There’s
more to me than
most people
see.
Twelve-year-old Willow would rather blend in than sti... read full description
reviews
May 06, 2008
Elizabeth
rated it: 
The sentence "I told you so!" is deeply satisfying. Granted, the satisfaction you feel when you say it only lasts a minute or two, but for a little while, as you do your "I told you so" dance, you get to feel that thrill of vindication sweeping through your veins. I often feel this way when an author or illustrator I've liked over the years starts garnering a little more notice. Admittedly Helen Frost is maybe not the best example I could call up. After all, she won a Printz
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Jan 22, 2009
Sam
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I make a point of telling everyone who will listen that the best writers are children's/YA authors. The last two books I finished - The Underneath by Kathi Appelt and this one - are perfect examples. Books that are funny, heartbreaking, suspenseful, hopeful without crossing the line into sappiness... just beautifully written books.
Diamond Willow is written in a sort of prose, with 90% of the pages containing diamond-shaped text. Within each diamond-shaped page is a "hidden" More...
Diamond Willow is written in a sort of prose, with 90% of the pages containing diamond-shaped text. Within each diamond-shaped page is a "hidden" More...
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Oct 01, 2008
Dawn
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Twelve year old Willow doesn't feel very special..her best friend likes a boy better than she likes Willow and her dad seems to love his sled dogs more than her. When she finally convinces her parents to let her take the sled and dogs to her grandparents she is beginning to feel pretty special. Tragedy strikes along the way and Roxy's (her favorite dog) eyes are harmed. As she tries to do what is best for Roxy, Willow finds herself on a path that leads directly into a snow storm. Every page i
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Jan 10, 2009
Wendy
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jan 23, 2011
Tahleen
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Told in diamond-shaped poems, this is the story of 12-year-old Willow, a part-Athabascan girl (on her mother's side) who lives in a remote part of Alaska with her family in a tiny community where the only means of transportation are dog sleds and snow machines. Willow isn't very popular at school and tries to stay on the periphery, but she wants her parents to trust her and let her have more responsibility. Finally, her parents let her mush the dogs, led by her favorite, Roxy, alone to her grand
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Jan 13, 2011
Janeen-san
rated it: 
My family and I listened to this book on a road trip today. The tape fit our schedule perfectly, the book was two hours long and we finished it just as we arrived home.
It was an interesting read, but not my favorite. In the beginning there was some angst, which my mom and I both didn't like, but towards the end it got better. This story is about a girl living in Alaska, and she wants to mush the sled dogs to her grandparents house, alone. Then she makes a mistake and her favorite dog gets More...
It was an interesting read, but not my favorite. In the beginning there was some angst, which my mom and I both didn't like, but towards the end it got better. This story is about a girl living in Alaska, and she wants to mush the sled dogs to her grandparents house, alone. Then she makes a mistake and her favorite dog gets More...
Nov 22, 2010
Kristin
rated it:
There have only been three books in my lifetime that have made me cry, and this is one of them. Diamond Willow is about a 12 year-old girl who is of half Athabascan Indian and half European ancestry. She lives with her family in rural / interior Alaska. She wants so badly to take her family's sled dogs out to her grandparents' house by herself (a trip several hours long), and finally, her parents allow her to do so. However, on the trip, Willow drives the sled dogs too fast and the lead dog, Rox
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Aug 29, 2010
Barky
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jun 05, 2010
Gillian
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This book was written in a style that was unfamiliar to me, which made it very interesting to begin. Our school was lucky enough to have the authoress, Helen Frost come to our school, and that gave me more insight on what the book's format intended to show.
The book itself had a very attractive cover and a somewhat cliche title, which is, of course, Diamond Willow. Why would I say such a title is cliche? It's all too popular to name the book for something obvious that the book has to More...
The book itself had a very attractive cover and a somewhat cliche title, which is, of course, Diamond Willow. Why would I say such a title is cliche? It's all too popular to name the book for something obvious that the book has to More...
May 12, 2010
Megan
rated it:
Twelve year old Willow lives in rural Alaska. She wants more than anything to be able to take the dog sled out by herself. She also wants her best friend to stop being boy crazy and her parents to notice that she is growing up. Willow gets her wish and takes the dog sled out alone. Unfortunately an accident occurs that has emotional and physical consequences.
Willow's voice is shown through diamond shaped patterns telling her feelings and thoughts.Certain words are hi More...
Willow's voice is shown through diamond shaped patterns telling her feelings and thoughts.Certain words are hi More...
