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bibliomaineiac's review against another edition
4.0
A lovely story, told in the voice of a young girl in the 60's. She lives on a street that has evolved from being predominately white to being mixed. The book highlights the racial tensions, and how they affected the children caught up in them. The voice of Edna is genuine. It would be a good book to help teach young people what life was like in the 60's from another child's perspective.
boygirlparty's review against another edition
4.0
Lynda Barry captures the circuitous weirdness of a tween's thought process pitch perfectly; it's actually pretty eerie. This book was easily read under two hours, so I suggest it for my fellow Fifty Fifty readers (http://www.fiftyfifty.me), but seriously I just really love Lynda Barry so I'd recommend it to anyone.
thyroyalreader's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Violence, Grief, and Child death
jainabee's review
4.0
It is fascinating to go back and reread this earlier version of Lynda's autobiofictionography. The characters are so familiar to me, and i feel i know things about them that they hadn't yet revealed at this point. Things revealed in later publications. Lynda Barry's world is a real place for me, and i can never get enough of her guided tours.
kathrynje3sr's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the book, but the first Lynda Barry book I read was "Cruddy". That was a spectacular novel. I guess my expectations were a little too high for this one. I would recommend the book though.
jdianm's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the story and especially the style Lynda Barry tells it in. She uses the theme of music to write about growing up. She has a straightforward descriptions about the gap between the ideals of equality her english class reads about, and the fact that once she gets to 7th grade everyone separates into groups of people that look the same.
She also includes profiles and portraits she wrote and drew of musicians from the 19th century. The musicians' lives sound amazing and tragic and there is definitely common themes in blues, zodico, cajun, and country music.
She also includes profiles and portraits she wrote and drew of musicians from the 19th century. The musicians' lives sound amazing and tragic and there is definitely common themes in blues, zodico, cajun, and country music.
i32505's review against another edition
4.0
A cute book that brings about that sad nostalgic feeling when you're reading it.
octavia_cade's review
3.0
This is an odd but appealing mix of fiction and nonfiction. The first two thirds of the book are a young adult novel, a coming of age type story in which a young girl navigates a difficult family life and the challenges of racism - particularly her own. It can be quite an uncomfortable read, as what Edna understands (or doesn't) about what's going on around her is often much more limited than what the reader understands is happening, so there are parts that just made me cringe... which I imagine is precisely the effect that Barry was going for. As a sort of aesthetic backdrop to the story, set in the 1950s or the 1960s I think, is Edna's appreciation for music, which is pretty much one of the few bright spots in her life.
The last third of the book are sketches - and when I say sketches, I mean page long summaries paired with actual paintings - that illustrate influential musicians and music styles of the early and mid twentieth century. They're interesting, and interesting in a different way than the novel, if only because music isn't something I know a great deal about. Even if I've a bare familiarity with the styles described here, a lot of the people featured are new to me, and I do like to learn new things.
The last third of the book are sketches - and when I say sketches, I mean page long summaries paired with actual paintings - that illustrate influential musicians and music styles of the early and mid twentieth century. They're interesting, and interesting in a different way than the novel, if only because music isn't something I know a great deal about. Even if I've a bare familiarity with the styles described here, a lot of the people featured are new to me, and I do like to learn new things.
ronurism's review against another edition
4.0
A poignant commentary of American social life, as narrated by a 6th grader.
riverjuniper's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5