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grrlpup, April 13, 2012 (view all comments by grrlpup)
Jacqueline Woodson's books for kids and young adults are firmly in the "literary fiction" genre. Characters and relationships take center stage, without a lot of plot twists or tightly wound suspense. Some of the descriptions are lovely, and evoke exactly what it's like to be a kid, seeing everything a little closer up and at a little different speed than the adult world. But the narration can get over-poetic, and doesn't fit well in the mouth of even the most contemplative sixth-grader.

As an adult, non-religious reader, I didn't find this book as magical or interesting as some of her others (After Tupac and D Foster, for example, I loved). Its biggest weakness for me was that the characters had to talk everything over. For every incident in the plot, the narrator and sometimes one or two other characters would muse on what it meant about the nature of Jesus, or how another character felt about what was happening, or a connection with an event in someone's past or an Emily Dickinson poem. I think the book would be a lot stronger if images and events stood on their own, without the poetic commentary.

The main character, Franny, has a Deaf brother, and I liked her descriptions of ASL as they sign together. His interactions in his family and community were one of the most interesting parts of the story for me. The 1972 setting wasn't overdone, but I did wonder about a transracial adoption that's key to the story-- it seems like it would have been very rare for two people of color to adopt a non-disabled white boy at the age of three. I wanted to hear more about that, but we never did.

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Product Details

ISBN:

9780142415504

Author:

Woodson, Jacqueline

Publisher:

Speak

Subject:

Social Issues - Friendship

Subject:

Family - General

Subject:

Religion

Subject:

Race relations

Subject:

Situations / Friendship

Subject:

Children s Young Adult-Social Issue Fiction-Friendship

Subject:

Children s Young Adult-Social Issue Fiction

Edition Description:

Paperback / softback

Publication Date:

20100131

Binding:

TRADE PAPER

Grade Level:

from 7 up to AND UP

Language:

English

Pages:

144

Dimensions:

8.10x5.40x.50 in. .30 lbs.

Age Level:

08-12