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falana's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this memoir of a young girl growing up in Western NY. The author was a spunky, gutsy and outspoken youngster who was seemingly navigating a totally adult world.
After reading several reviews and articles re: the truth of her childhood, my rating stands. I love a book that prompts me to say “I’ll google that” In this case, there were several interesting tidbits that I need to follow up on.
After reading several reviews and articles re: the truth of her childhood, my rating stands. I love a book that prompts me to say “I’ll google that” In this case, there were several interesting tidbits that I need to follow up on.
heartofoak1's review against another edition
4.0
interesting memoir although i find it really hard to believe that the author "worked" in her father's store from the age of 4.
yurika1216's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
cozylittlebrownhouse's review against another edition
2.0
AS I STARTED: I love memoirs. I started this one last night after reading Before Night Falls, and I think this one is also going to be an enjoyable read in a much different way. The story is about a young girl growing up in Niagara Falls. I haven't read too much, but so far she has talked about what it was like working full time in her father's drug store at the age of four (she was a very active child and the doctors told her parents to keep her as busy as possible), her fun and lively friendship with the delivery man for the pharmacy, and I just finished a chapter all about her mother. I don't see a lot of cohesiveness with the chapters, but I don't think that matters. I am happy reading snippets from her life, and who knows, it might all come together anyway.
JUST FINISHED: I just finished this today since I am still battling the flu. I liked the first half of the book much more than the second half, and I liked the summary and interview with the author at the end of the Penguin edition more than I liked the book as a whole. I see how all parts of the story fit together now: each chapter is about a person who affected her life in some way. She addresses this, and many other things in the interview.
The major theme in this book is Catholicism. Actually, besides the best part of the book (riding around with Roy delivering meds), this is really what it was all about.
I am going to give it two stars. Maybe two and a half in my head since we can't do that on goodreads yet.
JUST FINISHED: I just finished this today since I am still battling the flu. I liked the first half of the book much more than the second half, and I liked the summary and interview with the author at the end of the Penguin edition more than I liked the book as a whole. I see how all parts of the story fit together now: each chapter is about a person who affected her life in some way. She addresses this, and many other things in the interview.
The major theme in this book is Catholicism. Actually, besides the best part of the book (riding around with Roy delivering meds), this is really what it was all about.
I am going to give it two stars. Maybe two and a half in my head since we can't do that on goodreads yet.
awin82's review against another edition
3.0
A fun read for anyone from Western New York! I laughed a lot.
thedarmainitiative's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this story/memoir. I don't know if i necessarily believe that it happened exactly that way. The story is written through the eyes of a child, and i can believe that a child might think that it was true. For example she talks about driving the car out of a snowbank while Roy pushed when she was 4. Maybe Roy told her she was driving and she believed it as a 4 year old, but i doubt that she actually did. I also have a had time with some of her very deep thought processes that she has with The Rod. They are just a little too mature for me to accept. Other than that it was a fun and interesting read.
booksinbedinthornhill's review against another edition
4.0
Humorous and affecting memoir about an inquiring and energetic girl growing up near Niagara Falls (in Lewiston, New York) in the1950s. Her fascinating mother (a woman who seems conventional on the surface, but who lives a somewhat unconventional life for those days), her inquiring mind chafing against her Catholic schooling, and her wonderful relationship with Roy, the black man with whom she works, from the age of 3(!), for her father's pharmacy, are just some of the elements which combine to make this an endlessly interesting coming-of-age story.
crabbygirl's review against another edition
5.0
i am in love with this book!
sure, it's odd that a child is working at the age of 4, but once i accepted her reasons for it, i went with it. i was with that character, going along, identifying primarily with her point of view. then
WHAM-O
chapter 6 hits her and i like a ton a bricks as a psychiatrist reintreprets her experiences and her environment. then i move outside the character and it all makes sense. why didn't i see it already.
it is THAT good a book; it sucks you in. you are 6. it all makes sense
sure, it's odd that a child is working at the age of 4, but once i accepted her reasons for it, i went with it. i was with that character, going along, identifying primarily with her point of view. then
WHAM-O
chapter 6 hits her and i like a ton a bricks as a psychiatrist reintreprets her experiences and her environment. then i move outside the character and it all makes sense. why didn't i see it already.
it is THAT good a book; it sucks you in. you are 6. it all makes sense
katiestein0's review against another edition
4.0
Honestly I was gonna give this 3 stars but the end really made the whole book come together and finally I made sense of the title. It felt like a really good closer so I upgraded.