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A review by erine
Anastasia Has the Answers by Lois Lowry
3.0
The grief plotline: Anastasia's poor Uncle George has just experienced a presumably heavy loss. At the beginning of the story, Anastasia's parents are planning to fly out for Aunt Rose's funeral and the discussion is fairly serious. Until the cause of death is discussed, and then deceased Aunt Rose is mercilessly needled because she died from salmonella poisoning; Anastasia is outlandishly insensitive about this point. Sam is also fairly insensitive, but he's what, four? He continually reenacts the funeral, which I felt was a realistic reaction.
The singles romance plotline: Uncle George, devastating loss aside, must now be looking for a lady, and Anastasia has a number of them in mind. Her senior neighbor, Gertrude Stein, is given the right of first refusal. Her friend's recently divorced mother is the next offering, but she's not really in the mood for a set-up. And finally, Anastasia's gym teacher gets the suggestive side-eye, although nothing immediately comes of it. Anastasia herself has a minor interlude after realizing she has a "crush" on her gym teacher. Anastasia and her mother have a conversation about how perfectly normal it is to have a crush on an adult woman, but it is pretty thoroughly dismissed as a idolization kind of moment, and not as though there might be actual romantic potential between two women. Yes, this was published in 1986, but reading it 25 years later there was an awkwardly missed opportunity here.
The rope-climbing plotline: Hands-down, most relatable. I, too, remember gym class in which the chosen activity was one I wasn't terribly good at, sparking all kinds of anxiety. In the end, Anastasia works with her mother and practices, and manages to improve. The foreign educational figures element of this plotline seemed out of place and unrealistic, and just a setup for the missed opportunity to recite poetry and therefore the renewed determination to show off the rope climbing.
Overall, not my favorite Anastasia, but the redeeming parts (Sam's perpetual funerals and Anastasia's rope climbing anxiety) are still worthwhile bits.
The singles romance plotline: Uncle George, devastating loss aside, must now be looking for a lady, and Anastasia has a number of them in mind. Her senior neighbor, Gertrude Stein, is given the right of first refusal. Her friend's recently divorced mother is the next offering, but she's not really in the mood for a set-up. And finally, Anastasia's gym teacher gets the suggestive side-eye, although nothing immediately comes of it. Anastasia herself has a minor interlude after realizing she has a "crush" on her gym teacher. Anastasia and her mother have a conversation about how perfectly normal it is to have a crush on an adult woman, but it is pretty thoroughly dismissed as a idolization kind of moment, and not as though there might be actual romantic potential between two women. Yes, this was published in 1986, but reading it 25 years later there was an awkwardly missed opportunity here.
The rope-climbing plotline: Hands-down, most relatable. I, too, remember gym class in which the chosen activity was one I wasn't terribly good at, sparking all kinds of anxiety. In the end, Anastasia works with her mother and practices, and manages to improve. The foreign educational figures element of this plotline seemed out of place and unrealistic, and just a setup for the missed opportunity to recite poetry and therefore the renewed determination to show off the rope climbing.
Overall, not my favorite Anastasia, but the redeeming parts (Sam's perpetual funerals and Anastasia's rope climbing anxiety) are still worthwhile bits.