Jan 21, 2011
Evanhatch
rated it:
Diamond Willow is about a 12 year-old girl named Willow. She lives with her parents and her little sister, Zanna(Susanna) in Alaska.She has another brother named Marty who doesn't live with them Willow is very self conscious, she compares herself to a stick. She was named after a diamond willow stick, a spectacular tree that grows diamonds in place of the tree's injury. However, she feels she was named after just a stick, nothing special. She is also quite unsocial, she has one best friend named
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Jan 05, 2011
sarah
rated it:
luminous and heart-striking and full of life and life-after-death, this book had me dripping tears through the rise and fall of its story arc, and still sniffling to the end. who writes likes this for children? it's a mother's tale, told through a twelve-year-old's eyes. they're always twelve, aren't they. and as willow comes of age, it's in a silent yearning for the true self that can only be found through solitariness, pain, ripping physical and emotional and terrifying. yet even alone, indepe
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Jan 25, 2009
Jeanette
rated it:
In the interior of Alaska 12 year old Willow helps her father with their sled dogs. Willow is shy and considers the lead dog, Roxy, to be her best friend.
She has never taken the dogs out on her own but believes she can mush them to her grandparent's home 12 miles away. She wants her parents to realize she is not a little girl anymore and to listen to her and trust her. After an accident occurs on the trail Willow will have to face some difficult decisions and prove to herself and her fa More...
She has never taken the dogs out on her own but believes she can mush them to her grandparent's home 12 miles away. She wants her parents to realize she is not a little girl anymore and to listen to her and trust her. After an accident occurs on the trail Willow will have to face some difficult decisions and prove to herself and her fa More...
May 12, 2011
Christine
rated it:
I am in a mother/daughter book club and our latest book is called Diamond Willow by Helen Frost. My daughter had already read it for school, and she said it was slow though I think she used the word "boring". For a fifteen year old who goes a mile a minute and reads mostly adult novels, I can see why she said it was boring, but I disagree. In fact I liked it quite a lot. Not totally as an adult reader - though I did enjoy it in that way too - but mostly as a writer.
The stor More...
The stor More...
Mar 16, 2010
Jennifer
rated it:
Diamond Willow is a 12 year old girl who lives with her family in Old Fork, Alaska. Willow, as everyone calls her, is very shy and has a hard time being social with her classmates at school. One day Willow talks her parents into letting her mush their dogs to visit her grandparents for a weekend. On the way home her lead dog Roxy gets hurt and may end up blind. Willow runs away with her only friend Kaylie and Roxy to keep her from getting put down. They get caught in a snowstorm and are watched
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Dec 11, 2009
Meredith
rated it:
this is a carefully crafted book of prose poems written in concrete form: each poem takes the shape of a diamond, and embedded within each diamond is a collection of words in bold that reveal the main character's hidden feelings. the form is taken from the title of the book (and name of the main character)--diamond willow, a characteristic of willow branches in which diamond-shape scars form after a side branch is lost. the form is sensitively chosen and aptly reflects diamond willow's story.
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Nov 10, 2010
Hanasd96
rated it:
Hana Sedivy 6-1 11-10-10
Diamond Willow
I loved this book! It is definitely a little confusing what with the animals who were once humans and some other stuff too. I loved it though because it kind of described me a little.
Willow is definitely not one of those sparkly, popular girls. She does not have a lot of friends. Well, two to be exact. Kaylie, and a dog. A very special dog, Roxy. Willow has a lot of dogs but Roxy is her favorite because More...
Diamond Willow
I loved this book! It is definitely a little confusing what with the animals who were once humans and some other stuff too. I loved it though because it kind of described me a little.
Willow is definitely not one of those sparkly, popular girls. She does not have a lot of friends. Well, two to be exact. Kaylie, and a dog. A very special dog, Roxy. Willow has a lot of dogs but Roxy is her favorite because More...
Jun 25, 2009
Mary
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Oct 26, 2011
Olivia
rated it:
Diamond Willow is about a girl who lives in Alaska and loves dog sledding. There is symbolism in her name as her father saw a diamond willow stick before she was born. She is called Willow. Willow loves her dogs especially her family's favorite, the top sled puller, Roxy. Something bad happens to Roxy and Willow goes to extreme measures in attempt to save her. While this is a heart-warming story about a girl and her dog, there is something even more special and deep about their relationship. Wil
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Apr 29, 2009
Patrick
rated it:
I loved this. It seems that I have become a sucker for prosey books written in non-traditional forms like this (Witness, Heartbeat, etc.), and I am definitely a sucker for well done growing pains and identity searching. I just get a feeling in my heart and want to hug the poor girl. I enjoyed the little mystical aspect of the plot and was surprised when it became more relevant. I liked the things Willow learned, much of the language, the whole diamond willow metaphor, etc. but really the rat
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Dec 08, 2011
Erin
rated it: 
Diamond Willow
By Helen Frost
Another novel in verse (my current obsession) is Diamond Willow by Helen Frost. The book is really cool the way it is constructed, with diamond shaped poems and short chapters, it's a fast read. BUT, the reader has to understand a few things about the book first that the author doesn't tell you to start out. First, Willow lives in Alaska, and she is descended from a native, ancient, tribe that believes that when someone dies they come back in the form o More...
