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60th out of 69 books
—
55 voters
Little Miss Strange: A Novel
by
Joanna Rose
A captivating portrait of the free-love, hippie world of Denver in the 1970s, brought to life in the pitch-perfect voice of a girl who scams and scavenges her way through childhood, carving her own identity and creating her own family along the way.In her acclaimed debut novel, Joanna Rose brilliantly evokes a tumultuous era in our history and introduces an unforgettable h...more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
June 10th 1998
by Touchstone
(first published January 4th 1997)
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I loved this so much and was pretty sad when it ended. I don't even know why I adored it so... it's quite slow paced and not much happens (am happy with that), but it really resonated with me and the world Joanna Rose created just seemed so incredibly real - I particularly liked her descriptions of the homes, interiors and shops. I also liked the way that it was told from the eyes of the child, and told in such a way that the reader became aware of things that the child narrator didn't know (and...more
This coming-of-age story was really important to me as a teenager who really, desperately wanted to embrace the sort of freewheeling lifestyle embodied by the main character and the loose circle of adults that surrounded her. As is the case with many of those Very Important Things from adolescence, it felt cliched when I reread it at 24.
Other reviewers have commented on the clarity of the child narrator's observations - it's been 12-13 years since I first read Little Miss Strange, but I have cle...more
Other reviewers have commented on the clarity of the child narrator's observations - it's been 12-13 years since I first read Little Miss Strange, but I have cle...more
This is a growing-up story, set in the 70s as the flower child era waned, of a little girl who was abandoned by her mother. It reads like a memoir, and I loved its many sharp and original descriptions of what the child observed and felt. The book moves forward simply, organized in dated chapters as the child grows. It comes to a clunky end as the protagonist runs off searching for her mother and answers. Overall, not a great book, but often beguiling, quite a bit sad without being maudlin, and m...more
This book is the fictionalized autobiography of a woman who grew up in the early '70s Denver hippie scene in a house RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE SAFEWAY I GO TO EVERY COUPLE OF DAYS (which makes it especially weird in a personal way). Every time I go to that Safeway now, I look at the houses across the street and wonder which one the book's narrator, Sarajean Henry, or Blumenthal, grew up in. Here's a story--I was waiting for the bus in Cherry Creek yesterday, and the glazed old man who's s...more
I remember noticing the ultra cool cover for this book as I walked past it at the famous Square Books in Oxford, MS, years ago. I knew I had to have it as soon as I read the back cover. If you've ever felt cheated because you missed out on the early seventies, or if you’re fascinated by the hippy lifestyle, here's your chance to experience it for yourself. Although the novel’s main character Sarajean is too young to directly know the sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll of the era, she sees the effects...more
A Dangerous Writer Joanna Rose writes with stunning detail and subtext. Open to any page and you will find beautiful descriptive prose. This book follows a girl without a mother who lives with a man who is a typical hippie. In Portland, where the author lives, they were using the book in a school and a group tried to ban it. This book rocks and is a slow and enjoyable read.
Oh my gosh - great writing, great story - would make a great movie. I have passed this book along to family & they to their friends & we all say the same thing, how much this book & the main character, Sarajean Henry, her story, stayed with us afterwards. All the characters are memorable and this book has prompted much discussion among same family & friends
I've had this one from Kimber for a very long time. With Nikki's impending graduation, and opportunity to return some books to Kimber, I thought I'd finally get to this one. I think there is a reason it sat on my borrowed book pile for a very long time! The one thing I really liked about this book is that it took place in Denver. It is a coming-of-age story of a young woman making her way in the world surrounded by hippies, poverty, Viet Nam veterans, and drugs. I loved the value of the neighbor...more
I love the time period of this novel, and the distant voice of the narrator. The characters are all very fresh and interesting,with obvious flaws and discreet niceties. A good summer read, but in my opinion the beginning is so much better than the ending.
Seeing the '70s through Sarajean's child eyes was very interesting. I read this before I was even old enough to understand most of the references so I pick it up every few years and realize something new each time. Great read.
I love this book and reading it again for the third time. It depicts a very creative relaxed time were things were simpler and rampant materialism didn't exist. It is one of my treasure books.
I stumbled across this book completely by accident. I was looking online for books about hippies (for an upcoming Writer's Craft school project), and I came across Little Miss Strange. I actually had to order it online because no nearby bookstore had it. It was a pain to find, especially on a time limit, but it was one of the only ones that I thought would work for me.
I can safely say that finding this book was one of the best things to ever happen to me. I don't quite know why it hit me like i...more
I can safely say that finding this book was one of the best things to ever happen to me. I don't quite know why it hit me like i...more
Okay, a bit of a story here: i bought this book when i was 12--the very first time i went into a barnes and nobles. not a book for a 12 year old. it sat on my shelf, with its colorful tie-dye cover for quite a few years. i finally read it in 10th grade, at 16...good thing too, because only then was i emotionally prepared for this novel.
the novel is first-person narrative and tells the story of a young girl from the time she was 5 to her teens in the late 1960s and 1970s and all that entails whil...more
the novel is first-person narrative and tells the story of a young girl from the time she was 5 to her teens in the late 1960s and 1970s and all that entails whil...more
A story of a love child and her own account of her life. Truly amazing.
I could identify with this book simply because it was set in the same hippie era that I grew up in, as well as the fact that I lived very much the way the authors' subject was portrayed to have grown up.
Was a time when parenting values seemed to be less than important and a lot of us had to 'grow up' on our own.
But...it was also refreshing to be reminded that not all of us fell through the cracks of the '70's
A simply amazing book
Was a time when parenting values seemed to be less than important and a lot of us had to 'grow up' on our own.
But...it was also refreshing to be reminded that not all of us fell through the cracks of the '70's
A simply amazing book
I adored this book-- didn't want it to end.
Joanna Rose is wonderful. When I worked at a middle school in Tigard she came to a Community of Writer's event and worked with 6th graders for several weeks on poetry writing. I had the opportunity to attend the class and participate with Ms. Flores and her students. What an honor! I still remember the writing prompts and have them in a journal I still refer to. Ms. Rose is a beautiful writer.
Being a child of the 70s, born in 1969 to young, naive, and thoroughly unqualified parents, I totally related to Sarajean and saw myself in her world of no structure or boundaries, where hippie kids are left to fend for themselves. Written by the friend of a friend and set in Denver, not far from where I once lived.
I like to copy quotes from the books I read that stand out to me as what the book means.
"Little Miss Strange came out of the darkness...
Danced across my head and stood under the light"
Jimi Hendrix
"Little Miss Strange came out of the darkness...
Danced across my head and stood under the light"
Jimi Hendrix
I enjoyed this look into the Denver hippie lifestyle. One lost little girl grows up and learns that everything is not like it seems.
Apr 26, 2013
Lorraine
marked it as to-read
Apr 13, 2013
Krystal
added it
Apr 09, 2013
Jen Long
marked it as to-read
Apr 01, 2013
Maci
marked it as to-read
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Sep 02, 2012 12:36am
Sep 02, 2012 01:02am