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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
Recent winner of the Schneider Family Book Award for YA - I thought it was good, but not extraordinary. Dialect was a bit forced and heavy in places, but I appreciated the overall story itself.
wow. Having read other YA fiction recently I was wondering why it didn't do for me what I thought it should and if it was a generation thing and I just couldn't get into the skin of recently graduated teens. This book proves that it is not about simple writing, it's about powerful writing. It's about the craft of storytelling, about getting under the skin of the protagonists.
Gritty and real but with huge empathy and positivity, definitely worth a read for the more mature.
Gritty and real but with huge empathy and positivity, definitely worth a read for the more mature.
It was a good quick read, but it got reallllly intense and I wasn't really excpecting that from what I read about the book. Other than that it was pretty good.
As a teacher of special ed students last year, I can relate to a lot of the problems that these girls face. I understood their feelings of inadequacy and incompetence, even though in reality they had no reason to believe either of those things. Students can be mean and downright nasty, and that's where many people get their sense of failure - from others.
Biddy and Quincy are two girls who graduated from the special ed program at their school; they call themselves "speddies." Though they had nothing to look forward to after high school, the girls are told by their counselor that they're going to live together with an elderly woman. Biddy will take care of her and Quincy has a job at the grocery story. Though it seems like a strange placement, they start to get along just fine.
The tragedy of this story is, sadly, something that happens more than we want to admit. People are abused and raped daily over lesser things than what happens in this book, and its terrible to even think about, let alone read about from the perspective of the victim. The characters are flawed in good and bad ways and although the plot of the story is thin, I enjoyed reading about the story of these girls who go from strangers to best friends, even a family.
Not the best book I've ever read, but it was pretty good.
Biddy and Quincy are two girls who graduated from the special ed program at their school; they call themselves "speddies." Though they had nothing to look forward to after high school, the girls are told by their counselor that they're going to live together with an elderly woman. Biddy will take care of her and Quincy has a job at the grocery story. Though it seems like a strange placement, they start to get along just fine.
The tragedy of this story is, sadly, something that happens more than we want to admit. People are abused and raped daily over lesser things than what happens in this book, and its terrible to even think about, let alone read about from the perspective of the victim. The characters are flawed in good and bad ways and although the plot of the story is thin, I enjoyed reading about the story of these girls who go from strangers to best friends, even a family.
Not the best book I've ever read, but it was pretty good.
This was a quick read, but it was by no means an easy read. The two protagonists in this story are both developmentally disabled girls who have recently graduated high school and are living on their own, as caretakers to an older woman, for the first time. Giles does an amazing job of giving them both their own voices and illustrating the very real struggles that they have gone through: poverty, sexual, physical, and emotional abuse, among others. Recommend.
I do not recommend this book for younger, MG readers. It is a difficult book in some ways. The issues are sensitive and mature. I cannot speak to another person's mind, but I can say that the institutionalized prejudices that a special needs student confronts comes through in their thoughts and interactions about one another and that is also examined through a character in this book. Having worked with and lived with special education students, I have heard the students speak in the way we see in this book.
To speak to points made in an earlier review, I do believe the girls had different voices in this book, though they blurred. The language and dialect don't bother me as I've heard speakers, educated and respected, speak with a southern accent. I've also been in close contact with youths/ adults of many parts of society who bear Biddie's reactions to the world: optimism.
To speak to points made in an earlier review, I do believe the girls had different voices in this book, though they blurred. The language and dialect don't bother me as I've heard speakers, educated and respected, speak with a southern accent. I've also been in close contact with youths/ adults of many parts of society who bear Biddie's reactions to the world: optimism.
What a short book with a lot of depth & sadness.
This is definitely a book I want to share with my Special Ed teachers at school.
This is definitely a book I want to share with my Special Ed teachers at school.
This has got to be one of my favorite (new favorite) school-read books of all time (second only to The Book Thief). It takes absolutely no time at all to read and keeps your emotions in constant chaos, clutching at your heartstrings and plucking them try. You will feel everything from happiness to heartache, and so much more in between. This was worth every second of my time reading it.
Two Speddie (Special Education) girls have just graduated from school and are looking to get a fresh start in the world as working adults. Biddy and Quincy are put up by Elizabeth, an older woman in need of a full-time homeworker. Biddy will make her living cleaning Miss Lizzy's home from top to bottom and assisting her whenever needed. Quincy will make her living as a chef-of-sorts, working at the local grocery store 'Brown Cow.' Both girls work to their strengths as they become acclimated to this new and hopefully better life of theirs. Never having truly belonged anywhere before, both girls are hopeful that they have finally found somewhere to call 'Home.'
