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The Book of Fred
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From: angelica
Date: Thu, 19 Dec 2002 13:49:04 -0800
Dear All,
"The Book of Fred" by Abby Bardi grabbed my heart this year. I first learned of it at the American Library Association's annual conference, during the Notable Books for Young Adults open meeting. I picked up the book from the display table; after the first page, I was hooked. I read the first fifty pages, oblivious to the rest of the meeting. Then the meeting ended, and I had to leave the book (very difficult--I thought of stealing it, but did not) and go on to other activities.
When I finally got my own copy, it made me late to work as I had to finish it. This book is compelling! It's the story of Mary Fred, a 15-year-old girl who has been raised in a very resrtictive cult, allowed to read only the New Testament and the Book of Fred. When two of her younger brothers, Fred and Freddie, die of preventable causes, their parents are arrested and Mary Fred is put into foster care in the suburbs of Washington D.C. Her foster family consists of a divorced librarian, her teenage daughter, and the librarian's brother Roy. Mary Fred tries to remain true to her beliefs even while living among Lackers. She has many new experiences: attending school and watching the trashiest shows on daytime TV.
The paperback edition includes reading group discussion questions and an interview with the author in which she explains that "Through the Looking-Glass" was her favorite childhood book. Like Alice, Mary Fred crosses into a new world that seems chaotic and irrational. There is an Oz connection in the plot, too, but even without these references to my own favorite books, I would have loved this novel. Mary Fred and her foster family change each other's lives.
This is a highly recommendable coming-of-age novel about making choices. It is also a commentary on contemporary American society. And then there are those literary tie-ins, so I'd say it's teachable, too.
Ozzily yours, Angelica Carpenter, Curator Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children's Literature E-mail angelica at csufresno.edu
Received on Thu 19 Dec 2002 03:49:04 PM CST
Date: Thu, 19 Dec 2002 13:49:04 -0800
Dear All,
"The Book of Fred" by Abby Bardi grabbed my heart this year. I first learned of it at the American Library Association's annual conference, during the Notable Books for Young Adults open meeting. I picked up the book from the display table; after the first page, I was hooked. I read the first fifty pages, oblivious to the rest of the meeting. Then the meeting ended, and I had to leave the book (very difficult--I thought of stealing it, but did not) and go on to other activities.
When I finally got my own copy, it made me late to work as I had to finish it. This book is compelling! It's the story of Mary Fred, a 15-year-old girl who has been raised in a very resrtictive cult, allowed to read only the New Testament and the Book of Fred. When two of her younger brothers, Fred and Freddie, die of preventable causes, their parents are arrested and Mary Fred is put into foster care in the suburbs of Washington D.C. Her foster family consists of a divorced librarian, her teenage daughter, and the librarian's brother Roy. Mary Fred tries to remain true to her beliefs even while living among Lackers. She has many new experiences: attending school and watching the trashiest shows on daytime TV.
The paperback edition includes reading group discussion questions and an interview with the author in which she explains that "Through the Looking-Glass" was her favorite childhood book. Like Alice, Mary Fred crosses into a new world that seems chaotic and irrational. There is an Oz connection in the plot, too, but even without these references to my own favorite books, I would have loved this novel. Mary Fred and her foster family change each other's lives.
This is a highly recommendable coming-of-age novel about making choices. It is also a commentary on contemporary American society. And then there are those literary tie-ins, so I'd say it's teachable, too.
Ozzily yours, Angelica Carpenter, Curator Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children's Literature E-mail angelica at csufresno.edu
Received on Thu 19 Dec 2002 03:49:04 PM CST
