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readerturnedwriter's review
5.0
I have always loved the story of Helen Keller and Sarah Miller did a wonderful job capturing it!
The wiring style was very accessible, even for a younger audience, and it was full of information. I really enjoyed learning more about Ann Sullivan. I also loved the focus on Ann's needs and what it would have been like for her to come in and begin teaching Helen.
This is a great read for youth or adults alike!
The wiring style was very accessible, even for a younger audience, and it was full of information. I really enjoyed learning more about Ann Sullivan. I also loved the focus on Ann's needs and what it would have been like for her to come in and begin teaching Helen.
This is a great read for youth or adults alike!
soulkissed2003's review
5.0
I wasn't sure if I would enjoy yet another rendering of the story of Annie Sullivan and her student, Helen Keller. It's been told so many times. And yet, talented author Sarah Miller managed to breathe new life into this compelling story, and I found myself carried along at a good pace.
This story is told from Annie's point of view, with what the author imagined her thought processes to be like as she faced this daunting new job, with few options as a nearly blind woman at the turn of the century.
This story is told from Annie's point of view, with what the author imagined her thought processes to be like as she faced this daunting new job, with few options as a nearly blind woman at the turn of the century.
kwurtzel3's review
3.0
A good book. A little slow, in the way that YA novels can sometimes be when the author assumes that the reader can never be as intelligent as a fully-grown adult, and the plot is almost too familiar, but it did have some new information. So, overall: good, but not great.
lemon_drop's review against another edition
5.0
Lyrical & lovely.
Pretty much everyone knows about Anne Sullivan & Helen at the water pump.
Most even know about how incredibly feral Helen was when Annie arrived.
But even though you'll know the ending to this bio-fic, you'll be enchanted to
discover the young Annie, mostly feral herself as a Boston Irish orphan girl with
her own individual impairments. These flashbacks are seamlessly interwoven with the
story of her arrival to Reconstructionist Alabama and her astonishing initial months
working to civilize & reach 6 year old Helen. Each of them, by turns, scared, lost,
lonely, brave, stubborn and oh so very out-spoken.
Pretty much everyone knows about Anne Sullivan & Helen at the water pump.
Most even know about how incredibly feral Helen was when Annie arrived.
But even though you'll know the ending to this bio-fic, you'll be enchanted to
discover the young Annie, mostly feral herself as a Boston Irish orphan girl with
her own individual impairments. These flashbacks are seamlessly interwoven with the
story of her arrival to Reconstructionist Alabama and her astonishing initial months
working to civilize & reach 6 year old Helen. Each of them, by turns, scared, lost,
lonely, brave, stubborn and oh so very out-spoken.
jillhubbs's review
4.0
This is a young adult read but I loved it. I found it very inspiring and interesting, all about the teacher of Helen Keller.
alaciamaloy's review
3.0
I was excited to read this book and learn more about Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan. The story did fall a bit flat for me because it took a long time to get in to the story, and right when it does, it's over. I want to learn more about each of these women and think this quick little read was a pretty good start.
medicore's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I had read this book years ago when I was younger, and I am genuinely surprised that I had liked it. Rereading it now, I found Annie really annoying, with the way she treated Helen (being unnecessarily violent and upset with her one moment- most notably in Chapter 14- and then trying to get her to kiss her the next) and the way she acted as if Helen was constantly purposely trying to cause her misery when she was actually just a deaf-blind child negativing the world without the use of sight or hearing to communicate her feelings and testing boundaries. The challenges the two go through are more like annoyances that are brought up every once in a while to get “easily” solved later and a lot of scenes and plot points are mentioned once, but the story never goes deeper into the implications of how said events impact the character (mainly Annie's flashbacks). I like the later scenes in this book when Helen’s being all cute, but that’s it. I like the character of Helen and also her parents, but the other characters in this book are often only mentioned once or twice and then never again, as if they just cease to exist once they stop furthering the plot. I rate this book 2 out of 5 stars, because there were little bits that I did like, but the annoyances of the parts I didn’t were too high for me to rate the book any better. I wouldn’t really recommend this book to anyone, but I wouldn’t say I regret the read, because it was interesting to learn a bit more about Helen Keller’s childhood through this story.
emilyvogt's review
5.0
Read this because Jessica read this for school. Excellent story from perspective of Annie Sullivan - Helen Keller's teacher.
aritrow's review
5.0
Read this for class and it's meant to be for elementary students but I think this is a really good look at the life of Annie Sullivan, and who she taught Helen Keller.