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Semiprecious
It's the middle of summer in Mirabeau, Texas, but already Garnet Hubbard looks forward to fall -- to entering seventh grade and becoming a teenager at last. With Opal, her beautiful and popular fourteen-year-old sister, as her guide, Garnet is sure to have a great year. But everything changes when their mother, Melanie, packs them up and heads for Nashville, determined to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a country singer. Almost before they know it, Melanie drops the girls at her sister's house in Oklahoma, assuring them she'll be back just as soon as she's settled in Tennessee. But when a few days turn into a few weeks and beyond, with no Melanie in sight, the girls begin to realize what has happened.
While Opal soon becomes one of the most popular girls in school, her younger sister struggles. For Garnet, getting used to her new life means trying to figure out how to have pride in herself when it seems she has little to offer the world and the odds are stacked against her. With only each other to lean on, Melanie's "precious gems" must learn to live with the hand they've been dealt and to accept the changing face of their family.
Set in the early 1960s and beautifully told by D. Anne Love, Semiprecious is a powerful, poignant, and often funny coming-of-age novel that will stay with readers long after the turn of the final page.
While Opal soon becomes one of the most popular girls in school, her younger sister struggles. For Garnet, getting used to her new life means trying to figure out how to have pride in herself when it seems she has little to offer the world and the odds are stacked against her. With only each other to lean on, Melanie's "precious gems" must learn to live with the hand they've been dealt and to accept the changing face of their family.
Set in the early 1960s and beautifully told by D. Anne Love, Semiprecious is a powerful, poignant, and often funny coming-of-age novel that will stay with readers long after the turn of the final page.
285 pages, Hardcover
First published June 20, 2006
15 people are currently reading
238 people want to read
About the author
D. Anne Love
12 books14 followersI was born in western Tennessee, the eldest of four children. My father was a lover of books who taught me to read even before I started school. My mother was (and still is!) the world’s best mom and a lover of music who sang in the kitchen as she taught me to cook.
I enjoyed playing games and riding bikes but my favorite activity was reading. Among my favorite authors were Lois Lenski, Louisa May Alcott and Harper Lee. I was in love with words and stories, with the feel of paper as I turned the pages, with the smell of ink.
Major, the golden retriever
In high school, and later, in college, I discovered newspaper writing and worked for the paper to help pay for my education. I became a teacher, and later, a school principal, and then a college professor, but I never forgot my dream of someday writing books. In 1989, I began writing full time, and in 1995 Holiday House published BESS’S LOG CABIN QUILT, my first novel for young readers.
Since then I have published a number of other books. Writing is still my full time job, though I spend a lot of time visiting schools, talking to students and teachers about my favorite subjects: books and reading!
In addition to Texas, I’ve lived in Tennessee, Illinois, Iowa, and California. Currently I live in central Ohio with my husband Ron, and Major our rambunctious golden retriever. But Austin, Texas is, and always will be the place I call home.
I enjoyed playing games and riding bikes but my favorite activity was reading. Among my favorite authors were Lois Lenski, Louisa May Alcott and Harper Lee. I was in love with words and stories, with the feel of paper as I turned the pages, with the smell of ink.
Major, the golden retriever
In high school, and later, in college, I discovered newspaper writing and worked for the paper to help pay for my education. I became a teacher, and later, a school principal, and then a college professor, but I never forgot my dream of someday writing books. In 1989, I began writing full time, and in 1995 Holiday House published BESS’S LOG CABIN QUILT, my first novel for young readers.
Since then I have published a number of other books. Writing is still my full time job, though I spend a lot of time visiting schools, talking to students and teachers about my favorite subjects: books and reading!
In addition to Texas, I’ve lived in Tennessee, Illinois, Iowa, and California. Currently I live in central Ohio with my husband Ron, and Major our rambunctious golden retriever. But Austin, Texas is, and always will be the place I call home.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
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April 4, 2017As this book ended, It showed that their mother-daughter relationship was not like any other. Everything turned out and it showed the mom how much her daughters really cared about her.
January 16, 2009
This was a really good book, because I liked how the author wrote and how she built up the plot/suspense in the story. I could never tell what was going to happen next.
