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A review by readingwithelizabeth
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
3.0
3.5 Stars
It's hard to decide just how to rate this book. To put things very simply, I don't like reading a book in which the main character is racist, ableist, and sizeist. There are many mentions of a character being 'fat', along with many descriptions drawing attention to her size. There are also several uses of the 'r-word' and, while the n-word is not used, there is one very clear allusion to it and many mentions of others' color. I totally get that this period is from 'a different time' (1978), but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy a main character who inhabits poor morals. I think I would have liked this book a lot better if the r-word and continued mentions of a character's size and colors were left out.
All of that aside, I did like Gilly's other character traits. It makes sense that, as a foster child who has bounced around from home to home, she would be hostile, tricky, and generally uncaring about the people around her. I also enjoyed watching the journey of her developing an attachment to the very people she had spoken so badly of throughout a great deal of the book. That's what made the ending so sad to me- it didn't feel like the 'right' ending. Gilly deserves a family and love, and she had that with Trotter, William Ernest, and Mr. Randolph. It's unclear why he grandmother decided to take her in- did she feel an obligation or duty to taking care of her granddaughter, as Gilly thinks? Does she want a 'do-over' of raising a daughter? Is she simply lonely and sees this as her opportunity to have family again?
My hope is that Gilly continues to carry on communication with the family she made in Trotter's home. Is it realistic to hope she returns to them? No, I know it isn't- the end result of fostering is for children to be reunited with their biological family. But, to me, it's very different when a child knew their family, was taken away, and was able to return when the family situation was better versus pretty well being abandoned by their mother- it's clear that Gilly's mother doesn't have a true attachment to her, and when Gilly realizes that, it really breaks my heart.
Overall, I enjoyed Gilly's development of morals and values throughout the story, but I did not enjoy that her hopes for love and family seem to have been dashed. However, I recognize that this story does a great job at depicting a foster child of the time in which it was written/depicted.
It's hard to decide just how to rate this book. To put things very simply, I don't like reading a book in which the main character is racist, ableist, and sizeist. There are many mentions of a character being 'fat', along with many descriptions drawing attention to her size. There are also several uses of the 'r-word' and, while the n-word is not used, there is one very clear allusion to it and many mentions of others' color. I totally get that this period is from 'a different time' (1978), but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy a main character who inhabits poor morals. I think I would have liked this book a lot better if the r-word and continued mentions of a character's size and colors were left out.
All of that aside, I did like Gilly's other character traits. It makes sense that, as a foster child who has bounced around from home to home, she would be hostile, tricky, and generally uncaring about the people around her. I also enjoyed watching the journey of her developing an attachment to the very people she had spoken so badly of throughout a great deal of the book. That's what made the ending so sad to me- it didn't feel like the 'right' ending. Gilly deserves a family and love, and she had that with Trotter, William Ernest, and Mr. Randolph. It's unclear why he grandmother decided to take her in- did she feel an obligation or duty to taking care of her granddaughter, as Gilly thinks? Does she want a 'do-over' of raising a daughter? Is she simply lonely and sees this as her opportunity to have family again?
My hope is that Gilly continues to carry on communication with the family she made in Trotter's home. Is it realistic to hope she returns to them? No, I know it isn't- the end result of fostering is for children to be reunited with their biological family. But, to me, it's very different when a child knew their family, was taken away, and was able to return when the family situation was better versus pretty well being abandoned by their mother- it's clear that Gilly's mother doesn't have a true attachment to her, and when Gilly realizes that, it really breaks my heart.
Overall, I enjoyed Gilly's development of morals and values throughout the story, but I did not enjoy that her hopes for love and family seem to have been dashed. However, I recognize that this story does a great job at depicting a foster child of the time in which it was written/depicted.