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41st out of 90 books
—
138 voters
Displacement
Home is supposed to be a place you belong. It's supposed to be parents who are there and siblings who bug you and a life that feels comfortable. It's not supposed to be an absentee mother or a drowned sister. But that's Vera's reality, and she can't stand it anymore. So she runs. She ends up in an old mining town in the middle of the California desert. It's hot, it's dusty...more
Hardcover, 364 pages
Published
June 9th 2011
by Viking Juvenile
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When I talk to student about making connections, I made lots of them in this book. Vera buys a drawer full of post cards and uses them to mark points in her search for herself. When I was younger I had a collection of post cards, not that I bought at once but when I went places. I did not write on them about what I did, but looked on them after I returned and thought of all the possible things I could have done. The funny thing is, upon reflection, is that many of the possibilities were romantic...more
Oct 01, 2011
Melanie
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Shelves:
young-adult-literature,
novels-in-verse,
sisters,
mothers-daughters,
families,
family-tragedy,
death,
grief,
lgbtq,
friends,
pottery,
deserts,
parent-child
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Vera is determined to make a new life for herself. After her sister's accidental drowning, she finds her mother absent from their lives, and her older sister tired of looking after her siblings. Vera finds herself in the small town of Garrett, a deserted mining town in the vicinity of Death Valley. The town is mostly abandoned, and Vera goes about making herself useful. She obtains work with a local potter at his kiln, as well as some bookkeeping for an Indian boy, Lon, who is a local art dealer...more
May 24, 2012
Danna
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
chick-lit,
alcoholism,
adventure,
beach-reads,
family-drama,
heroines,
page-turner,
homelessness,
speed-read,
ya,
tragic,
coming-of-age,
recommended
While this book was incredibly short and written in a style that didn't make much sense to me, I really liked it.
I loved the narrator's voice and sympathized with her pain. In hoping for a geographic cure to her suffering, Vera runs away. She ends up hitching a ride to a dusty, mining town and squatting in an abandoned home with a "For Sale" sign.
The town is filled with wonderful characters, who brought personality to this novel. Vera herself is a tragic and broken young woman, who cannot esca...more
I loved the narrator's voice and sympathized with her pain. In hoping for a geographic cure to her suffering, Vera runs away. She ends up hitching a ride to a dusty, mining town and squatting in an abandoned home with a "For Sale" sign.
The town is filled with wonderful characters, who brought personality to this novel. Vera herself is a tragic and broken young woman, who cannot esca...more
Seventeen-year-old Vera leaves home in search of peace following the death of her younger sister, Amy. Her love of geology leads her to a small desert town where she meets the few folks who remain there including Lon, a half-Hopi man who piques her interest. Finding a box of unused postcards, she frequently selects one to be addressed to her absentee mother, whom she called “The Moth;” the postcards are not sent. Emotional trauma is a big point in this novel in verse as Vera refuses to contact C...more
Sometimes in life one has to get away from everything to be able to recharge whether it is from the stress of a job or a death in the family or a questionable relationship.
Vera has to get away. She is suffering from a loss which she is having trouble dealing with. She leaves her home on the west coast and travels to a small, remote mining town in the desert to think through her problem only to encounter more problems. While here she is unsuccessful in finding solace and realizes she really needs...more
Vera has to get away. She is suffering from a loss which she is having trouble dealing with. She leaves her home on the west coast and travels to a small, remote mining town in the desert to think through her problem only to encounter more problems. While here she is unsuccessful in finding solace and realizes she really needs...more
Sometimes in life one has to get away from everything to be able to recharge whether it is from the stress of a job or a death in the family or a questionable relationship.
Vera has to get away. She is suffering from a loss which she is having trouble dealing with. She leaves her home on the west coast and travels to a small, remote mining town in the desert to think through her problem only to encounter more problems. While here she is unsuccessful in finding solace and realizes she really needs...more
Vera has to get away. She is suffering from a loss which she is having trouble dealing with. She leaves her home on the west coast and travels to a small, remote mining town in the desert to think through her problem only to encounter more problems. While here she is unsuccessful in finding solace and realizes she really needs...more
Vera is escaping everything that reminds her younger sister who has recently died. Written in free verse Vera comes across as a very unlikable character and will have the reader wanted to shake her at times. She loses herself in a small mining town and takes on two part-time jobs. A touch of mystery will propel the story forward though it leads to an unsatisfactory conclusion. Overall a story that leaves something to be desired.
