Character Spotlight: Trey McBride

by Kayla Aldrich, Read to Them staff

Hello, all, and welcome back! This is our last week with Ban This Book by Alan Gratz, but don’t fret - we aren’t quite finished yet. We thought we might nudge one of our favorite characters from the novel away from the sidelines to the center of the stage. Here is…

Trey McBride

Name: Marvin McBride III

Nickname: “Trey”

Grade: He’s part of Amy Anne’s fourth grade glass with Mr. Vaughn.

Appearance: Trey is generally a pretty messy kid - he usually wears untucked polos and jeans. Even his blond hair is wild!

Family: His mother is one of the concerned parents who wants to see certain books removed from Shelbourne Elementary’s library.

Personality: Trey is a pretty reserved kid. He isn’t quiet, exactly, but he is thoughtful and perceptive. He isn’t one to smile very often, but when he does, Amy Anne thinks his face looks friendly.

Likes: One of Trey’s favorite hobbies is to draw. Whether you catch him in the lunch room or on the bus, he can always be found with a sketchbook on his person. He’s really good at drawing, but it has gotten him in trouble; he drew a picture of Amy Anne as a mouse, and it really, really hurt her feelings. He likes to read, too, and, like Amy Anne, often spends time in the library after school.

Dislikes: Given that Trey’s mother is leading the crusade to remove certain books from the school library, it puts Trey in an awkward position. He just wants to read the next book in the Captain Underpants series!

Notable Quote: “What better way to show everybody how stupid it is to ban books than to take it as far as it can go? Once you ban one book, you can ban them all.”

Given our time with Ban This Book is almost up, if you’re reading along with us, be sure to tag us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Enjoy the rest of your time with Trey, Amy Anne, and company. Until we meet again— be well and be kind. Happy reading!