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nzlisam 's review for:
Our Little World
by Karen Winn
One of my most anticipated reads, and Our Little World did not disappoint. I flew through it in a day.
At its heart this was the story of the bond between two sisters, aged only a year apart, one that was often tested, was not always easy – where love and rivalry were interchangeable. Narrated entirely by Borka (Bee) Kocsis who constantly felt overshadowed, inferior, and jealous of her seemingly perfect, popular, beautiful, outgoing younger sister, Audrina, a name I haven’t heard outside of a V.C. Andrews novel.
It was also a mystery. We were first introduced to 12-year-old Bee and 11-year-old Audrina in June of 1985, to their carefree summers days spent playing with their new neighbours across the street, Max (12) and Sally (4), in their small, close-knit, insulated town of Hammend, NJ – a suburban paradise where nothing bad ever happened. Until it did! All summer, the four children had been swimming at Deer Chase Lake on the Jersey Shore, until the fateful day in July when Sally goes missing without a trace. But, don’t be fooled into thinking this was a story involving the investigation into Sally’s disappearance, as the main focus was on the effect such a devastating, life-changing event had on Bee and Audrina.
Out Little World was also a coming-of-age story showcasing the developmental milestones, social and emotional changes, and rights of passage associated with adolescence in the transition from pre-teen to teen. Given the age of the protagonist, and the majority of the supporting characters, and given there was no graphic content, I would catorgorise this one as suitable for a teen audience – it definitely had a YA feel.
And, who doesn’t love nostalgic 80’s? I definitely felt as if I was revisiting my youth in this one, with different yet similar experiences of course, and definitely without the tragic event of a playmate going missing. But, I was the same age as Bee in 1985, have a sister close in age (although we didn’t have as many up’s and down’s as these sisters, but like them our personalities are very different), and I grew up in a cul-de-sac where all the neighbourhood kids played together. Furthermore, I could definitely relate to Bee’s references to jelly shoes, and beaded friendship safety pins, as well as all the other 1980’s memorabilia.
This little gem was a definite hit with me. What an amazing debut!
At its heart this was the story of the bond between two sisters, aged only a year apart, one that was often tested, was not always easy – where love and rivalry were interchangeable. Narrated entirely by Borka (Bee) Kocsis who constantly felt overshadowed, inferior, and jealous of her seemingly perfect, popular, beautiful, outgoing younger sister, Audrina, a name I haven’t heard outside of a V.C. Andrews novel.
It was also a mystery. We were first introduced to 12-year-old Bee and 11-year-old Audrina in June of 1985, to their carefree summers days spent playing with their new neighbours across the street, Max (12) and Sally (4), in their small, close-knit, insulated town of Hammend, NJ – a suburban paradise where nothing bad ever happened. Until it did! All summer, the four children had been swimming at Deer Chase Lake on the Jersey Shore, until the fateful day in July when Sally goes missing without a trace. But, don’t be fooled into thinking this was a story involving the investigation into Sally’s disappearance, as the main focus was on the effect such a devastating, life-changing event had on Bee and Audrina.
Out Little World was also a coming-of-age story showcasing the developmental milestones, social and emotional changes, and rights of passage associated with adolescence in the transition from pre-teen to teen. Given the age of the protagonist, and the majority of the supporting characters, and given there was no graphic content, I would catorgorise this one as suitable for a teen audience – it definitely had a YA feel.
And, who doesn’t love nostalgic 80’s? I definitely felt as if I was revisiting my youth in this one, with different yet similar experiences of course, and definitely without the tragic event of a playmate going missing. But, I was the same age as Bee in 1985, have a sister close in age (although we didn’t have as many up’s and down’s as these sisters, but like them our personalities are very different), and I grew up in a cul-de-sac where all the neighbourhood kids played together. Furthermore, I could definitely relate to Bee’s references to jelly shoes, and beaded friendship safety pins, as well as all the other 1980’s memorabilia.
This little gem was a definite hit with me. What an amazing debut!