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littleseal's review
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Grief, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Abandonment, Ableism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Suicidal thoughts
sometimes_samantha_reads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I read this to my 5th graders for our historical fiction unit. They liked it well enough. It was a harder book to read aloud sometimes due to the book being written in verse and some incredibly long sentences. But I read it myself as a 5th graders and was happy to pass on some of those first experiences with a sad book (lol). My class had really great and animated discussions while reading this together.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Grief, Child death, Death, and Medical content
nerdybirdy101's review against another edition
3.0
I originally read this book when I was in middle school. I am teaching English summer school for 8th graders and was recommended to teach this book. So, I reread this book to see if I wanted to teach it or not. This book is perfect for teaching! It is written in prose format which is perfect for teaching students about poetry. It is a historical fiction set in the Dust Bowl, which is perfect to teach students about the 1930s and particularly the Dust Bowl. I can only see the positives of using this book in the classroom and recommend other teachers to consider using this book.
I gave this book a 3 out of 5 stars because overall for my adult perspective I think this is an average read. I am not overly blown away with the writing, but can appreciate it. I see this book as an amazing classroom resource.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
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