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From: Linnea Hendrickson <Lhendr>
Date: Sun, 19 Feb 2006 17:51:37 -0700
Here's what I wrote in my review for my school district, not as concise or polished as it would be for publication, but I tried to write what I thought other elementary or middle school librarians and teachers would want to know when deciding whether to purchase the book or not:
> This is quite an amazing book, written from the multiple perspectives
> of various young people mostly 14-15 years old, in a small town,
> probably in the early 1970s, who are coming into awareness of
> themselves and their relationships with each other and the opposite sex.
>
> Each chapter is a vignette from the perspective of one or more of the
> characters, and the stories happen sometimes at the same time and
> sometimes days or even weeks apart. The strands of these lives criss
> cross, sometimes without actually making contact. Criss cross is the
> name of a radio show that 3 or 4 of them often listen to while sitting
> in a truck in a driveway. There are many literary allusions: to Nancy
> Drew, Wuthering Heights, the Wizard of Oz, and more, and there are
> stories within stories. The text is interspersed with Perkins? black
> and white illustrations, sometimes drawings and sometimes photographs,
> and by songs that the characters, especially Hector writes. There is
> much in here of every day life, small events, the characters?
> thoughts, their interactions. The characters are likeable, and their
> experiences will resonate for many readers. Certain children will
> definitely relate to this book ? others may find it totally beyond
> them. It would read aloud well to certain 5^th or 6^th graders, who
> might understand it better by hearing it read aloud than reading it
> for themselves. Children who enjoyed /All Alone in the Universe/ will
> also enjoy this book. Children who enjoyed /Walk Two Moons/ will also
> probably like this book. There is no sex beyond a bit of hand-holding
> and a quick kiss or two. Age-level will depend on whether the students
> can handle the sophisticated multiple-perspectives, and whether they
> are of an age to relate to the concerns of the characters of the book
> ? thoughts about who they are, the nature of existence, relationships,
> and seeing and being seen. It is a rich book in terms of imagery,
> ideas, and slice of life encounters, with some lovely writing. A
> /Ulysses, /a /Winesberg, Ohio/ for adolescents and almost adolescents.
>
The appeal of the book for me lies both in the writing and in my emotional identification with the characters. Debbie's self-reflections, especially, almost take me back to /Seventeenth Summer. /And even though I grew up earlier than the time period of this book, and after the time period of /Seventeenth Summer/, the lives and concerns of young teens growing up in a small town didn't seem much different from what I knew.
Date: Sun, 19 Feb 2006 17:51:37 -0700
Here's what I wrote in my review for my school district, not as concise or polished as it would be for publication, but I tried to write what I thought other elementary or middle school librarians and teachers would want to know when deciding whether to purchase the book or not:
> This is quite an amazing book, written from the multiple perspectives
> of various young people mostly 14-15 years old, in a small town,
> probably in the early 1970s, who are coming into awareness of
> themselves and their relationships with each other and the opposite sex.
>
> Each chapter is a vignette from the perspective of one or more of the
> characters, and the stories happen sometimes at the same time and
> sometimes days or even weeks apart. The strands of these lives criss
> cross, sometimes without actually making contact. Criss cross is the
> name of a radio show that 3 or 4 of them often listen to while sitting
> in a truck in a driveway. There are many literary allusions: to Nancy
> Drew, Wuthering Heights, the Wizard of Oz, and more, and there are
> stories within stories. The text is interspersed with Perkins? black
> and white illustrations, sometimes drawings and sometimes photographs,
> and by songs that the characters, especially Hector writes. There is
> much in here of every day life, small events, the characters?
> thoughts, their interactions. The characters are likeable, and their
> experiences will resonate for many readers. Certain children will
> definitely relate to this book ? others may find it totally beyond
> them. It would read aloud well to certain 5^th or 6^th graders, who
> might understand it better by hearing it read aloud than reading it
> for themselves. Children who enjoyed /All Alone in the Universe/ will
> also enjoy this book. Children who enjoyed /Walk Two Moons/ will also
> probably like this book. There is no sex beyond a bit of hand-holding
> and a quick kiss or two. Age-level will depend on whether the students
> can handle the sophisticated multiple-perspectives, and whether they
> are of an age to relate to the concerns of the characters of the book
> ? thoughts about who they are, the nature of existence, relationships,
> and seeing and being seen. It is a rich book in terms of imagery,
> ideas, and slice of life encounters, with some lovely writing. A
> /Ulysses, /a /Winesberg, Ohio/ for adolescents and almost adolescents.
>
The appeal of the book for me lies both in the writing and in my emotional identification with the characters. Debbie's self-reflections, especially, almost take me back to /Seventeenth Summer. /And even though I grew up earlier than the time period of this book, and after the time period of /Seventeenth Summer/, the lives and concerns of young teens growing up in a small town didn't seem much different from what I knew.
-- Linnea Linnea Hendrickson Albuquerque, NM Lhendr at unm.edu http://www.unm.edu/~lhendrReceived on Sun 19 Feb 2006 06:51:37 PM CST