By Helen Frost
Another novel in verse (my current obsession) is Diamond Willow by Helen Frost. The book is really cool the way it is constructed, with diamond shaped poems and short chapters, it's a fast read. BUT, the reader has to understand a few things about the book first that the author doesn't tell you to start out. First, Willow lives in Alaska, and she is descended from a native, ancient, tribe that believes that when someone dies they come back in the form o More...
Sep 10, 2011
Claudia
rated it:
An astonishing story about a girl named Willow, a dog, and a snow-sled on an Alaskan trail. Willow had always wanted to be an average girl, not like the kids who would never stop talking about the Jr. Iditarod, an average girl. She just wanted to be alone with her dogs on the trail, she wanted nobody else to criticize her or annoy her while she was sledding. Her parents finally tell her something she NEVER new before.
If you have read this you will know that the paragraphs are in More...
If you have read this you will know that the paragraphs are in More...
Oct 07, 2009
Toby
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Nov 03, 2011
Kelly
rated it:
This is an interesting book.
Young Willow is a 13 year old girl who is mischievous and ready to take on the world. Along the way, she runs into some trouble however, is then told a super secret that makes her grow.
The format of this book is very interesting. Mostly, each page is formatted into a diamond, like a diamond poem. Frost makes this connection between the text format and the title Diamond Willow. It made the book that much more interesting to read. During the book the More...
Young Willow is a 13 year old girl who is mischievous and ready to take on the world. Along the way, she runs into some trouble however, is then told a super secret that makes her grow.
The format of this book is very interesting. Mostly, each page is formatted into a diamond, like a diamond poem. Frost makes this connection between the text format and the title Diamond Willow. It made the book that much more interesting to read. During the book the More...
Dec 17, 2008
Miz Lizzie
rated it:
Half-Athabaskan, twelve-year-old Willow loves the sled dogs her father raises and trains and longs to be recognized as old enough to mush them by herself to her grandparents’ home in the bush. When she is finally allowed to do so, an accident on her way home starts a chain of events that force Willow to accept responsibility for her own actions while past secrets are revealed. The deep attachment between Willow and her sled dogs, especially Roxy, will touch the hearts of any young dog lover.
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Nov 16, 2011
this book is a great book! the only part that i dont like abou this book is that the text is written like this:
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Mar 03, 2011
Adam
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This is an artistic portrayal of a girl attempting to be taken seriously by her parents and the world around her. Set in the incoporated Alaskan native's world, the elements of the native culture blends with modern life. There are multiple layers of understanding to this (literaly) Diamond Shaped sets of prose.
Helen Frost presents the soul of a child, as she experiences a coming of age experience. Her ability to give the reader a inside view on the feelings behind what she does More...
Helen Frost presents the soul of a child, as she experiences a coming of age experience. Her ability to give the reader a inside view on the feelings behind what she does More...
May 08, 2010
Tiffany
rated it:
This was such a creatively written book! The author writes the main character's voice in diamond shapes with a 'secret' message in each one that gives the reader more insight into Diamond Willow and how she is feeling throughout the book. This was constantly intriguing to me and I couldn't wait to see what the 'secret' message was. Diamond Willow is a young teenage girl who lives in Alaska and comes to find out more about herself, her family, and her dogs through the events that take place in th
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Apr 19, 2010
Kristi
rated it:
Read this as part of RA group discussing the new Illinois Caudill award nominees. So unique! Told in diamond shaped poems with "hidden" messages in each one. Coming of age, family, traditional Alaskan life.. and no more dead dogs! Great for the 4th and 5th graders who read Caudill nominees and should have both boy and girl appeal, despite the female protagonist.
As my colleague Ginny pointed out, Aleutian Sparrow by Karen Hesse would be a good read-alike because of the s More...
As my colleague Ginny pointed out, Aleutian Sparrow by Karen Hesse would be a good read-alike because of the s More...
Dec 22, 2009
Andy
rated it:
A story about a girl named Diamond and her dog Roxy. But it's more than that. Every creature has a spirit that shares its knowledge to either protect or guide the Diamond.
The story is told in diamond shapes -- these aren't poems, but each one reads like a one-page chapter. If there's a reason why the diamonds are of different shapes or sometimes there's two to a page, I didn't discover it.
Diamond shapes are explained in the story, but that's not enough, I don't think. Afteral More...
The story is told in diamond shapes -- these aren't poems, but each one reads like a one-page chapter. If there's a reason why the diamonds are of different shapes or sometimes there's two to a page, I didn't discover it.
Diamond shapes are explained in the story, but that's not enough, I don't think. Afteral More...
