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I saw the author speak at the National Book Festival and was very impressed with her presentation. I wanted to read Smile, but they weren't selling it, so I bought this for my niece instead. I'm so glad I did! The morning after the festival I read it. And I loved it.
The artwork is great -- great expressions and drawings that are perfect for juveniles and tell the story expertly. The author intersperses flashbacks to her younger years (wanting a sister and then living with her sister as she grows up -- sisters never play the way you want them too!!) with the main story of her family road trip as a young teen from California to Colorado. I love how this distinction was made by the flashbacks printed on a yellow-colored paper -- as if the memories are aged. Being fourteen and stuck in a care with a younger sister and brother and an exasperated mom is no picnic.
The story is autobiographical and the reader can tell. I was instantly thrown back to my own teenage years dealing with two younger sisters and a younger brother (being the oldest is not as fun as it seems!). Trying to fit in with cool, older cousins is hard and can be disappointing (been there too). The book also vividly recalled my own family camping trip to Colorado for a family wedding (though we traveled from VA and I was eight). Personally I loved this book because it could have been written by me (had I any artistic talent, which I do not). However, the intended audience will adore it as well. Any girl with a younger sibling can relate to the annoying younger sister; and hopefully learn that maybe she isn't so bad after all.
(PS -- I may have to buy another copy for my niece. I think this one's staying with me)
The artwork is great -- great expressions and drawings that are perfect for juveniles and tell the story expertly. The author intersperses flashbacks to her younger years (wanting a sister and then living with her sister as she grows up -- sisters never play the way you want them too!!) with the main story of her family road trip as a young teen from California to Colorado. I love how this distinction was made by the flashbacks printed on a yellow-colored paper -- as if the memories are aged. Being fourteen and stuck in a care with a younger sister and brother and an exasperated mom is no picnic.
The story is autobiographical and the reader can tell. I was instantly thrown back to my own teenage years dealing with two younger sisters and a younger brother (being the oldest is not as fun as it seems!). Trying to fit in with cool, older cousins is hard and can be disappointing (been there too). The book also vividly recalled my own family camping trip to Colorado for a family wedding (though we traveled from VA and I was eight). Personally I loved this book because it could have been written by me (had I any artistic talent, which I do not). However, the intended audience will adore it as well. Any girl with a younger sibling can relate to the annoying younger sister; and hopefully learn that maybe she isn't so bad after all.
(PS -- I may have to buy another copy for my niece. I think this one's staying with me)