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Original Essays | February 8, 2012

Kent Hartman: IMG A Raider by Any Other Name

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Perhaps you are aware of the fact that there is an oddly popular trivia game floating around that a group of clever (and likely bored) college... Continue »
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2 Burnside Children's Middle Readers- General
6 Local Warehouse Children's Young Adult- Social Issue Fiction
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What Momma Left Me

by Renee Watson

What Momma Left Me Cover

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

How is it that unsavory raw ingredients come together to form a delicious cake? What is it about life that when you take all the hard stuff and rough stuff and add in a lot of love, you still just might have a wonderful life? For Serenity, these questions rise up early when her father kills her mother, and leaves her and her brother Danny to live with their kind but strict grandparents. Despite the difficulties of a new school, a new church, and a new neighborhood, Serenity gains strength from the family around her, the new friends she finds, and her own careful optimism. Debut author Renée Watson's talent shines in this powerful and ultimately uplifting novel.

Review:

"Watson's first novel (after the picture book A Place Where Hurricanes Happen) explores themes of abuse, faith, and identity in an urban setting through the voice, diary entries, and poems of 13-year-old Serenity Evans. Serenity and her younger brother, Danny, move in with their grandparents in Portland, Ore., after their mother dies and their drug dealer father skips town. 'Momma is a song that I can't forget,' Serenity thinks. 'Her melody comes to mind and I realize that traces of her song are still here.' She immediately connects with Maria, who attends her new school and church ('She knows that there are some types of sadness that can't be explained'), but Serenity is not immediately ready to open up about the loss of her mother, and Danny starts running with a dangerous crowd. Serenity's struggles and insights, as she wrestles with her parents' legacy and an uncertain future, are inspiring, authentic, and told in a straightforward yet poetic style. The first-person narration is consistent, and the mystery of the painful circumstances of her mother's death--as well as additional tragedies--propels the story. Ages 10 — 14. (July)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright PWyxz LLC)

Synopsis:

Serenity's father kills her mother, and leaves her and her brother Danny to live with their grandparents. Despite the difficulties, Serenity gains strength from the family around her, the new friends she finds, and her own careful optimism.

Synopsis:

Serenity knows she is good at keeping secrets, and she's got a whole lifetime's worth of them. Her mother is dead, her father is gone, and starting life over at her grandparents' house is strange. Luckily, certain things seem to hold promise: a new friend, a new church, a new school. But when her brother starts making poor choices, and her grandparents believe in a faith that Serenity isn't sure she understands, it is the power of love that will keep her sure of just who she is. Renée Watson shines as a new talent in this powerful and ultimately uplifting first novel.

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About the Author

RENÉE WATSON grew up where this book is set, in Portland, Oregon, and is now a teacher of poetry in New York Citys public schools. This is her first book.

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Product Details

ISBN:
9781599904467
Author:
Watson, Renee
Publisher:
Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Author:
Watson, Rene
Subject:
Family problems
Subject:
Christian Life
Subject:
General
Subject:
Social Issues - Violence
Subject:
Social Issues - Death & Dying
Subject:
Family - Multigenerational
Subject:
Situations / Violence
Subject:
Social Issues/Death
Subject:
Dying
Subject:
Children s Young Adult-Social Issue Fiction-Violence
Subject:
Children s Young Adult-Social Issue Fiction
Edition Description:
Middle-Grade Fiction
Publication Date:
20120228
Binding:
HARDCOVER
Grade Level:
from 1 to 8
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
240
Dimensions:
8.20x5.60x.90 in. .64 lbs.
Age Level:
06-13
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Related Aisles

What Momma Left Me New Hardcover
0 stars - 0 reviews
$16.99 In Stock
Product details 240 pages Bloomsbury Publishing PLC - English 9781599904467 Reviews:
"Publishers Weekly Review" by , "Watson's first novel (after the picture book A Place Where Hurricanes Happen) explores themes of abuse, faith, and identity in an urban setting through the voice, diary entries, and poems of 13-year-old Serenity Evans. Serenity and her younger brother, Danny, move in with their grandparents in Portland, Ore., after their mother dies and their drug dealer father skips town. 'Momma is a song that I can't forget,' Serenity thinks. 'Her melody comes to mind and I realize that traces of her song are still here.' She immediately connects with Maria, who attends her new school and church ('She knows that there are some types of sadness that can't be explained'), but Serenity is not immediately ready to open up about the loss of her mother, and Danny starts running with a dangerous crowd. Serenity's struggles and insights, as she wrestles with her parents' legacy and an uncertain future, are inspiring, authentic, and told in a straightforward yet poetic style. The first-person narration is consistent, and the mystery of the painful circumstances of her mother's death--as well as additional tragedies--propels the story. Ages 10 — 14. (July)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright PWyxz LLC)
"Synopsis" by , Serenity's father kills her mother, and leaves her and her brother Danny to live with their grandparents. Despite the difficulties, Serenity gains strength from the family around her, the new friends she finds, and her own careful optimism.
"Synopsis" by ,
Serenity knows she is good at keeping secrets, and she's got a whole lifetime's worth of them. Her mother is dead, her father is gone, and starting life over at her grandparents' house is strange. Luckily, certain things seem to hold promise: a new friend, a new church, a new school. But when her brother starts making poor choices, and her grandparents believe in a faith that Serenity isn't sure she understands, it is the power of love that will keep her sure of just who she is. Renée Watson shines as a new talent in this powerful and ultimately uplifting first novel.
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