Crossroads type of thing. A road trip with poignant, funny and dramatic moments. But the writing style of the book, the short poetic chunks, allow things to go so fast that the reader doesn't have a chance to truly absorb and feel the moment. Sister Slam tells fast and is on to the next thing.
This non traditional read has an audience among teens and young adults. The book has many funny moments. This enjoyable read is just one of many books that author Linda Oatman High has written. Linda Oatman High is also the author of Maize, The Girl on the High Diving Horse and she also contributed a story to the anthology "Don't Cramp My Style: Stories About That Time of the Month."
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