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From: Megan Schliesman <mjschlie>
Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 19:28:34 -0600
Thank you to Dean Schneider, whose comments on Hope Was Here reminded me that it is important to step back and take a look at the whole book and not always get so caught up in angst over the details. His message and mine might have been about two totally different books.
I agree with the good things Dean says about Hope Was Here. The political plotline I referred to in my earlier message is an element of the plot as a whole but not the heart of it. It's a book about dealing with changes, living with cancer, and embracing life . The main characters and jump off the page and into real life--they ARE real and grounded and wonderful.
Perhaps that realism is one of the reasons why the improbability of aspects of the political plotline bothered me: because there are many good and true things about the book and the characters and what they represent and the other elements were jarring. My concerns make a difference for me in my own overall assessment of the book's distinction, but Dean's message reminded me of the rest of the story--the heart of the story--that I failed to give heed to and need to remember.
Megan
Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's BOok Center
Received on Wed 17 Jan 2001 07:28:34 PM CST
Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 19:28:34 -0600
Thank you to Dean Schneider, whose comments on Hope Was Here reminded me that it is important to step back and take a look at the whole book and not always get so caught up in angst over the details. His message and mine might have been about two totally different books.
I agree with the good things Dean says about Hope Was Here. The political plotline I referred to in my earlier message is an element of the plot as a whole but not the heart of it. It's a book about dealing with changes, living with cancer, and embracing life . The main characters and jump off the page and into real life--they ARE real and grounded and wonderful.
Perhaps that realism is one of the reasons why the improbability of aspects of the political plotline bothered me: because there are many good and true things about the book and the characters and what they represent and the other elements were jarring. My concerns make a difference for me in my own overall assessment of the book's distinction, but Dean's message reminded me of the rest of the story--the heart of the story--that I failed to give heed to and need to remember.
Megan
Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's BOok Center
Received on Wed 17 Jan 2001 07:28:34 PM CST
