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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
I do not normally read an entire series or even trilogy, but I cannot resist this trio. I read this book on a lazy Sunday and relished the story within the story, the realness of family and what it was like to be a child in the 60s. I recommend this series as a means of escape (bookcation) or a 5th grade read aloud when you want to have a conversation about the civil rights and the space race.
I haven't read the other two books (yet), but this book was still greatly enjoyable. I think it would've been easier to get into the story if I was already familiar with the sisters, but the situations, characters, and history pulled me in even so. This book was an impulse "check out" after I saw it sitting out on a shelf at the library. In reading this book I learned a fair amount about African American/American Indian history that I hadn't previously known and I'm looking forward to reading the other two books in the trilogy and sharing them with my daughters who also each have two sisters and love learning about history.
This was my first Gaither Girls book (don't judge me) and it definitely lived up to the hype.
Sad to see this series end. Parts of this book made me laugh out loud and I nearly cried at other parts.
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
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:
Yes
I will miss the Gaither sisters! In this third and final book in the series, the sisters go to Alabama to stay with their grandmother and great-grandmother at their farm. We get to meet their cousin and great-aunt, and hear about an old rivalry between Ma Charles and her sister. The girls learn about the complex issue of race in the South--the white sheriff is a distant relation from slaveholding days--and they learn a lot about family.
Aaah how did I forget that this was the third book, not the second? It does explain why some things didn't make sense. ..
I really like this series--the themes of sisterhood and family and friendship; of caring for each other even when you're crappy to each other; of living through the Civil Rights movement as a black kid, especially in the south, in a town where the sheriff is a known klansman.
The pacing in this book is uneven (the story drags a while, and then suddenly gets very fast), but it's the sisters who really pull the story, moreso than the plot.
Recommended for middle school collections.
I really like this series--the themes of sisterhood and family and friendship; of caring for each other even when you're crappy to each other; of living through the Civil Rights movement as a black kid, especially in the south, in a town where the sheriff is a known klansman.
The pacing in this book is uneven (the story drags a while, and then suddenly gets very fast), but it's the sisters who really pull the story, moreso than the plot.
Recommended for middle school collections.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-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
Gone Crazy in Alabama is written by Rita Williams-Garcia. It was published in 2015. This book is about a mixed family of African Americans who live during the 1950s. Sisters, Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern, head south to visit their grandmother and great grandmother who live in Alabama for the summer. They being working on the farm and learn more about their family. The girls face many challenges as they face south segregation, the KKK, and crazy family dynamics. This text would be great for students who are in middle school or early high school. The book talks about segregation that took place during this time as well as challenging family structures. This book could be used as a read aloud book, book club book, or as an independent read. This book is well written and keeps the reader engaged. <coretta scott king award> <chapter book> <historical fiction>
This was one of my most anticipated books of the year, partly because I was lucky enough to talk with the author about it a whole year before it came out. I was looking forward to the conclusion of the Gaither sisters' story arc, as well as the southern setting and family history.
When we rejoin Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern, they are on their way to the Greyhound terminal to begin their journey to visit Big Ma and her mother, Ma Charle,s in rural Alabama. There are several potential sources of conflict, both overt and less obvious. Pa's new wife ("Mrs.") is pregnant. The friction between Delphine and Vonetta is still present, as is Vonetta's resentment towards Uncle Darnell, who's out of rehab and living with Big Ma. (It's a difficult time all around for Vonetta). And then there's the bad blood - buckets of it - between Ma Charles and her half-sister, Miss Trotter. The two sisters live on opposite sides of the same creek, but haven't spoken in decades. Oh, and the family ties to the Klan.
If you think that all makes Gone Crazy in Alabama sound like an awfully ambitious novel, then you are correct. Williams-Garcia has a lot of plot threads to weave together, a new setting and several new characters to introduce, and a trilogy to bring to a satisfying close. For the most part, she accomplishes all of it with finesse. The relationship among the three sisters, especially Delphine and Vonetta, is going through some growing pains, and the resolution of that arc is poignant, as is Vonetta's reconciliation with Uncle Darnell. The Alabama setting - lazy and idyllic on the surface, complicated underneath - is well-realized. There are several intriguing new characters, especially Ma Charles and Miss Trotter, whose mutual sniping provides much of the book's humor.
On the whole though, this is not nearly as funny a book as either of the previous two. There is a brush with tragedy that takes up several chapters, but even before that, most of the characters are going through difficult times for various reasons. That's all handled deftly enough that it doesn't weigh down the narrative, but some of the family history does slow the pace. Telling it through Ma Charles and Miss Trotter's dueling narratives is clever, but it's still a lot of history to get through, and as a reader I often felt lost. Your mileage may vary.
Taken as a whole, Gone Crazy showcases the lovely prose, sharp dialogue, and larger-than-life situations that Rita Williams-Garcia writes so well. The many fans of the Gaither sisters will find it a satisfying conclusion to the series.
When we rejoin Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern, they are on their way to the Greyhound terminal to begin their journey to visit Big Ma and her mother, Ma Charle,s in rural Alabama. There are several potential sources of conflict, both overt and less obvious. Pa's new wife ("Mrs.") is pregnant. The friction between Delphine and Vonetta is still present, as is Vonetta's resentment towards Uncle Darnell, who's out of rehab and living with Big Ma. (It's a difficult time all around for Vonetta). And then there's the bad blood - buckets of it - between Ma Charles and her half-sister, Miss Trotter. The two sisters live on opposite sides of the same creek, but haven't spoken in decades. Oh, and the family ties to the Klan.
If you think that all makes Gone Crazy in Alabama sound like an awfully ambitious novel, then you are correct. Williams-Garcia has a lot of plot threads to weave together, a new setting and several new characters to introduce, and a trilogy to bring to a satisfying close. For the most part, she accomplishes all of it with finesse. The relationship among the three sisters, especially Delphine and Vonetta, is going through some growing pains, and the resolution of that arc is poignant, as is Vonetta's reconciliation with Uncle Darnell. The Alabama setting - lazy and idyllic on the surface, complicated underneath - is well-realized. There are several intriguing new characters, especially Ma Charles and Miss Trotter, whose mutual sniping provides much of the book's humor.
On the whole though, this is not nearly as funny a book as either of the previous two. There is a brush with tragedy that takes up several chapters, but even before that, most of the characters are going through difficult times for various reasons. That's all handled deftly enough that it doesn't weigh down the narrative, but some of the family history does slow the pace. Telling it through Ma Charles and Miss Trotter's dueling narratives is clever, but it's still a lot of history to get through, and as a reader I often felt lost. Your mileage may vary.
Taken as a whole, Gone Crazy showcases the lovely prose, sharp dialogue, and larger-than-life situations that Rita Williams-Garcia writes so well. The many fans of the Gaither sisters will find it a satisfying conclusion to the series.
This was a great conclusion to the series (though I would totally love another one of the sisters getting used to the new baby and that whole dynamic ). I really like the way that Williams-Garcia showcases the varying perspectives and feelings of the time within the black communities. The contrasts between Mrs. and Cecile and Big Mama and Ma Charles and Miss Trotter are fascinating. I love the layers of sisterhood and sister conflict shown in the different generations and Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern each having to figure out their places as they grow up and don't fit into the spaces in each others' lives that they used to.