Jacob Have I Loved
by Katherine Paterson
published
January 2009
(first published 1980)
by Scholastic
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binding
Paperback, 244 pages
literary awards
Newberry Medal
isbn
0590434985
(isbn13: 9780590434980)
description
"Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated . . ." With her grandmother's taunt, Louise knew that she, like the biblical Esau, was the des...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 2996)
Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
Die-hard Katherine Patterson fans
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Read in September, 2008
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Read in June, 2008
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
anyone
I read this beautifully written book in one sitting. It's the story of Louise, a young girl growing up in the shadow of her beautiful, talented twin sister. In the course of the book, Louise endures the youthful tribulations of falling in love (first with a man who's almost old enough to be her grandfather, then with a childhood friend who used to seem "second-rate" to her) and finding a place for herself doing "man's work" in the tiny, insulated island community in which she...more
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Read in August, 2008
Lines that I loved:
It would have been harder to stay away and imagine what people were staying about me than to go and face them.
How could I face a lifetime of passive waiting?
For a moment is our sorrow. Joy forever in the sky.
But to fear is one thing. To let fear grab you by the tail and swing you around is another.
Annoyance drove out panic.
But I was not a generous person. I couldn’t afford to be. Call was my only friend. If I gave him up to the Captain, I’d have no ...more
It would have been harder to stay away and imagine what people were staying about me than to go and face them.
How could I face a lifetime of passive waiting?
For a moment is our sorrow. Joy forever in the sky.
But to fear is one thing. To let fear grab you by the tail and swing you around is another.
Annoyance drove out panic.
But I was not a generous person. I couldn’t afford to be. Call was my only friend. If I gave him up to the Captain, I’d have no ...more
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Read in June, 2008
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I remember loving this book as a kid, so I picked it up the other day. I'm not exactly sure why I liked it so much, because this time around I didn't find it nearly entertaining. Also I didn't feel sorry for Louise this time around; most everything Caroline got that Louise didn't was due to Louise's inability to speak up, or because her attempts to get something for herself completely backfired due to her passive-aggressive ways of doing so.
Also, I must say, I got a little wigged out when sh...more
Also, I must say, I got a little wigged out when sh...more
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Read in January, 1995
recommends it for:
teen girls and their parents
I highly recommend this book to teen girls and their parents. The central girl is foiled at every turn in her life by lack of money, lack of parental support, lack of beauty... and also by her overbearing and truly gifted sister. When she connects with her grandmother, listens to her and learns to let go of all these restrictions, to let go of any resentment, frustration or bitterness and to get out and do what she needs to do to live her own life, she does!
She finds peace, happiness and...more
She finds peace, happiness and...more
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Read in August, 2008
recommends it for:
people interested in sibling rivalry, twins
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Read in March, 1990
One day my somewhat eccentric fifth grade teacher Mrs. Gray saw me reading this book at my desk. It was probably my third time through the book, but to be honest had only read the bits that interested me. She wanted to know how I liked it. Our class had started reading "Bridge to Terebithia" that month so I think she thought I liked that work so much I wanted to read more Katherine Patterson. I didn't, I just liked the cover art and had found the sisters' story easy to relate to. I rer...more
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Read in March, 2008
Jacob Have I Loved, winner of the 1981 Newberry Award, explores themes of sibling rivalry, jealousy, and being torn between desire and duty. All her life, Sara Louise has been overshadowed by her prettier, talented twin sister Caroline who calls her the distasteful nickname “Wheeze”. Caroline’s singing voice allows for a life filled with opportunities, but what can Louise do other than help with crabbing and oyster fishing? When a mysterious sea captain comes to the island, Sara Louise hop...more
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Read in August, 2008
recommended to Melissa by:
Diana Warinerrecommends it for: all young and adult women
Katerine Paterson writes to a level of personal devastation that moves me deeply to tears. Although both of the books I’ve read of hers, Bridge to Terabithia and this wonderful novel, Jacob Have I Loved, are sad, they are not depressing or horrible. The level of sadness is right, accepted, and wonderful that I could relate to. Somehow after two-hundred pages of one heart break after another, Katherine Paterson draws the reader to an appropriate, satisfying, and redeeming end. ...more
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I thought I'd read at least part of this when I was a kid, but I see now that I didn't--I remember being turned off by the idea of "Esau-have-I-hated", and I didn't like the cover (not pictured here, but the copy in the library when I was a kid, and the one I just read, has a bitter Louise and a ghostly-looking Caroline with a sickly-sweet smile--I think later one of my sisters had the paperback with the pretty cover of them walking on the beach, which I do like).
Anyway, I enjoyed ...more
Anyway, I enjoyed ...more
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Read in July, 2007
There's no use lying about it; I was deeply disappointed in this book. I absolutely loved Bridge to Terabithia, which I read about two years ago, so I had high hopes for this book. It was a small book, with a nice cover, and I liked the feeling of holding it in my hands. Basically, I would have enjoyed this book far more if I'd just held it instead of actually opening it and reading it. I started it in the car on the way up to Oklahoma City and finished it the next day. And I only really enjoyed...more
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Read in July, 2006
I spent the summer of 2006 trying to read all of the Newberry award winners and that's how this book wound up in my hands. I had read Bridge to Terabithia a couple of years before and really enjoyed it, so my expectations were high. I came away from it very disappointed. First of all, in my opinion the part where Louise becomes infatuated with the captain should be ommitted from the book entirely. It doesn't belong and it isn't appropriate for the age group this book was intended for. The ot...more
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Read in April, 2007
recommends it for:
YA, adults
I bought this book for my classroom, but it's more appropriate for older teens. Paterson (Bridge to Terebithia) tells the story of two young women growing up on an island off the SE coast. Sarah Louise, a thin-skinned tomboy, has to deal with intense feelings of jealousy as her sister Caroline seems to get everything, including the strange, serious boy Sarah befriends. Sarah's crazy, religious grandmother gives the book its title. Paterson was a Presbyterian missionary at one time, but the book ...more
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Read in April, 2008
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Read in July, 2008
recommends it for:
no one!
Sheesh, I absolutely hated this book. It doesn't even give you the satisfaction of seeing Miss Perfect Goldilocks get hers in the end (or at least, seeing her admit what a hell she made for her sister).
I really don't get why this received the Newberry. I read it bc I felt I had missed something but now I wished I hadn't. Books tend to become part of your soul and this one gave (and continues to give) me the creeps! The most depressing story I've ever read in my life.
I really don't get why this received the Newberry. I read it bc I felt I had missed something but now I wished I hadn't. Books tend to become part of your soul and this one gave (and continues to give) me the creeps! The most depressing story I've ever read in my life.
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Read in May, 2008
My first time reading this...in preparation for the NY Chapter Betsy-Tacy Violent Study Club next Monday. Paterson is some tough stuff. Her books are no easy read, but they reward you with a grunt - not a sigh - of satisfaction at the end. (Or, in the case of Bridge to Terabithia, major tears.)
From the book blurb, I was expecting melodrama and an abusive family. But, although her home life isn't all sunshine, Sara Louise's problem is not her family. Her struggle for inner peace is with herself...more
From the book blurb, I was expecting melodrama and an abusive family. But, although her home life isn't all sunshine, Sara Louise's problem is not her family. Her struggle for inner peace is with herself...more
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