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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
This book alternates between absolutely hilarious and decidedly uncomfortable. It's a good, fun, quick read that I breezed through in two days. The characters are quirky and larger than life, the situations often ridiculous, but all supposedly true, or at least true in the writer's memory.
One thing really bugged me: the misleading subtitle. I interpreted "growing up small" to mean that Zippy/Haven was a little person, but actually she is normal sized and makes several references to being in the back row of pictures because she was among the tallest of her peers.
One thing really bugged me: the misleading subtitle. I interpreted "growing up small" to mean that Zippy/Haven was a little person, but actually she is normal sized and makes several references to being in the back row of pictures because she was among the tallest of her peers.
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Quirky kid, strange normalcy, thoroughly enjoyable read.
Laughed out loud by page 10. What a trip down memory lane (avon perfume dolls, felt board Jesus and Disciples at church)! I imagine this life hard for some people to grasp if they hadn't grown up in the 70's in very very small town Midwest. She nailed it.
Co-written with Amber Wells and Jordan Brown
In A Girl Named Zippy, Haven Kimmel relives her chaotic childhood in Mooreland Indiana. By refusing to go to church and giving out haircuts to hippies, Zippy was a comedian through and through. This silliness paints a beautiful picture of adolescence in the 60s and 70s.
Zippy is an energetic child whose happy go lucky self brings light to a lot of people’s lives, but trouble often comes with it. She tried to help out her neighbor by dog sitting, but the dog died on her watch. She also attempted to do a good deed by mowing another neighbor’s lawn, but the neighbor threatened to call the police on Zippy because Zippy was trying to yank the mower away from her. Zippy also gets in trouble because she is not afraid to voice her opinions. For example, She insults the storekeeper’s wife in front of him by calling her the Wicked Witch of the West. Zippy is always up on the town gossip because rumors travel fast and because she seems to be present whenever something changes or whenever a catastrophe occurs. Throughout the book, Zippy’s experiences show how small town life seems just as busy as life in a big city.
In this book, Kimmel does not write in chronological order, but writes the memories as she remembers them. This adds to the book by giving you the idea of what she thinks is the most important and what the author thinks could wait. However, this hurts the book in the way that this style of writing is more confusing to read. Not all of the chapters give an age for Zippy or a year so it’s hard to try to figure out when the things in the book were happening in relation with each other.
The book opens with a journal entry by Zippy’s mother which talks about how Zippy was a miracle baby. None of her family ever thought she would talk, in fact at two years old, Zippy still had not said anything, but four months after her third birthday, Zippy’s first words were, “‘I’ll make a deal with you,”’(9). The book ends with Zippy getting a piano for Christmas, something she always wanted, but never thought she would get. Throughout the middle, Haven ties the book together with snapshots of her life, from toddler to upper elementary. These events show how Zippy matured from an ugly, quiet baby to a musical girl in scenes such as growing hair, and learning to play the xylophone.
Haven Kimmel really shows the steps of maturity through this book by showing, and not telling, her experiences as a little child. Haven really puts out the true memories as she saw them, but in a puzzle that her readers really have to work their way through to figure out. However, the whole book leads up to that one big moment to where she reaches womanhood and realization of the real world. Who would've thought an ugly baby who didn't start talking until she was three would turn out to be a spiritual young lady? With these unrealistic, hilarious, fun bound memories, no one would've thought they were true, which makes Haven's memoir that much more enjoyable to read and to connect with.
In A Girl Named Zippy, Haven Kimmel relives her chaotic childhood in Mooreland Indiana. By refusing to go to church and giving out haircuts to hippies, Zippy was a comedian through and through. This silliness paints a beautiful picture of adolescence in the 60s and 70s.
Zippy is an energetic child whose happy go lucky self brings light to a lot of people’s lives, but trouble often comes with it. She tried to help out her neighbor by dog sitting, but the dog died on her watch. She also attempted to do a good deed by mowing another neighbor’s lawn, but the neighbor threatened to call the police on Zippy because Zippy was trying to yank the mower away from her. Zippy also gets in trouble because she is not afraid to voice her opinions. For example, She insults the storekeeper’s wife in front of him by calling her the Wicked Witch of the West. Zippy is always up on the town gossip because rumors travel fast and because she seems to be present whenever something changes or whenever a catastrophe occurs. Throughout the book, Zippy’s experiences show how small town life seems just as busy as life in a big city.
In this book, Kimmel does not write in chronological order, but writes the memories as she remembers them. This adds to the book by giving you the idea of what she thinks is the most important and what the author thinks could wait. However, this hurts the book in the way that this style of writing is more confusing to read. Not all of the chapters give an age for Zippy or a year so it’s hard to try to figure out when the things in the book were happening in relation with each other.
The book opens with a journal entry by Zippy’s mother which talks about how Zippy was a miracle baby. None of her family ever thought she would talk, in fact at two years old, Zippy still had not said anything, but four months after her third birthday, Zippy’s first words were, “‘I’ll make a deal with you,”’(9). The book ends with Zippy getting a piano for Christmas, something she always wanted, but never thought she would get. Throughout the middle, Haven ties the book together with snapshots of her life, from toddler to upper elementary. These events show how Zippy matured from an ugly, quiet baby to a musical girl in scenes such as growing hair, and learning to play the xylophone.
Haven Kimmel really shows the steps of maturity through this book by showing, and not telling, her experiences as a little child. Haven really puts out the true memories as she saw them, but in a puzzle that her readers really have to work their way through to figure out. However, the whole book leads up to that one big moment to where she reaches womanhood and realization of the real world. Who would've thought an ugly baby who didn't start talking until she was three would turn out to be a spiritual young lady? With these unrealistic, hilarious, fun bound memories, no one would've thought they were true, which makes Haven's memoir that much more enjoyable to read and to connect with.
I wish I could have remembered who recommended this book to me. It was a fantastic read! Currently living in a small town and being raised by a mother who grew up in small town Indiana, made this book extra relatable and made my heart happy. Extra fun is the fact that I have family who lives in Mooreland and know the author and her family.
Recommend!
Recommend!
It reminded me alot of when I was little and growing up in a small town.