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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
A fast read that feels comparable to To Kill a Mockingbird in some themes and in terms of the main characters. (Annabelle is like a more mellow Scout, Betty feels a lot like Mayella Ewell, and Toby is easy to compare to Arthur "Boo" Radley.) The book follows Annabelle's coming of age as she grapples with a school bully and a surprisingly kind man whose been painted by society as a suspicious outsider. The themes of justice, character, and compassion all are dealt with nicely as the fast-moving plot rolls along. While it's quite a bit more vanilla than TKAM in terms of language and race, it is perhaps equally intense because Betty is a pretty terrifying character (who never gets her "but she was just a scared kid" scene and the described violence could be disturbing for younger or more sensitive readers. I devoured this book in about 1 day!
I've realized that I have a hard time connecting to characters via audiobook. I like the story but something to always lacking when I'm only listening.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Reread this year for a work project. A powerful read.
Two Stars - It was okay.
The story itself is a great one. I loved the cruel girl coming to town, the lone strange war vet, the problems arising and even the ending. I enjoyed the controversy of girl vs man. Who do you think is innocent? Wonderful.
The story runs along fast and I didn't feel there was much to attach me to the characters or the town. It was too easy to see where the story was going and what was going to happen. I can see why it is definitely for the children's literature section. I wanted more. I wanted a deeper narration, a deeper meaning, more detail, more to draw me in and say, "pay attention!" I was bored quite a bit and skimmed when things just got too redundant.
I can see the inspiration that comes from To Kill a Mockingbird in this story and I can see why people put it up there on the shelf alongside with it. However, this book doesn't quite reach the heights of To Kill a Mockingbird on the shelves of my library.
Good read, something that would be a great introduction to some more intense subject matter to a younger reader.
Again, two stars which on the Goodreads scale means: It was okay.
The story itself is a great one. I loved the cruel girl coming to town, the lone strange war vet, the problems arising and even the ending. I enjoyed the controversy of girl vs man. Who do you think is innocent? Wonderful.
The story runs along fast and I didn't feel there was much to attach me to the characters or the town. It was too easy to see where the story was going and what was going to happen. I can see why it is definitely for the children's literature section. I wanted more. I wanted a deeper narration, a deeper meaning, more detail, more to draw me in and say, "pay attention!" I was bored quite a bit and skimmed when things just got too redundant.
I can see the inspiration that comes from To Kill a Mockingbird in this story and I can see why people put it up there on the shelf alongside with it. However, this book doesn't quite reach the heights of To Kill a Mockingbird on the shelves of my library.
Good read, something that would be a great introduction to some more intense subject matter to a younger reader.
Again, two stars which on the Goodreads scale means: It was okay.
Annabelle and her family live in a small farming town in Pennsylvania during WWII. She and her brothers are being bullied by Betty, a girl who recently moved to live with her grandparents. When Betty becomes friends with Andy, a classmate who also likes to cause problems, things in town start to shift. However, whenever Betty is confronted about her behavior, she shifts the blame to the reclusive WWI veteran, Toby, and her grandparents believe her innocence. Annabelle's family likes Toby and knows that Betty must be lying, and Annabelle takes it upon herself speak up for Toby.
I will say I am not typically a historical fiction fan, but this book does not read like historical fiction. Wolk does a great job of building characters that evoke emotions from the reader - I disliked Betty within the first handful of chapters and pulled for Toby and Annabelle throughout the novel. A well written story about standing up for yourself and others when faced with injustice.
I will say I am not typically a historical fiction fan, but this book does not read like historical fiction. Wolk does a great job of building characters that evoke emotions from the reader - I disliked Betty within the first handful of chapters and pulled for Toby and Annabelle throughout the novel. A well written story about standing up for yourself and others when faced with injustice.
Wolf Hollow is a tragedy about the unfairness of life and the complications of lying.
In the autumn of 1943, young Annabelle is bullied by Betty, a troubled new girl at her school. Betty doesn't tease Annabelle, she threatens her. She beats her with a stick. She. She tries to harm Annabelle's younger brothers by .
