A review by bubothereader
Belle Teale by Ann M. Martin, Katherine Martin

dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

I appreciate the author’s attempt to deal with racism, child abuse, and Alzheimer’s in the 1960s. However, for a book written in 2000, there were still a lot of racial slurs used, even if by the antagonists. It felt unnecessary. The book struggled to deal with all of these themes at the same time—would have been more successful if it had focused on one. The author also tried to discuss poverty and bullying, but these topics barely scratched the surface. The whole thing just felt contrived and incomplete.