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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
3.5 stars
Annie and Rew live in a small house at the edge of a forest with their Gran. Their Gran struggles with depression after the loss of her husband, and sometimes goes for days without leaving her room. The kids learn to look after themselves, shop for groceries in town, cook their own meals, and avoid asking anything that may upset their Gran. After a huge jailbreak, the family finds themselves held hostage by a runaway inmate who brings a lot more questions.
The book made parallels between the American hostages in the Iran war and Annie's hostage situation, which I thought was interesting. There was also a focus on mental illness, broken homes, unconventional families, and reflection on morality and what is truly considered right and wrong. I liked that it focused on some of these darker and more realistic topics.
Annie and Rew live in a small house at the edge of a forest with their Gran. Their Gran struggles with depression after the loss of her husband, and sometimes goes for days without leaving her room. The kids learn to look after themselves, shop for groceries in town, cook their own meals, and avoid asking anything that may upset their Gran. After a huge jailbreak, the family finds themselves held hostage by a runaway inmate who brings a lot more questions.
The book made parallels between the American hostages in the Iran war and Annie's hostage situation, which I thought was interesting. There was also a focus on mental illness, broken homes, unconventional families, and reflection on morality and what is truly considered right and wrong. I liked that it focused on some of these darker and more realistic topics.
Very good book. Loved the characters. Kind of ironic the house Andrew comes to is his family's... but very good book.
I had already heard some buzz about this book so I was excited to get a copy for review for the Maine Student Book Award.
Annie has three wished for the summer - get tall, have an adventure, and meet her father. She has had the same wishes for years but she hasn't gotten taller, nothing like the Iran Hostage Crisis would ever happen in her town, and her dad is dead. Everything changes one night after a riot at a nearby prison. One of the escapees comes to her house to hide. This is of course where the author takes the reader on an adventure - the escaped prisoner is Annie's father. Is that too much of a coincidence? Too unbelievable? At first I was concerned...really, that's just too much....but, the way things are explained and unfold it does make sense.
I enjoyed the book quite a bit and actually read it in a few hours - which was pretty remarkable considering I am recovering from spleen surgery and sitting for a few hours isn't the most comfortable...but I liked it.
Annie has three wished for the summer - get tall, have an adventure, and meet her father. She has had the same wishes for years but she hasn't gotten taller, nothing like the Iran Hostage Crisis would ever happen in her town, and her dad is dead. Everything changes one night after a riot at a nearby prison. One of the escapees comes to her house to hide. This is of course where the author takes the reader on an adventure - the escaped prisoner is Annie's father. Is that too much of a coincidence? Too unbelievable? At first I was concerned...really, that's just too much....but, the way things are explained and unfold it does make sense.
I enjoyed the book quite a bit and actually read it in a few hours - which was pretty remarkable considering I am recovering from spleen surgery and sitting for a few hours isn't the most comfortable...but I liked it.
A good read. Hostage situation/family drama for 9-14 yr olds.
With the amount of children who have a parent in jail, I was waiting for a book that I enjoyed that dealt with the subject. Granted it does have a stretch to how you would meet the parent, I think the reactions from the children are fairly well represented. The siblings are polars to one another in their reaction to meeting their father. I felt myself connecting with both kids at different times in the novel. As for living with grandma, I realize that not all situations happen as such, but it made me angry, especially where it concerned the social worker, though it is similar to custody situations in real life.
Set during the Iran Hostage crisis, Annie and Rew are living at the outskirts of a small town, at the edge of the forest. They live with their grandmother, though they are increasingly taking more and more care of her than she is of them. Their mother left them when they were babies, and their grandmother told them that father died long ago. One stormy summer night, there is a mass break-out from the prison down the road, and one of the convicts finds his way to their house. Now hostages in their own home, how will Annie begin to put the pieces of their lives back together when they find out who he really is? Recommended for grades 5-8.
Powerful debut novel from Gewirtz! Zebra Forest is the story of a young girl, Annie B, and the summer her wishes came true, though not exactly as she had always planned them to. This novel is not a thriller like most books involving hostages are. Rather, this book is more emotional.
There are many things I love about this novel. One is the setting. If you honestly didn't know when the Iranian Hostage Crisis took place (it is mentioned plenty in the novel), I think it would be very easy to place this novel in nearly any decade. It's novels like that that stand the test of time. It's relatable on a level. It feels like it could be happening today.
I also love how every character is neither perfect nor completely full of flaw. Annie B comes across as a shy, young girl forced to grow up by her Gran. Rew is a highly intelligent young boy with the ability hold grudges and a fierce temper. Gran is a woman who loves her grandchildren very much, but her depression and her hoarding habit doesn't make for them a healthy upbringing.
This novel unraveled its secrets at a perfect pace and I felt like there weren't many questions left unanswered by the end. I will be keeping an eye out for other novels by this author.
There are many things I love about this novel. One is the setting. If you honestly didn't know when the Iranian Hostage Crisis took place (it is mentioned plenty in the novel), I think it would be very easy to place this novel in nearly any decade. It's novels like that that stand the test of time. It's relatable on a level. It feels like it could be happening today.
I also love how every character is neither perfect nor completely full of flaw. Annie B comes across as a shy, young girl forced to grow up by her Gran. Rew is a highly intelligent young boy with the ability hold grudges and a fierce temper. Gran is a woman who loves her grandchildren very much, but her depression and her hoarding habit doesn't make for them a healthy upbringing.
This novel unraveled its secrets at a perfect pace and I felt like there weren't many questions left unanswered by the end. I will be keeping an eye out for other novels by this author.
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I have mixed feelings about this book, not sure what exactly I liked it, but it was definitely different from everything I've been reading so.. yeah, four stars.
I liked it. I really did.
it was refreshing and.. idk i guess I'm still thinking about it since I read the book in a couple of hours.
I liked it. I really did.
it was refreshing and.. idk i guess I'm still thinking about it since I read the book in a couple of hours.
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