At one point, the strange but harmless wanderer of Wolf Hollow, Toby, intervenes to save Annabelle and all but tell Betty to GTFO. Toby's warnings ricochet off Betty's carapace. She continues causing trouble, now trying to blame it on the weird man. When Betty goes missing, the whole town is trapped in her web of lies. They believe Toby has kidnapped the girl, and a dual search-and-rescue/manhunt begins.
Annabelle's family is friendly to Toby. Mom bakes him hickory nut pie. She lets him take the family's camera and they develop his beautiful pictures for him. Judgemental Aunt Lily, however, quickly succumbs to the town's mob mentality and brands him a kidnapper, or worse.
What the family isn't aware of is that Annabelle has hidden Toby in the family barn. Annabelle understands how easy adults are manipulated by the lies of children. They all believe Betty at face value! So she must dissolve the madness with lies of her own. Although this book is set during WWII, it is not Holocaust tale. Yet it has echoes of a person hiding another and lying about it in order to protect him. Sanctimonious Aunt Lily is the type of person who would have turned Anne Frank in. It's satisfying to see her little bubble popped in the book's denouement.
I looked on the back of the book expecting to find the word "evocative" in the blurbs. Yep. It's right there, thanks to Linda Sue Park. Two blurbers also credit the "honesty" of the book. I think they've pinned the novel's brilliant irony: Lies can destroy. But so can the truth. Wolf Hollow is about learning that the right choice is often whichever is harder to do.
"If my life was to be just a single note in an endless symphony, how could I not sound it out for as long as a loudly as I could?"
In the autumn of 1943, young Annabelle is bullied by Betty, a troubled new girl at her school. Betty doesn't tease Annabelle, she threatens her. She beats her with a stick. She
Spoiler
throws a rock, which misses and takes another girl's eye outSpoiler
sharpening a wire and tying it between two trees at neck heightAt one point, the strange but harmless wanderer of Wolf Hollow, Toby, intervenes to save Annabelle and all but tell Betty to GTFO. Toby's warnings ricochet off Betty's carapace. She continues causing trouble, now trying to blame it on the weird man. When Betty goes missing, the whole town is trapped in her web of lies. They believe Toby has kidnapped the girl, and a dual search-and-rescue/manhunt begins.
Annabelle's family is friendly to Toby. Mom bakes him hickory nut pie. She lets him take the family's camera and they develop his beautiful pictures for him. Judgemental Aunt Lily, however, quickly succumbs to the town's mob mentality and brands him a kidnapper, or worse.
What the family isn't aware of is that Annabelle has hidden Toby in the family barn. Annabelle understands how easy adults are manipulated by the lies of children. They all believe Betty at face value! So she must dissolve the madness with lies of her own. Although this book is set during WWII, it is not Holocaust tale. Yet it has echoes of a person hiding another and lying about it in order to protect him. Sanctimonious Aunt Lily is the type of person who would have turned Anne Frank in. It's satisfying to see her little bubble popped in the book's denouement.
I looked on the back of the book expecting to find the word "evocative" in the blurbs. Yep. It's right there, thanks to Linda Sue Park. Two blurbers also credit the "honesty" of the book. I think they've pinned the novel's brilliant irony: Lies can destroy. But so can the truth. Wolf Hollow is about learning that the right choice is often whichever is harder to do.
"If my life was to be just a single note in an endless symphony, how could I not sound it out for as long as a loudly as I could?"
Wow. I haven't read a kids book this complicated and moving and hard and moving in a really long time. Elements of this reminded me so much of how, Where the Red Fern Grows, touched me as a kid. Beautiful prose.
I would highly recommend this book for upper elementary/middle school kiddos, but also for teachers who are looking for a book that so sincerely covers the impact of bulling.
Amazing!!
I would highly recommend this book for upper elementary/middle school kiddos, but also for teachers who are looking for a book that so sincerely covers the impact of bulling.
Amazing!!
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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