Biddy is a sweet and bubbly 18-year-old woman who looks at the world as a magical place with greatness around every corner. She sees people for how they act, and for the goodness that they harbor in their deepest hearts. She acknowledges the sometimes bad in people, though despite her past seems to largely overlook in it favor of the lightness that every beautiful creature in the world holds. As we delve into her time spent in her new life, she becomes a bolder and more outspoken girl. She completely come out of her shell and transforms into a fiercely protective person, more concerned with other than with her own issues. She is always open about how she feels, though in a way that is respectful of all company she's with. The changes made in her life are without a doubt for the better.
Quincy is a conservative and highly independent 18-year-old woman who looks at the world as a dark force with heartache hiding behind every corner, and at people as always having a secret motive to their every act. She sees people as superficial and incapable of caring for her in any way that counts. Because of her past, she has always lived her life lashing at others before they have a chance to lash out at her. And though this is how her story goes for much of the book, she will find a change in herself that she never expected. Despite her past, she may yet learn what it means to be a part of a family, and to fight for and protect them at all costs.
It is true that in the beginning Quincy was harsh, as all other had been for so many years, to Biddy and saw no more than what everyone else told her about the 'Ho girl,' but after becoming roommates and learning to see the real Biddy, she can no longer torment the fragile girl who has known little else since she was barely a teen girl. Likewise, once Biddy gets to know the real Quincy behind the tough exterior, she can no longer see her as indestructible and incapable of knowing pain. Once they put their difference aside and to good use, the two young women become close as any sisters could be. They bring each other up when the other is down and support their strengths as well as their weaknesses.
The changes that these two girls have made in their lives could not be summed up any better than this final quote from Quincy's own thoughts:
"Every once in a while, I hug that fool girl. Just for nothing."
Two Speddie (Special Education) girls have just graduated from school and are looking to get a fresh start in the world as working adults. Biddy and Quincy are put up by Elizabeth, an older woman in need of a full-time homeworker. Biddy will make her living cleaning Miss Lizzy's home from top to bottom and assisting her whenever needed. Quincy will make her living as a chef-of-sorts, working at the local grocery store 'Brown Cow.' Both girls work to their strengths as they become acclimated to this new and hopefully better life of theirs. Never having truly belonged anywhere before, both girls are hopeful that they have finally found somewhere to call 'Home.'
Biddy is a sweet and bubbly 18-year-old woman who looks at the world as a magical place with greatness around every corner. She sees people for how they act, and for the goodness that they harbor in their deepest hearts. She acknowledges the sometimes bad in people, though despite her past seems to largely overlook in it favor of the lightness that every beautiful creature in the world holds. As we delve into her time spent in her new life, she becomes a bolder and more outspoken girl. She completely come out of her shell and transforms into a fiercely protective person, more concerned with other than with her own issues. She is always open about how she feels, though in a way that is respectful of all company she's with. The changes made in her life are without a doubt for the better.
Quincy is a conservative and highly independent 18-year-old woman who looks at the world as a dark force with heartache hiding behind every corner, and at people as always having a secret motive to their every act. She sees people as superficial and incapable of caring for her in any way that counts. Because of her past, she has always lived her life lashing at others before they have a chance to lash out at her. And though this is how her story goes for much of the book, she will find a change in herself that she never expected. Despite her past, she may yet learn what it means to be a part of a family, and to fight for and protect them at all costs.
It is true that in the beginning Quincy was harsh, as all other had been for so many years, to Biddy and saw no more than what everyone else told her about the 'Ho girl,' but after becoming roommates and learning to see the real Biddy, she can no longer torment the fragile girl who has known little else since she was barely a teen girl. Likewise, once Biddy gets to know the real Quincy behind the tough exterior, she can no longer see her as indestructible and incapable of knowing pain. Once they put their difference aside and to good use, the two young women become close as any sisters could be. They bring each other up when the other is down and support their strengths as well as their weaknesses.
The changes that these two girls have made in their lives could not be summed up any better than this final quote from Quincy's own thoughts:
"Every once in a while, I hug that fool girl. Just for nothing."
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book grew on me. It took me some time to warm up to the language and eventually they stole my heart. I appreciate the dual POV and how quickly it switched back and forth to share moments from both characters’ perspectives. There were some loose ends and details missing - especially with Stephen - but I also get that it’s a short book that really focuses on the main narrative.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Abandonment
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Stalking, Abandonment
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia
Minor: Pregnancy