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jennybeastie 's review for:
Apple in the Middle
by Dawn Quigley
Loved: the absolutely beautiful portrayal of a loving Native family on the reservation. All of the lessons on humor and about Turtle Mountain (and the several tribes) culture that Apple learns. The fact that this is an own voices book, and that it is an own voices book for tweens/middle school -- there are definitely not enough of those in the world!
Disliked: unfortunately, when I read, what appeals to me most is characters -- and I thought there were many extremely interesting and endearing characters in this story -- from gigantic and lovely cousin Junior to Apple's feisty grandfather, and her sweet and messy young cousin. Unfortunately, Apple herself is really irritating, and we spend the entire time in her head. There's something about the way her character thinks and speaks that is excessively convoluted? sarcastic? awkward? and after a while I just found it really tiring to read. I could swear this book is 400 pages, not 250. To me, that's a trademark of a debut author, and not a particularly bad one -- clearly Quigley is an accomplished nonfiction writer for adults, and I look forward to seeing what more experience as a writer for young people brings to her work.
As far as ratings go, my reviews are personal opinions/reactions about books so that I can remember how I felt about a book. I am not the intended audience, and I support this book in general, so I leave the stars off of it, in hopes that other people will decide for themselves.
Disliked: unfortunately, when I read, what appeals to me most is characters -- and I thought there were many extremely interesting and endearing characters in this story -- from gigantic and lovely cousin Junior to Apple's feisty grandfather, and her sweet and messy young cousin. Unfortunately, Apple herself is really irritating, and we spend the entire time in her head. There's something about the way her character thinks and speaks that is excessively convoluted? sarcastic? awkward? and after a while I just found it really tiring to read. I could swear this book is 400 pages, not 250. To me, that's a trademark of a debut author, and not a particularly bad one -- clearly Quigley is an accomplished nonfiction writer for adults, and I look forward to seeing what more experience as a writer for young people brings to her work.
As far as ratings go, my reviews are personal opinions/reactions about books so that I can remember how I felt about a book. I am not the intended audience, and I support this book in general, so I leave the stars off of it, in hopes that other people will decide for themselves.