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4.37 AVERAGE
4.37 AVERAGE
This book was powerful and incredibly unexpected. (A little bit of that comes from the fact that I do not read the synopses of the books I am reading for this professional development project prior to reading the book.) This book opens with the main character and her mom escaping from what the readers - but not the main character - can see is a high control cult. The main character cannot understand why her mom would do this and desperately wants to return to the only thing that she has known as home. O'Shaughnessy does such a careful job leading the character to see all the troubling signs while also showing the reader both the danger of these sorts of groups as well as the consequences of this sort of brainwashing - how difficult it can be at any age to retrain your brain. This is an excellent read.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping
What a MASTER class in writing an unreliable narrator here.
I was anxious (in a good way) the whole time reading this. I'm an adult, so I was able to "read between the lines immediately" and know "what was really going on at the Ranch." BUT it is also so easy to see where Fern's coming from and to deeply understand why she longs for the Ranch, and all of her actions and outbursts and sneaking around and distrust all make complete sense from a child's perspective. This is a HARD balance to get right, and the events are all so well-set-up that I was extremely anxious waiting "for the shoe to drop." All of Kate O'Shaughnessy's books have given me at least One Really Good Gut Punch and, whew, this one has some pretty hard-hitting, emotional, perfectly-paced moments. Staying generic to avoid too many spoilers: The way things come full-circle and we really see how much Fern has grown by the end is SO satisfying.
This book handles difficult topics such as: kidnapping, cults, poverty. But it's not too graphic for the age range of the book AND it handles these topics respectfully. Real kids have to deal with complicated housing and money and family and job situations and this book shows an example of a desperate family's situation in a way that's age-appopriate while also feeling very immersive and realistic.
Natural dialogue, emotional connections, a lovely portrait of the power of community and connection for better or for worse. Heartbreaking, triumphant stuff.
challenging
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes