Hollis Woods has been in so many foster homes she can hardly remember them all. She even runs away from the Regans, the one family who offers her a...
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Jan 27, 2012
Cara
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When I finished reading this book I actually gave a little yell of happiness. I knew there was a good reason why I wanted to re-read this book. I had read it a couple years back and wanted to know for sure why I had liked it so much the first time around.
The book touches on what is most important in life and we are shown this by a girl named Hollis Woods. (btw I thought the name was pretty unique) Hollis has been toted around from foster home to foster home. She is good at running aw More...
The book touches on what is most important in life and we are shown this by a girl named Hollis Woods. (btw I thought the name was pretty unique) Hollis has been toted around from foster home to foster home. She is good at running aw More...
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Apr 13, 2008
malc623
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Oct 16, 2007
sweetsweetclem
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Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff (Author of the Newbery Honor Book Lily's Crossing) is a book about a girl named Hollis Woods (abviously) who is an orphan. She has gone from house to house always getting kicked out for things she doesn't even always do, until finally she finds a family she really feels apart of.
She likes to draw pictures, and that's why I think it is called PICTURES of HOLLIS WOODS.
Almost every chapter of the book goes back and forth. One More...
She likes to draw pictures, and that's why I think it is called PICTURES of HOLLIS WOODS.
Almost every chapter of the book goes back and forth. One More...
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Jun 15, 2008
Mylife54321
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I personally quite enjoyed this book, it was of a girl in hard times, after all she was an orphan, first she finds a good home, then she breaks the car with her new brother and runs away afraid of getting in big trouble for injuring him badly, this girl is a great artist; mainly a drawer, but when she finds another great home what does she do when something happens to her beloved Josie, what will Hollis do so her and Josie will stay together forever?
(this book is also a movie)
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(this book is also a movie)
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Mar 09, 2009
Josie
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Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff
Published by Wendy Lamb Books
2002
Fiction
Grades 5-7
Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff is a real page turner and a well written one at that. The novel is divided into "pictures" or flashbacks/memories of Hollis and the present day story, identified as "The Time With Josie." These sections are clearly titled and distinguishable; the past is also written in italics, even when Holli More...
Published by Wendy Lamb Books
2002
Fiction
Grades 5-7
Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff is a real page turner and a well written one at that. The novel is divided into "pictures" or flashbacks/memories of Hollis and the present day story, identified as "The Time With Josie." These sections are clearly titled and distinguishable; the past is also written in italics, even when Holli More...
Jan 09, 2012
Alexa
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Hollis Woods was left by her parents in the woods on a stormy night. She was sent to foster homes for the rest of her life but she could never find the family that she liked so she ran away. Every time she went to a new home, she would run away. People referred to her as "mountain of trouble." One day, Hollis found a home that she liked. Unfortunately, the woman she was staying with (Josie) was very old and was losing her memory. She was an artist and loved taking care of Hollis. Holli
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Jan 08, 2012
Sandi
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I think this book means to do well, and its by a "beloved author", but, oh my did it have flaws. First off, it's shallow and too simple. I know it is for children, but there is no reason to weaken a story, or to dumb it down. Yes, I appreciate that this is a clean book, without as much as even a kiss or hand holding. I like that because clean is hard to find, and as a 6 th grade teacher, a necessity. It wasn't necessary to describe any abusive situations in Hollis' life (she is a
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Jul 28, 2011
Laura
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Grade 4-7 -Abandoned at birth, Hollis Woods has lived in about a half dozen homes and has always wished for a family. A foster caretaker describes her as "a mountain of trouble." When Josie Cahill, a retired art teacher, takes the 12-year-old into her home on Long Island, NY, the two bond almost immediately. Hollis draws pictures with colored pencils and Josie carves branches into people. However, it soon becomes clear that Josie has trouble remembering things, and Hollis becomes the c
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Jun 05, 2011
Diane
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This novel tells the story of Hollis Woods, a young girl who was abandoned by her mother as a baby. Hollis enters the foster care system and is notorious for running away from each home that she is placed into. While staying with Josie Cahill, an elderly woman with Alzheimer's, Hollis finally learns what it is like to be needed and relives her life through drawings. As the story unfolds, Hollis finally discovers where she truly belongs.
The constant flip between present time and p More...
The constant flip between present time and p More...
Dec 26, 2010
Linda
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What a wonderful, wonderful book! This 2003 Newbery Honor winner might be my #1 book of the year!
Hollis Woods received her name from the area in which she was abandoned as an infant.
Hollis Woods received her spunk after years of feeling neglected and unwanted.
Hollis Woods, like most people who learned hard knocks at an early age, built a hard impenetrable wall around her soul.
Shuffled by the system into one house after another, Hollis Woods, simply ran away when she More...
Hollis Woods received her name from the area in which she was abandoned as an infant.
Hollis Woods received her spunk after years of feeling neglected and unwanted.
Hollis Woods, like most people who learned hard knocks at an early age, built a hard impenetrable wall around her soul.
Shuffled by the system into one house after another, Hollis Woods, simply ran away when she More...
Nov 12, 2010
Kyla
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This book, I believe is one that is both emotional and entertaining. The main character Hollis Woods faces the hard life of being a foster kid. Her mother abandoned her when she was only a baby, so she lives her life everyday feeling alone and unaccepted. Hollis feels like she has no place in the world. She believes that since her mother gave her up, she was not good enough for her or anyone else on planet earth. Hollis goes from home to home, and every time, with every family, it just does not
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Oct 29, 2010
Sahara
rated it:
yes i did this book was a amazing book, i would always recommend this book too someone
i already want to read it again...i finsh it all the way through it touck me exactly
3 weeks to finsh this book.. i felt like i wanted to cry in the last paragraph its a very
emotional book. that i kind of know were she was coming from. thats why i touck it so
emotional cause i felt like i knew what she was going threw.
i reccomend you read this book you will absolutly love it.
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i already want to read it again...i finsh it all the way through it touck me exactly
3 weeks to finsh this book.. i felt like i wanted to cry in the last paragraph its a very
emotional book. that i kind of know were she was coming from. thats why i touck it so
emotional cause i felt like i knew what she was going threw.
i reccomend you read this book you will absolutly love it.
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Oct 29, 2010
Logan
rated it:
Yes i did, i liked this book because it was talking about drawing pictures, making sculptures, and other art stuff. I would recommend this book to others especially people who like to draw. I already finished it. These emotions caused me to feel really bad for the kids that have to be in foster homes
The character of Hollis Woods was a great character she was a person that you really couldn't understand. This story took place in a snowy town in which Hollis Woods called branches. Ho More...
The character of Hollis Woods was a great character she was a person that you really couldn't understand. This story took place in a snowy town in which Hollis Woods called branches. Ho More...
Oct 27, 2010
Pictures of Hollis Woods is my kind of book. I looked at the cover of the book, and I most definitely did not expect it to be about a young 11-year-old girl. For some reason I thought it was going to be about the Holocaust (because of the cover). Hollis was a young girl who was passed from foster home to foster home. All of the homes seemed to run together. In her mind, each dwelling she was placed at, was just like the last. She was very good at pushing people away because she had to do it so f
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Oct 27, 2010
Rachel
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I really liked this book! I thought it was a fabulous story of a young girl’s on adventure and struggles that make her and a woman stay together and overcome obstacles. I found this book most in part enjoyable because it is different from the perfect family. Everyone believes that they have a perfect family, but, Hollis is still trying to find her perfect family. She thinks that she has found it but, then a few things within the family lead her to believe that it may after all not be the “perfec
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Oct 26, 2010
Becca
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Oct 16, 2010
Kristen
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I had mixed feelings about this book. There are parts of the story that I was connected with and thought had the potential to be developed into a more meaningful and expansive story about Hollis Woods. Yet, the book had significant holes in the thread of the story and I felt that it did not give enough background to paint a full, clear picture of who Hollis was and how her life had unfolded. I thought the story of her and Josie lacked lucidity and authentic emotion. I never felt as if their rela
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Sep 30, 2010
Mskovar
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A 12-year old girl named Hollis Woods is the classic orphan; she has run away from foster home after foster home. She even left the Regans, a Long Island, New York family with whom she had finally become comfortable. Now she has come to live with eccentric Josie, a retired art teacher who fosters Hollis’s artistic talent. Yet, Hollis is not willing to sit still for long. She worries about Josie’s growing forgetfulness and she desperately misses the Regans. Hollis’ conflict, her ultimate str
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May 03, 2010
Nicole
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My daughter read this book for a book report (the book had to be a Newberry book). I remember seeing it in the school library when I used to volunteer to take her class a few years ago. I remembered it when she brought it home and wanted to read it after she was finished.
I loved this book. It's very well written. It's told from the main character's point of view, a young girl in and out of foster homes because she feels like she doesn't belong anywhere. My heart ached for her from th More...
I loved this book. It's very well written. It's told from the main character's point of view, a young girl in and out of foster homes because she feels like she doesn't belong anywhere. My heart ached for her from th More...
Apr 06, 2010
Lisa
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Pictures of Hollis Woods By: Patricia Reilly Giff ISBN: 0-440-41578-0,2004.
Hollis Woods was abandoned at birth and has lived in about a half dozen foster homes. When she goes to live with Jose Cahill, a retired Art teacher at the age of twelve the two of them hit it off immediately. Slowly Jose can’t seem to remember things and Hollis becomes the caregiver. When Hollis stops attending school the social worker must look into the situation further. The author integrates Hollis’ past fos More...
Hollis Woods was abandoned at birth and has lived in about a half dozen foster homes. When she goes to live with Jose Cahill, a retired Art teacher at the age of twelve the two of them hit it off immediately. Slowly Jose can’t seem to remember things and Hollis becomes the caregiver. When Hollis stops attending school the social worker must look into the situation further. The author integrates Hollis’ past fos More...
Apr 13, 2009
Tina
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Pictures of Hollis Woods
By Patricia Reilly Giff
This book is a book that will touch your heart, “Pictures of Hollis Woods”, by Patricia Reilly Giff. This is a very good book to read when you are feeling sad or depressed. It really brings out the inner “you “. Hollis had never known how it felt to be truly loved, until she met her foster parent Josie. The downside of Hollis and Josie having an incredible bond is that Josie is loosing her memory. If the secret service finds More...
By Patricia Reilly Giff
This book is a book that will touch your heart, “Pictures of Hollis Woods”, by Patricia Reilly Giff. This is a very good book to read when you are feeling sad or depressed. It really brings out the inner “you “. Hollis had never known how it felt to be truly loved, until she met her foster parent Josie. The downside of Hollis and Josie having an incredible bond is that Josie is loosing her memory. If the secret service finds More...
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Sep 24, 2011
Bethany
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Hollis Woods, named for the woods she was found in when she was just hours old. She's never had a family, and she never stays in one place for long. She stops going to school, runs away, and then she's sent somewhere new. There was a family, the Old Man, his wife, Izzy, and Steven, the son. They were different, but something happened, up on the Old Man's mountain, that sent Hollis running. Now she's with Josie, who's old, who doesn't remember...a lot of things, a lot of the time. Everythin
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Nov 13, 2009
Josiah
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Pictures of Hollis Woods is a tremendous, deeply moving story told by a writer who is capable of the most wonderful kind of sensitivity in introducing new people, and making us care about them.
The narrative that is Hollis Woods's life resounds with perfect pitch, touching the heart and allowing us to see how Hollis thinks, and why she does the things that she does. It shows us what it's like to be hurting so deeply because one feels unwanted by anyone, to feel like the unexplained ex More...
The narrative that is Hollis Woods's life resounds with perfect pitch, touching the heart and allowing us to see how Hollis thinks, and why she does the things that she does. It shows us what it's like to be hurting so deeply because one feels unwanted by anyone, to feel like the unexplained ex More...
Sep 03, 2011
Leta
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Pictures of Hollis Woods is the story of 12 year old Hollis Woods. Hollis Woods is an orphan, named after the place where she was found, who continually runs away from her foster homes. At the beginning of the book, Hollis is being dropped off at yet another foster home. She is an older woman named Josie. During this time, Hollis reflects upon her time with the Regan family (the previous family she lived with). The book goes back and forth between her current life with Josie and her past li
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Sep 08, 2011
Kara
rated it:
"A picture is worth a thousand words"
Giff takes this to a whole new level. Showing the desire for love and a family in a lonely kid. Hollis Woods has no one, not a Dad, not a Mom, no friends...and no desire for them either. She runs away from all the foster homes she's been in and is just "a bundle of trouble". Until she meets a family. A very awkward family, but still...a family. A family that takes her in and shows her what love is. The whole book is really just a More...
Giff takes this to a whole new level. Showing the desire for love and a family in a lonely kid. Hollis Woods has no one, not a Dad, not a Mom, no friends...and no desire for them either. She runs away from all the foster homes she's been in and is just "a bundle of trouble". Until she meets a family. A very awkward family, but still...a family. A family that takes her in and shows her what love is. The whole book is really just a More...
May 19, 2010
Ms. McKeon
rated it:
I really liked the narrative structure of this story. It shifts between a "present" story and a past told in pictures, which are all either drawings the narrator made or of pictures she had in her mind. The two halves of the story progress together, building gentle suspense and mystery. I have been meaning to read it for a while, and I finally decided to read it so I could help guide one of my book clubs through it. I'm glad I read it before they got too far, because I think the lan
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Aug 05, 2011
Cindy
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Overall Review: Do you ever read a book so good that it makes you want to rush out immediately and read everything that author has ever written? Pictures of Hollis Woods is one of those books. Hollis Woods is an orphan, left in a suburban neighborhood, called Holliswood, as a baby. All she's ever wanted is a family, but the adults in her life describe her as "a mountain of trouble." Can she learn to be a part of the family she's always wanted, or is she doomed to repeat all her past m
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Mar 25, 2010
Shannon
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Mar 13, 2010
Katina
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Hollis Woods was born in the woods bearing the same name. She was left on the ground with out a blanket with a note simply stating,"Please name this child Hollis Woods" What kind of mother would leave her baby in the woods and with out even a blanket Hollis always wondered. The young girl spent her life being sent to one foster home to another. She always stayed a short while before running away or challenging the foster parents. She illustrates pictures of events and places she has vi
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Oct 16, 2010
Ci546_blairwagonheim
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Pictures of Hollis Woods, by Patricia Reilly Giff, is a story about an orphaned girl, named Hollis Woods, who is an extremely talented artist. While described as "a mountain of trouble," by former foster families and social workers, Giff illustrates Hollis as a loving and caring child who only wishes for a family of her own. While Hollis lives with Josie, a retired art teacher who seems to be suffering from the beginning stages of Alzheimer's for the majority of the book, Giff incorpor
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