Tragedy spurs Vera to leave everything she knows for small-town desert living. But is she living--or running?
I don't typically read books written in verse so I'm no expert, but I loved the way no word was wasted, no cliches regurgitated. DISPLACEMENT is beautifully written, fully developed, thought provoking and satisfying to the very end.
arc provided by publisher
I don't typically read books written in verse so I'm no expert, but I loved the way no word was wasted, no cliches regurgitated. DISPLACEMENT is beautifully written, fully developed, thought provoking and satisfying to the very end.
arc provided by publisher
I have come to really love Thalia Chaltas' work. Her other book, Because I am Furniture was the book that taught me not to have prejudices against books written in poem format.
Her style of writing is beautiful and the stories she chooses to tell are rich with emotion.
I am eagerly awaiting any other work she does.
Her style of writing is beautiful and the stories she chooses to tell are rich with emotion.
I am eagerly awaiting any other work she does.
From the author of "Because I am Furniture." The story of a young girl dealing with the death of her younger sister amid emotional isolation from her mother and older sister. Not quite as intense as Furniture, but there were some intriguing characters here, and Vera seemed to have a realistic and relatable voice.
Short but with deftly painted characters and setting. Fans of "Because I Am Furniture" will like this book as well.
I really liked the writing style but it took me a while to figure out what was going on in the story.
This book was written in verse, which to me made it a quick read. I found the story to be engaging & enjoyed the story as it unfolded.
Good story, also a quick read since it is written in blank verse. I found the poem format let all the important details through and allowed the reader (me) to better focus on the story without being weighed down with lengthy descriptions. This was also a nice contemporary follow up to the last book I read, Survival; I wasn't in the mood to read anything too upbeat and happy. Not that I'm saying there isn't a happy ending; I would call it an everything works out, good ending. Definitely check thi...more
Written in verse and a nice basic storyline, does contain profanity
Easy to read--somewhat sparse, but that is what I like about blank verse.
Good book for those who like thier books in the form poetry.
2.5 stars
A quick read written in verse, which will appeal to some of my teens. I didn't dislike it, it just didn't do much for me.
A quick read written in verse, which will appeal to some of my teens. I didn't dislike it, it just didn't do much for me.
About a girl coming to grips with her sister dying. Has to figure it out on her own. Travels to the desert not sure students will connect with the story.
Verse novel - Grief recovery - Homecoming.
Not bad for a novel-in-verse (& it reminded me of why I wanna go to Wyoming).
2.5
Not as engaging as I'd like, and I'm not sure the verse set up helps the story much. Vera is dealing with loss by running away from everything and going to a desert town. I didn't find myself connecting with her nor really caring about her outcome that much -- she never gave me much to latch on to.
This could have done with a little more background, a few pieces of the pre-arrival story.
Full review here: http://www.stackedbooks.org/2011/05/d...
Not as engaging as I'd like, and I'm not sure the verse set up helps the story much. Vera is dealing with loss by running away from everything and going to a desert town. I didn't find myself connecting with her nor really caring about her outcome that much -- she never gave me much to latch on to.
This could have done with a little more background, a few pieces of the pre-arrival story.
Full review here: http://www.stackedbooks.org/2011/05/d...
I didn't think I would like the story-told-in-verse style, but I found it fit the tone of the novel very well. I would read more by this author.
Decent book. A little edgy, but I liked it.
This book was hard to read at first. It's supposedly written in "prose" but it's just jittery nonsense half the time. It took me about 3 hours to finish it.
Proper review coming soon!
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Thalia Chaltas (Author, Because I Am Furniture, Viking, 2009) worked hard at her luck to get her Young Adult novel Because I Am Furniture published by Viking. She has been writing for children since just before the turn of the century. The current century. Running her medical transcription business has taught her the value of editing, since most physicians don’t sound brilliant without a transcrip...more
More about Thalia Chaltas...
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