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bubothereader's review
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
I appreciate the author’s attempt to deal with racism, child abuse, and Alzheimer’s in the 1960s. However, for a book written in 2000, there were still a lot of racial slurs used, even if by the antagonists. It felt unnecessary. The book struggled to deal with all of these themes at the same time—would have been more successful if it had focused on one. The author also tried to discuss poverty and bullying, but these topics barely scratched the surface. The whole thing just felt contrived and incomplete.
ceedy's review
4.0
This book really took me back to my childhood, Ann M. Martin's writing is very distinctive to me because I've read so much of her novels while growing up. This one actually really touched me because even though it is a children's book, it touched on so many big issues seen through the young eyes of Belle Teal.
Belle Teal is a third grader who lives a very simple life with her mother and her gran, in a small house on top of a hill. Her best friend is Clarice but this new school year, she also meets Darryl and befriends him as well. What's special about this book is that it is set in the 1960s, in the wake of desegregating America. Three African-American kids were to join the formerly all-white school and Darryl being one of them. Parents go out of their way to protest at the school gates, spitting and rioting. But Belle Teal goes out of her way to make people see that they are wrong and that everyone is just as human on the inside because as her mum says: "Hate just creates more hate."
There were more issues at play but I'll let you discover those yourself. I loved the ending, it was open-ended but it was the perfect way to end things.
Also, I thought that this was like a children's version of To Kill A Mockingbird.
Belle Teal is a third grader who lives a very simple life with her mother and her gran, in a small house on top of a hill. Her best friend is Clarice but this new school year, she also meets Darryl and befriends him as well. What's special about this book is that it is set in the 1960s, in the wake of desegregating America. Three African-American kids were to join the formerly all-white school and Darryl being one of them. Parents go out of their way to protest at the school gates, spitting and rioting. But Belle Teal goes out of her way to make people see that they are wrong and that everyone is just as human on the inside because as her mum says: "Hate just creates more hate."
There were more issues at play but I'll let you discover those yourself. I loved the ending, it was open-ended but it was the perfect way to end things.
Also, I thought that this was like a children's version of To Kill A Mockingbird.
thelibraryofsarah's review
4.0
Loved this! It was interesting to see such topics through a child's eyes
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