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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
Mostly I read fantasy novels and British books, so this is out of my regular reading zone, but it was an excellent book. The story of a warm and funny family in Alabama in 1969. A really good introduction to how much the world has changed since then.
The cover got my attention 1st, then the promise of the story set in Alabama grabbed more of my attention. I was hooked in the beginning. I remember as a kid taking those long trips on greyhound from Brooklyn to South Carolina in the summer. So many memories. That quickly changed. I really have to learn how to DNF a book. I wanted to like this book because my family is from the south and I like reading stories when the setting is in the south. But, you have to read through lots of history and constant bickering between the two sisters to get to the real plot of the story. More than halfway and still there is no plot. Maybe if I read the other two books in the series 1st, this book would've been better. But I don't know.
It was a slow read for a while, but after the tornado comes through I could not stop reading. I was perplexed for a while wondering how the author was going to handle the ending from that point on.
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
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
Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern travel down south to Alabama to visit their grandmother, uncle, great-grandmother, great-aunt, and cousin, learning about the twisty-turny family tree, including family members who were white, runaway slaves, freed slaves, and Creek Indians. The sisters push against family-imposed boundaries as they try to express their independence from each other while still remaining a tight family unit. Characters from past books including the girls' mother, father, and stepmother also appear, and many subtle and not-so-subtle references to the segregation still present in 1969 South culturally will likely lead readers to want to learn more about the civil rights era as well as the history leading up to it.
Big Ma and Ma Charles asked all to repenteth: the astronauts, mission control in Houston for thinking they had control, and the TV station for cutting off the morning gospel hour to broadcast the space launch. And yet we all gathered in Ma Charles’s living room while I angled for a better picture of the crowds gathered outside the launch pad down in Florida. Pastor Curtis, who had on Sunday proclaimed the Apollo mission an ungodly endeavor, said he’d be taking Wednesday morning prayer service off so he wouldn’t miss the liftoff. Even golden-framed Jesus’s eyes were on the launch. -- reading in browser, no page numbers
I didn't know that many religious people were against the space launch as man playing in the affairs of God.
I didn't know that many religious people were against the space launch as man playing in the affairs of God.
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.
A satisfying ending to the story of the Gaither sisters that comes packed with a full measure of the richness and complexities of the African American experience in the U.S. -- southern rural, northern city, roots in slavery and connections to Southeastern Native American tribes, the KKK, traditional attitudes towards race and women's rights, modern attitudes towards race and women's rights. All that woven in, AND a fabulous story.
emotional
fast-paced