You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
Winner of the Newbery. A great, great book. Wonderful historical fiction with neat tidbits about the flu epidemic of 1918, bootlegging, mining towns, hobos, immigration and WWI. A strong young girl lead -- very touching ending. Great stuff. My only complaint is that we don't know the story of the Abilene's mother -- and, in reality, Abilene would likely be uneducated and probably pretty emotionally damaged given what we do know of her background rather than the spunky well-adjusted character she is. But, then, it really wouldn't be a good story, would it?
I had a really tough time getting into this one, and I don't think it was just because of the way the story jumped from one time period to another. In the end, I can't point to any one thing that I didn't like about the story.
This book has been sitting unread on my shelf for over four years now, and I am slapping myself for being so stupid. It's LM Montgomery's books and To Kill a Mockingbird with a healthy dose of its own charming uniqueness, and god it deserved the Newberry. Funny, sad, nostalgic, and hopeful all at once. I loved it.
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Started this one as an audiobook with my sons on a road trip. My 10 year old is a major reader, but he didn't get sucked into this one. I ended up checking the book out from the library and finished on my own, as he always said he wanted to continue this book, but tomorrow, and "let's read this one instead tonight..," this one usually being something involving Greek heroes or survival stories.
I don't feel too guilty for finishing without him, as he would does the same twice as often! But I think I would have enjoyed this story more with him than I did on my own. I feel like I know Jinx, but so many of the characters either remained flat or caricatures for me, which matters when the whole book is about how the characters become a sort of family to Abilene. Such good intentions here, and when I learned the small town is based on a real town with a similar history, I liked it all the more. The last third was excellent.
I don't feel too guilty for finishing without him, as he would does the same twice as often! But I think I would have enjoyed this story more with him than I did on my own. I feel like I know Jinx, but so many of the characters either remained flat or caricatures for me, which matters when the whole book is about how the characters become a sort of family to Abilene. Such good intentions here, and when I learned the small town is based on a real town with a similar history, I liked it all the more. The last third was excellent.
An excellent slice of historical fiction with a non-linear narrative and characters you can easily get attached to.
I liked it, but did not love it. The plot does get more engaging as you get into it.
I had a little trouble getting into this because with the depression era, small town, quirky characters...I kept waiting for Grandma Dowdel ( [b:A Long Way From Chicago|39963|A Long Way From Chicago (Puffin Modern Classics)|Richard Peck|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169347494s/39963.jpg|1207111]) to show up!
Then the story really developed for me and I enjoyed it. Yeah for a debut author winning the Newbery!
Then the story really developed for me and I enjoyed it. Yeah for a debut author winning the Newbery!
adventurous
emotional
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Finalmente un libro originale! Una bella storia avvincente, che ti conquista perchè vuoi sapere come va a finire, in cui ogni tassello si incastra perfettamente e nulla va perduto o resta abbozzato, e che ti insegna anche tante cose di un mondo e di un tempo distante da noi.
La storia si dipana tra le vicende di Abilene nel 1936, e i ricordi della città di Manifest del 1918. La parte di Abilene mi è sembrata un po’ scarsetta di contenuto, avrei preferito forse leggere solo la parte dei ricordi, ma negli ultimi capitoli un sacco di piccoli dettagli sparpagliati qua e là per la parte più moderna si incastrano con il racconto del passato e alla fine le due linee narrative si intrecciano così bene che si capisce che non potrebbero vivere l’una senza l’altra.
La cosa che mi è piaciuta di più è stata sicuramente l’elemento storico e realistico portato avanti dalla storia: la fatica di integrazione degli immigrati, l’unione che fa la forza, la furbizia e l’ingenuità messe a confronto… è tutto veramente molto attuale e sempre valido.
La storia si dipana tra le vicende di Abilene nel 1936, e i ricordi della città di Manifest del 1918. La parte di Abilene mi è sembrata un po’ scarsetta di contenuto, avrei preferito forse leggere solo la parte dei ricordi, ma negli ultimi capitoli un sacco di piccoli dettagli sparpagliati qua e là per la parte più moderna si incastrano con il racconto del passato e alla fine le due linee narrative si intrecciano così bene che si capisce che non potrebbero vivere l’una senza l’altra.
La cosa che mi è piaciuta di più è stata sicuramente l’elemento storico e realistico portato avanti dalla storia: la fatica di integrazione degli immigrati, l’unione che fa la forza, la furbizia e l’ingenuità messe a confronto… è tutto veramente molto attuale e sempre valido.
I am officially abandoning it. If I haven't read any more on it in 9 months and have never really thought about it then it just isn't for me. I think this is an example of how every book is not for every reader.