April 5, 2021
I read this when I was 11 and can recall NONE of it except for how it felt like a warm hug
June 27, 2020
Evokes the time period and the sense of rural/small-town Oklahoma very well. There are references to some of the societal issues of the day -- integration, Kennedy's election, the fear of communism -- but they never overwhelm the story. While the author confirms that she drew on her own experiences growing up, the main character is only 12 and it's not set in a very diverse location, so they are more introduced as concepts that Garnet is just beginning to think about.
Most of her time is occupied with the universal struggle that is 7th grade, made more difficult by her personal struggles with being poor, moving to a new town, and living with an aunt she and her sister barely know while her parents are newly separated and both absent for different reasons (one valid, one inexcusable). I quite enjoyed her voice and the bond she develops with the outspoken, forward-thinking young art teacher.
Most of her time is occupied with the universal struggle that is 7th grade, made more difficult by her personal struggles with being poor, moving to a new town, and living with an aunt she and her sister barely know while her parents are newly separated and both absent for different reasons (one valid, one inexcusable). I quite enjoyed her voice and the bond she develops with the outspoken, forward-thinking young art teacher.
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April 4, 2022I am a 14 year old student who is currently reading this book for my class. The book is about a young Garnet Hubbard's journey to find family in an unexpected turn of events. Garnet's mother, Melanie took her and her older sister away from their Texas home to chase a dream of becoming a famous music star. The two sisters are then left at their aunt's house in Oklahoma. Garnet and her sister must find a way to make friends and adapt to the living conditions in small Willow Flats. My personal thoughts about this book is that Melanie was selfish to leave her kids with their aunt, who they have never met. The struggles Garnet went through are sad and sometimes hard to read because you feel for the character. I would recommend this book for people my age because it is a good book that was hard to put down because you had to know what was next. Overall "Semiprecious" was a good book.
January 23, 2019
It’s a decent book; however, I wasn’t overly impressed with the end and neither was the student I read it with, so that was a bit of a bummer.
August 25, 2023
When Garnet and Opal's mother decides to head to Nashville to become a music star, she leaves her daughters with her sister in Oklahoma. How would you feel to be left behind?
May 23, 2024
I loved this book! Such a sweet/sad coming of age story that was funny and heartwarming. It’s a great PG feel-good book!
October 8, 2021
The heart and thought and kindness in this book is beautiful. I hadn’t heard anyone else read this book but it’s underrated, it’s so worth the time and read! 🤩👍❤️💞
October 6, 2014
Semiprecious, by D. Anne Love, is an amazing story about friendship and love. She makes her message loud and clear: True family isn't the people you live with, and it isn't your mother or father. It is just who cares for you the most. Two sisters, Garnet and Opal Hubbard are being transformed, from their normal happy life in Mirabeau, Texas, to a rough insecure one in Willow Flats, Oklahoma. Their mother leaves them to become a country singer in Nashville, and their father is injured, so they must learn to adapt to life with their old-fashioned Aunt Julia. The sisterly bond between Garnet and Opal is as strong as the characters' personalities themselves. Semiprecious has everything a book could ask for: drama and romance, sorrow and joy, prejudice and truth. Semiprecious has 287 pages and costs $6.99.
Love was born in western Tennessee, the eldest of four children. Her favorite hobby was always reading, and among her favorite authors were Louisa May Alcott and Harper Lee. Her first book was Bess Log's Cabin Quilt, published in 1995. She currently lives in Texas with her husband.
D. Anne Love has written multiple books including the Puppeteer's Apprentice and Picture Perfect. Semiprecious is her third book. Love's writing style tends to attract middle and high school girls, since most of her books are about girls of similar age undergoing difficult times. D. Anne Love's style of writing is dramatic, but not cliche and cheesy. She incorporates a lot of feelings into her writing so the reader can almost feel what the character is feeling.
