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abaugher's review against another edition
5.0
currently reading: picked this up to see why it didn't check out fo the library in so long. so far, its a touching story in verse about an Irish family separated and how the two groups try to live on without each other, or the possibility of ever seeing one another again.
WOW! i chd no clue until i read the author note about HOW the poems were so planned out! a kind of literary braid is created: "the last words of each line in one narrative poem are the first words of each line in the following poem" and stuff like that. amazing!
WOW! i chd no clue until i read the author note about HOW the poems were so planned out! a kind of literary braid is created: "the last words of each line in one narrative poem are the first words of each line in the following poem" and stuff like that. amazing!
akublik's review against another edition
5.0
Beautifully crafted. Love the form she created and used throughout the book, that wove all the narrative poems together. My only complaint is the cover - why couldn't the publisher have come up with a more appealing cover????
lisajha's review
4.0
Beautiful, beautiful novel in verse. Not only is the writing disarmingly beautiful, but the development of the characters and the relationship of the sisters is just as poetic as Frost's descriptions and execution of the plot as well. Excellent novel in verse.
suzannedix's review
5.0
A Celtic knot is a beautifully woven pattern, braid-like in form. So begins the concept and form of Frost's story of two sisters, divided by the Atlantic Ocean, who keep their love for each other wrapped tightly like a braid of memories and hope. The 1850s were harsh in both Scotland and Nova Scotia and this historical look at surviving poverty and living day by day should inspire any reader.
Grades 7 and up. Another insanely creative endeavor by Helen Frost.
Grades 7 and up. Another insanely creative endeavor by Helen Frost.
rknuttel's review
3.0
I jut don't think I will ever be able to get into poetry.
I really felt like I could have gotten so much more out of the story if there was MORE too it. In erase it barely skims the surface of what it could be.
I did think the Celtic knot structure of the book was really neat though. The way that the different poems were tied together by the last words/first words in the line. Very cool, an that I can imagine took a LOT of work. And the even syllable counts. I was impressed.
I really felt like I could have gotten so much more out of the story if there was MORE too it. In erase it barely skims the surface of what it could be.
I did think the Celtic knot structure of the book was really neat though. The way that the different poems were tied together by the last words/first words in the line. Very cool, an that I can imagine took a LOT of work. And the even syllable counts. I was impressed.
mctmama's review
5.0
One of my favorites - a story of two sisters, that is woven together in poetry like the strands of their hair that they shared.
hjhill_55's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A short historical fiction novel, with poetry interspersed with the text. A family effected by starvation, landlords ejecting tenants for sheep, and the perils of ocean travel between Scotland and Canada is the focus of this tale.
letitiaharmon's review against another edition
4.0
This is a wonderful winter afternoon read. It's poetic, short, and vivid. Do take the time to go back through, after you've finished, and read Frost's poems again as the "braid" that she created inspired by a Celtic knot. The poems, already lovely, take on new significance. My two favorites were Dreams and Midwife.
The narrative of this story is heart-breaking and compelling, but felt imbalanced to me. Sarah is well-developed and a strong, defined character. Jeannie, the parallel storyline narrator, just doesn't crystallize in the same way. Her sections are little more than the lens through which we watch her family's pain. The only thing I definitively know about Jeannie is that she is beautiful. And she has no control over that. She could have had a much stronger character arc if the ending scenario of going to school had been woven throughout. I would have liked to learn about her tortured distress that she had no way to communicate with her sister, how she longed to be literate, how many worlds might open through words...that sort of thing, but it's not there.
Jeannie's weaknesses aside, I love the format of this book and Frost's poetic but still chronologically linear storytelling. It's a powerful novella that speaks to an ugly historical reality, yet still manages to find lightness and beauty.
The narrative of this story is heart-breaking and compelling, but felt imbalanced to me. Sarah is well-developed and a strong, defined character. Jeannie, the parallel storyline narrator, just doesn't crystallize in the same way. Her sections are little more than the lens through which we watch her family's pain. The only thing I definitively know about Jeannie is that she is beautiful. And she has no control over that. She could have had a much stronger character arc if the ending scenario of going to school had been woven throughout. I would have liked to learn about her tortured distress that she had no way to communicate with her sister, how she longed to be literate, how many worlds might open through words...that sort of thing, but it's not there.
Jeannie's weaknesses aside, I love the format of this book and Frost's poetic but still chronologically linear storytelling. It's a powerful novella that speaks to an ugly historical reality, yet still manages to find lightness and beauty.
mctmama's review against another edition
5.0
One of my favorites - a story of two sisters, that is woven together in poetry like the strands of their hair that they shared.