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jenmangler's review against another edition
4.0
Georgie Burkhardt made her way onto my list of favorite book characters in the first paragraph of the book. I adore her and thoroughly enjoyed seeing the world through her eyes. The mystery kept me guessing and I love that, too. This was a terrific read.
stephaniealysse's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mrsdaliborreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
goodem9199's review against another edition
5.0
I love when a book takes me out of my reality and plops me square in the middle of another. One Came Home is that book. The setting alone made me wish with all my might that I might live in the middle of nowhere before cell phones and Pinterest just so that I could look up into a night sky and hear silence.
Big sister disappears and everyone presumes she is dead. Little sister has done lost her mind and decides to pick up a shotgun, hit the trail on a mule (yes, a mule, as in half donkey, half horse) and prove everyone wrong by finding her sister alive. On the surface, this seems like a book I would shy away from. Western set in the late 1870's during a monstrous pigeon migration. Oh, did I mention that I friggin' hate birds. Some of the scenes gave me the absolute creeps. Some of the scenes had me laughing out loud. And several scenes had me holding my breath. But what it boiled down to was the writing, which was so pristine that I fell in love with this story.
And yes, this book needed the word pristine in its description.
Just listen: "I say let all the earth be alive and overwhelmingly so. Let the sky be pressed to bursting with wings, beaks, pumping hearts, and driving muscles. Let it be noisy. Let it make a mess. Then let me find my allotted space. Let me feel how I bump up against every other living thing on this earth. Let me learn to spin."
Big sister disappears and everyone presumes she is dead. Little sister has done lost her mind and decides to pick up a shotgun, hit the trail on a mule (yes, a mule, as in half donkey, half horse) and prove everyone wrong by finding her sister alive. On the surface, this seems like a book I would shy away from. Western set in the late 1870's during a monstrous pigeon migration. Oh, did I mention that I friggin' hate birds. Some of the scenes gave me the absolute creeps. Some of the scenes had me laughing out loud. And several scenes had me holding my breath. But what it boiled down to was the writing, which was so pristine that I fell in love with this story.
And yes, this book needed the word pristine in its description.
Just listen: "I say let all the earth be alive and overwhelmingly so. Let the sky be pressed to bursting with wings, beaks, pumping hearts, and driving muscles. Let it be noisy. Let it make a mess. Then let me find my allotted space. Let me feel how I bump up against every other living thing on this earth. Let me learn to spin."
gmamartha's review against another edition
4.0
Historical fiction and adventure set in Wisconsin during the days of millions of passenger pigeons. Using that setting, what could be so adventurous? A persistent sister and a grandfather who knows her well, counterfeiters who feel threatened, as well as no internet to use for communicating.
roseleaf24's review against another edition
4.0
This has the feel of Richard Peck or Jack Gantos, but with a fairly serious tale to tell. Definitely the upper end of the Newbery range.
nairam1173's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
Incredibly strong character voice--helped in my case by a really splendid narrator for the audiobook. Some of the vocabulary occasionally seemed elevated in a way that maybe wasn't particularly realistic, but it frequently made me laugh so I forgave it.
It was interesting the way even though this wasn't exactly "nonlinear" in structure, it did jump back and forth in time through Georgie's reminiscing and how we slowly put together the group of events that led up to the opening. It also had interesting thoughts on this way that past and present mixes for us.
I thought the dynamic between Georgie and Agatha was really well portrayed, Georgie's adoration of and frustration with her sister both ringing very true. There a lot of interesting thoughts and thematic elements peppered throughout, that "distinguished writing" part of the Newbery criteria coming easily to mind with those and other elements.
It did feel like the book lost its way in the ending(s), though. We had a pretty extreme (though believable) escalation of stakes that created some interesting and overall satisfying growth for Georgie, but after that top moment of conflict, it seemed like the story wasn't really sure what to do with what was left. The last few chapters feel disjointed and very "and then..."y. It felt both like the book didn't want to be too sad but also wanted to be taken seriously, to have its cake and eat it too on the exploration of grief. I don't know. It didn't feel right, like it petered out and didn't quite earn some of its themes, as well as answering some questions that really didn't matter that much.
It was interesting the way even though this wasn't exactly "nonlinear" in structure, it did jump back and forth in time through Georgie's reminiscing and how we slowly put together the group of events that led up to the opening. It also had interesting thoughts on this way that past and present mixes for us.
I thought the dynamic between Georgie and Agatha was really well portrayed, Georgie's adoration of and frustration with her sister both ringing very true. There a lot of interesting thoughts and thematic elements peppered throughout, that "distinguished writing" part of the Newbery criteria coming easily to mind with those and other elements.
It did feel like the book lost its way in the ending(s), though. We had a pretty extreme (though believable) escalation of stakes that created some interesting and overall satisfying growth for Georgie, but after that top moment of conflict, it seemed like the story wasn't really sure what to do with what was left. The last few chapters feel disjointed and very "and then..."y. It felt both like the book didn't want to be too sad but also wanted to be taken seriously, to have its cake and eat it too on the exploration of grief. I don't know. It didn't feel right, like it petered out and didn't quite earn some of its themes, as well as answering some questions that really didn't matter that much.
racheldrazzle's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
hayleybeale's review against another edition
5.0
Really excellent and enthralling historical mystery. The time and place are wonderfully recreated and the mystery is chillingly sinister, but the outstanding piece is the voice of Georgie the narrator (which reminded me of the narrator of The Case of the Deadly Desperadoes) - quirky, thoughtful and a very real 13 year old.