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A review by alys
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
4.0
As I was reading the book, I kept thinking that while it was very well written, it was also a pretty standard depiction of a girl in foster care. Then I realized that this is one of the first books to feature a character of this nature, that all of the other books are copying this one, rather than the other way around.
The book was written in 1978, the year before I was born. It has aged very well. There are a handful of dated TV references, but luckily they are largely the sort of things that have sense become pop culture touchstones, like Mission Impossible. Gilly's mother being a "faded flower child" was more relevant in the late '70's than it would be today, but the relationships were true, even if the specific details might be dated.
The ending drove me insane. On the one hand, I can see a little bit of hope in that Gilly is resiliant and will be able to cope. On the other hand, it is extremely depressing, and really seems to be ending with Gilly deeply unhappy and with no possibility of her circumstances changing, despite her wanting them to. Up until that last phone call I had thought she was beginning to enjoy being in her new home, but the last page or two of the book made me think that she was not at all happy after all.
The book was written in 1978, the year before I was born. It has aged very well. There are a handful of dated TV references, but luckily they are largely the sort of things that have sense become pop culture touchstones, like Mission Impossible. Gilly's mother being a "faded flower child" was more relevant in the late '70's than it would be today, but the relationships were true, even if the specific details might be dated.
The ending drove me insane. On the one hand, I can see a little bit of hope in that Gilly is resiliant and will be able to cope. On the other hand, it is extremely depressing, and really seems to be ending with Gilly deeply unhappy and with no possibility of her circumstances changing, despite her wanting them to. Up until that last phone call I had thought she was beginning to enjoy being in her new home, but the last page or two of the book made me think that she was not at all happy after all.