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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
Loved this wrap up of the story of the Gaither sisters. I loved the Alabama backdrop.
I found this book to be incredibly well written for a very narrow audience. In fact, I think this book would resonate more with adults than it would with students. I love the setting for this book, the deep south during 1969, but while I understand the climate of that time period, many students will not automatically follow it. That being said, the author does a wonderful job taking time to set the mood and the emotion for the time period. At it's heart, this is the story of a family that is in flux. It is the story of a family that has gone through so many changes, some from society, some from moral decisions, and how that family adapts or crumbles from those changes. This book is not short on characters and charm. I think this is a great book that I am glad to have read but it is not one that I expect to fly off my shelves. However, I think when it is chosen by those select few, they will love the deep and powerful family story of Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern.
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
fast-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
Gone Crazy In Alabama is the third and final book in the Gaither Sisters trilogy. I thoroughly enjoyed each and every book of the series, and I think I rated them all four stars.
I loved seeing the 1960's through the eyes of three black sisters. How they handled things from the Panther uprising in the first book, to the third book where they are witness to the KKK and tornadoes. And of course the day to day struggles of being with your sisters.
I really love stories and I do love the Sisters characters. But our main character who is the eldest gets treated like she should be the mom out of all them, she's barely 12 years old and I feel like she should have been able to have been more of a child and get to experience that age as just that.
I loved seeing the 1960's through the eyes of three black sisters. How they handled things from the Panther uprising in the first book, to the third book where they are witness to the KKK and tornadoes. And of course the day to day struggles of being with your sisters.
I really love stories and I do love the Sisters characters. But our main character who is the eldest gets treated like she should be the mom out of all them, she's barely 12 years old and I feel like she should have been able to have been more of a child and get to experience that age as just that.
fast-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
I loved how Williams-Garcia wrapped up this trilogy. Rather than incorporate yet another major historical event, Williams-Garcia centered the family relationships and how the people in those relationships broke and rebuilt them. This book felt like a beautiful way to wrap up the series with each important character making a crucial and believable appearance.
I'm so happy to have this trilogy completed - did I love it? No. But do I love the three sisters in this trilogy? Yes
Continuing the story of the three Gaither sisters, Delphine, Vonetta and Fern, summer vacation finds them heading from their home with their father in Brooklyn to their grandmother and great-mother's home in Alabama. Reuniting with Big Ma, Ma Charles, Uncle Darnell and cousin JimmyTrotter and meeting great-aunt Mrs. Trotter provide the girls with a full host of crazy characters and stories. Summer is a lazy time in rural Alabama during the 60s and the girls find all sorts of diversions: feeding the chickens, hiking through the woods and most interestingly listening to family gossip. They come to find out that their heritage is quite a bit more colorful than they ever knew. The three sisters, particularly Fern, are full of personality and this book will do well among its companion novels. Racial prejudice is very much a living thing at this point in history in the south and the girls are given stark reminders about how much safer and freer it is to be a black person in New York City. The Black Panthers and the KKK are both sensitively handled in a manner that middle grade readers can understand. While it can stand alone, references to stories that take place in the prior two Gaither girls' novels will excite readers to learn more.
Though the story is full of heart, the constant bickering and squabbling among the children and among the adults grew tedious and really detracts from the story.
Sisi A. Johnson gives each character a distinctive voice and is a joy to listen to.
Recommended. Grades 5 and up.
Though the story is full of heart, the constant bickering and squabbling among the children and among the adults grew tedious and really detracts from the story.
Sisi A. Johnson gives each character a distinctive voice and is a joy to listen to.
Recommended. Grades 5 and up.
I struggled through the first 2/3 of this book. The story is just too sprawling, and sisters bickering is only interesting for so long. It took Delphine entirely too long to come to her realization about her sisters. The references to the Klan didn't really tie into the story and were not fully realized. Big Ma and Ma Charles didn't have distinct enough voices (or names). I had to work to keep track of who was saying what, and sometimes I didn't bother. I kept having flashbacks to [b:A Year Down Yonder|39980|A Year Down Yonder (A Long Way from Chicago, #2)|Richard Peck|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388238223s/39980.jpg|39678]A Year Down Yonder, but not in a good way.
I did like the way that the author depicted the differences in racial attitudes between the northern city folk and the southern country folk. I wish she had developed that more. We can sort of see Delphine noticing and thinking about it, but that would have made a much more interesting theme than being nice to your sisters.
I did like the way that the author depicted the differences in racial attitudes between the northern city folk and the southern country folk. I wish she had developed that more. We can sort of see Delphine noticing and thinking about it, but that would have made a much more interesting theme than being nice to your sisters.
The end of the Gaither Sister books! I'd have to say that P.S. Be Eleven is probably my favorite of the series, but really, this trilogy is pretty fantastic. Excellent writing, clear characterization (I completely understand Delphine - she reminds me a lot of myself at her age), and lots of lovely, lovely notes on family, what it means to be black, and the late 60s.
I do have to say that the middle of the novel was a bit repetitious, with the battle between the Ma Charles and Miss Trotter, but other than that, it's a very solid, very touching middle grade novel.
I do have to say that the middle of the novel was a bit repetitious, with the battle between the Ma Charles and Miss Trotter, but other than that, it's a very solid, very touching middle grade novel.