Surviving the Applewhites is a book from 2002 by Stephanie S. Tolan. The book received a Newbery Honor award in 2003.

Jake Semple is a boy who is sent to attend the Applewhite family's Creative Academy after being kicked out of every school in the state of Rhode Island. He got in trouble for burning down his previous school in Rhode Island. When he arrives, the eccentric, artistic family accepts him despite his hostility, except for the student with whom he is paired, E.D. E.D. is an organized and neat girl who feels overshadowed by her eccentric, artistic family. She judges Jake because of his dyed hair and many piercings. He also curses and smokes.

E.D.'s father Randolph is directing the local production of "The Sound of Music," but is disheartened by the lack of genuine talent in the town. However, he hears Jake singing, and asks him to audition. Ultimately, Randolph casts the play, with Jake in the role of Rolf. However, Randolph is so bossy and demanding that the entire stage crew quits, leaving his family of artists to pool their collective talents to keep the show running. E.D. feels left out because she isn't creative, but her father makes her the stage manager because of her ability to organize. Resentful because her daughter wasn't cast as one of the Von Trapp children, the head of the theater ultimately cancels the show because of a small incident. E.D. proposes to continue the show in the family barn, and soon everyone is helping out to convert it into a theater.

The night of the show arrives, and everything is going well. E.D. begins to believe that the play will be a success, but in the middle of the performance, the sound of rain and thunder become very loud. The performers stall until the weather lets up. They begin to sing and encourage the audience to join them. Soon after, the rain had calmed down and they continue the play. Just before the final scene, as the actors are about to head onstage, there IS A BIG POO ON THE WALL is a blue and white flash and the electricity goes out. E.D. thinks the play is over until she thinks of an idea to save it. She tells the actresses playing the roles of nuns to hold candles so the audience can see what the actors are doing. Thanks to E.D. the show is a complete success. The next morning the family sits in the living room and reads the reviews. They say the play was outstanding, unlike any other. Because of what a report has written about Jake, he is now determined to be back onstage singing and acting again.

Surviving the Applewhites .^[1]

• Jake Semple - A boy with hair dyed scarlet which he gells up into spikes, Jake is the delinquent. He is thirteen, tends to wear all black, and enjoys shocking people with his appearance and bad language. His parents have been sent to jail for growing marijuana. He has been expelled from nearly every school in the state, even reputedly burning one down. The fire was an accident, but because he has a reputation as a bad kid, it sticks as arson. Jake doesn't fight it. He is a very good singer, getting cast as Rolf in the production of The Sound of Music. Throughout the book, he becomes good friends with Winston, a lovable basset hound, as well as Destiny, the four-year-old nuisance of the family who loves to sing songs.
• Edith Wharton "E.D." Applewhite - A plain, no-nonsense twelve-year old (the other protagonist). At first, she cannot stand Jake, but learns to live with him as the book goes on. The only Applewhite with any organizational skills whatsoever, she often feels exasperated due to her family's erratic lifestyle.
• Destiny Applewhite - The youngest at four years old, Destiny likes to sing and chatter constantly. It is something that you can get used to, rather like "the refrigerator motor." He becomes friends with Jake, calling him his big brother. Destiny is also jealous of Jake's red hair, which he emulates by trying to dye his own purple with Kool Aid. He is also jealous of Jake's porcupine hair and quickly finds out how he did it.
• Cordelia Applewhite - A talented dancer in the Applewhite family. She creographs her own dance moves and is very good at it. Jake Semple is a crush on her and thinks she is elegant.
• Randolph Applewhite - The father of the Applewhite children. Works as a director and during the book, directs the play "The Sound of Music"
• Sybil Jameson - The mother of the Applewhite clan. World-famous author.

Tolan, Stephanie S. Surviving the Applewhites. HarperCollinsPublishers Inc: New York, 2002 B002MWIEGG

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• Published by HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1350 Avenue of Americas, New York, NY 10019