** spoiler alert ** Paterson, Katherine. The Great Gilly Hopkins. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1978.
The Great Gilly Hopkins, by Katherine Paterson, is a realistic fiction novel about a young orphan girl and her journey to understand the realities of life and all its bitterness. In the story, young Gilly, or Galadriel, is a short tempered little girl who does not want to give anyone a chance except her mother who lives in California. Gilly finds herself in custody of Mrs. Trotter, a foster mother who also looks after a younger boy by the name of William Earnest, as well as their elderly neighbor, Mr. Randolph. At first, Gilly despises all three of them, writes an over dramatized letter to her mom describing her horrible situation, and then attempts to escape to California. When she doesn't' succeed, Gilly finally begins to grow attached to the family, only to be taken away by her grandmother, who received a letter from Gilly's mom, who had received Gilly's initial letter. The story ends with a sad but most realistic ending of life and how mean and unfair it can really be.
As a realistic fiction novel this book does quite well. The setting is in a real town on the east coast. The characters are not rich or magical, making them human in all aspects with all their own flaws, including Gilly. The plot is of one that is beginning to occur more and more in today's society, orphanage and broken families. There are a few themes mixed into this story. Themes such as the acceptance of loss, and individual perseverance (Russell, 237). The fact that the book ends with Gilly saying goodbye to Trotter on the telephone, and then accepting that her mother isn't who she thought she was, paints an unfair realistic picture, as well as a notion that Gilly understands, despite the unfair circumstances, she must go on. Also, throughout the book, Gilly feels the need to prove everyone that doubts her wrong. When Gilly overhears that teachers think she may be a little slow, Gilly surpasses the class. When she finds herself behind everyone else in her new school, she makes it a point to overcome the other students in her studies there as well. There is a reoccurring pattern that involves Gilly bettering herself in life while trying to get back at the people who suppress her. Only she doesn't necessarily see it as self progress as much as she views it as revenge. This reflects Gilly's internal drive for "individual perseverance" (Russell, 237).
As much as this is a modern family story, this time in the sense where the family is actually the problem (Russell, 238), this story also falls into the coming-of-age genre. Gilly, in the beginning, is short tempered and hostile. However, after living under Trotter's roof for the fall, Gilly learns a sense of responsibility that continues with her even after she leaves Trotters. An example of this is when Gilly's grandmother asks if she needs help unpacking. "Inside her head, she was screaming, 'I don't need any help!' but for Trotter's sake, she said only, 'No, I can do it.'" (Paterson, 159).
I enjoyed this book very much, I do believe all children should read this book for its insight into the life of an orphan, as well as how hard it can be for them. The book itself is funny and reads easily. The fact that the narrator is third person while having the ability to view Gilly's thoughts made reading awkward at first, but once the story picks up, the book reads smoothly.