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Moving on to the Tillermans
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From: lhendr at unm.edu <lhendr>
Date: Sun, 16 May 1999 12:35:29 -0600 (MDT)
I've really appreciated Eliza's insights on Dicey's Song. I read that book first, probably because it was the Newbery-winner, and although I was impressed I don't retain such a lasting impression of it. Maybe it is much better to read Homecoming first? When I read Homecoming, I absolutely loved it, and I still tell people about it often, and have had many of my students read and love it. After Homecoming I wanted to read all the rest of Voigt's books, and even waited for them to come out.
I loved the way A Solitary Blue told the story of Jeff and the way it tied in with Dicey's Song -- the same story, but from another perspective. And I liked Come a Stranger for the same reasons. But The Runner was probably my favorite after Homecoming. It seemed the most emotionally intense, and there is something about the way it goes into the past to explain, as Walter says, the character of Gram and give the rest of the stories a richer context. I also identified with it because Bullet was of my generation.
I read A Solitary Blue with interest mainly because I wanted to know more about the Tillermans, but the book is not one that had a long-term impact on me. I think I finished it wanting to know still more, but figuring I wasn't ever going to know more. And, by the time Seventeen Against the Dealer appeared, I'd given up trying to keep up with the Tillermans -I've yet to read it, or any of Voigt's later work -- strange since I really do love her work -- but I've had too many newer authors to discover.
I think of all the books, the two that stand alone the best may be Homecoming and The Runner, if one is to read them not knowing the other books. Homecoming follows the traditional narrative of the journey, so the plot alone makes good telling. I don't know if The Runner would have had such a powerful impact on me if it hadn't been layered with my knowledge of what was to come later. I wonder if this will be how it will be watching the new Phantom Star Wars movie? Like Lucas, Voigt has created distinctive characters that we care about, have made a part of our lives, and we keep reading because of this.
Guess, I'd better find Seventeen Against the Dealer and go back and reread the rest, especially Dicey's Song, too.
Linnea
Linnea Hendrickson Albuquerque, New Mexico Children's Literature: A Guide to the Criticism (1987) at: http://www.unm.edu/~lhendr Lhendr at unm.edu
Received on Sun 16 May 1999 01:35:29 PM CDT
Date: Sun, 16 May 1999 12:35:29 -0600 (MDT)
I've really appreciated Eliza's insights on Dicey's Song. I read that book first, probably because it was the Newbery-winner, and although I was impressed I don't retain such a lasting impression of it. Maybe it is much better to read Homecoming first? When I read Homecoming, I absolutely loved it, and I still tell people about it often, and have had many of my students read and love it. After Homecoming I wanted to read all the rest of Voigt's books, and even waited for them to come out.
I loved the way A Solitary Blue told the story of Jeff and the way it tied in with Dicey's Song -- the same story, but from another perspective. And I liked Come a Stranger for the same reasons. But The Runner was probably my favorite after Homecoming. It seemed the most emotionally intense, and there is something about the way it goes into the past to explain, as Walter says, the character of Gram and give the rest of the stories a richer context. I also identified with it because Bullet was of my generation.
I read A Solitary Blue with interest mainly because I wanted to know more about the Tillermans, but the book is not one that had a long-term impact on me. I think I finished it wanting to know still more, but figuring I wasn't ever going to know more. And, by the time Seventeen Against the Dealer appeared, I'd given up trying to keep up with the Tillermans -I've yet to read it, or any of Voigt's later work -- strange since I really do love her work -- but I've had too many newer authors to discover.
I think of all the books, the two that stand alone the best may be Homecoming and The Runner, if one is to read them not knowing the other books. Homecoming follows the traditional narrative of the journey, so the plot alone makes good telling. I don't know if The Runner would have had such a powerful impact on me if it hadn't been layered with my knowledge of what was to come later. I wonder if this will be how it will be watching the new Phantom Star Wars movie? Like Lucas, Voigt has created distinctive characters that we care about, have made a part of our lives, and we keep reading because of this.
Guess, I'd better find Seventeen Against the Dealer and go back and reread the rest, especially Dicey's Song, too.
Linnea
Linnea Hendrickson Albuquerque, New Mexico Children's Literature: A Guide to the Criticism (1987) at: http://www.unm.edu/~lhendr Lhendr at unm.edu
Received on Sun 16 May 1999 01:35:29 PM CDT