In Semiprecious, D. Anne Love is trying to prove that true family isn't your mother of father. True family is the group of people who will crawl to the ends of the Earth for you. For example, on the cover, it says "Sometimes you find family in unexpected places." This means that family can be anywhere. Anyone who has such a level of care and love is truly part of your family. Aunt Julia only got to meet Opal and Garnet because their mother, Melanie abandoned them. Even though Melanie is considered closer family to the girls, Aunt Julia is much closer because she would never abandon them -- no matter what. Another quote is "I might even miss Aunt Julia even more than my mother," meaning that when Garnet and Opal left Willow Flats after their father recovered, they missed Aunt Julia even more than when Melanie left them for Nashville.This is because Melanie was a mother, but she never was family. All she thought of was herself and her country dream.
I would recommend this book for girls aged 10-14, because there are a couple of concepts such as sexual abuse and romantic scenes where it may not be appropriate for younger children. At the same time, the vocabulary is not that complicated, so it would be too easy for anyone over 14.
I think that Semiprecious is one of the most heart-rendering, sweetest books I have ever read, and through every word, I was entranced. I can say that it certainly was a privilege to have gotten to read Semiprecious.
Love was born in western Tennessee, the eldest of four children. Her favorite hobby was always reading, and among her favorite authors were Louisa May Alcott and Harper Lee. Her first book was Bess Log's Cabin Quilt, published in 1995. She currently lives in Texas with her husband.
D. Anne Love has written multiple books including the Puppeteer's Apprentice and Picture Perfect. Semiprecious is her third book. Love's writing style tends to attract middle and high school girls, since most of her books are about girls of similar age undergoing difficult times. D. Anne Love's style of writing is dramatic, but not cliche and cheesy. She incorporates a lot of feelings into her writing so the reader can almost feel what the character is feeling.
In Semiprecious, D. Anne Love is trying to prove that true family isn't your mother of father. True family is the group of people who will crawl to the ends of the Earth for you. For example, on the cover, it says "Sometimes you find family in unexpected places." This means that family can be anywhere. Anyone who has such a level of care and love is truly part of your family. Aunt Julia only got to meet Opal and Garnet because their mother, Melanie abandoned them. Even though Melanie is considered closer family to the girls, Aunt Julia is much closer because she would never abandon them -- no matter what. Another quote is "I might even miss Aunt Julia even more than my mother," meaning that when Garnet and Opal left Willow Flats after their father recovered, they missed Aunt Julia even more than when Melanie left them for Nashville.This is because Melanie was a mother, but she never was family. All she thought of was herself and her country dream.
I would recommend this book for girls aged 10-14, because there are a couple of concepts such as sexual abuse and romantic scenes where it may not be appropriate for younger children. At the same time, the vocabulary is not that complicated, so it would be too easy for anyone over 14.
I think that Semiprecious is one of the most heart-rendering, sweetest books I have ever read, and through every word, I was entranced. I can say that it certainly was a privilege to have gotten to read Semiprecious.
December 5, 2011
I thought that this book had a great story line to it. It wasn't stuff that I could like guess what is going to happen next. Garnet and her sister Opal's small town lives change when their mother decides to follow her dreams. They go from a small town in Texas to a small town in Oklahoma, to live with their Aunt Julia. Still being in a small town setting, isn't what the girls wanted to start school in. Especially since Opal is starting high school, and Garnet is beginning jr. high. As for their dad, well he left to go back to work in the gulf on a boat, so that's why their mother has decided to take on a whole new world; becuase her husband wasn't there to stop her. As the girls adjust to their new lives they slowly begin to accept the fact that their mother isn't coming back. Times get tough, and there stuck eating biscuits and sausage for a while. Then as if one tragedy isn't enough, their dad is in a bad accident and is hospitilized in New Orleans. Well one day Opal gets fed up and borrows money from her bus driver to buy a train ticket to find her momma in Nashville, Tennessee. She discovers she is too big for her britches, and soon Aunt Julia takes off after her. When Julia arrives at her sister's apartment she discovers that the girls money that has been missing has been sent to their mother in Tennessee; instead of the girls. So Julia and Opal go back home to Oklahoma, and then summer comes. Just when the girls are starting to adapt to their new home there dad comes and takes them back to Texas.
April 10, 2015
The book Semiprecious by D. Anne Love is a book about hardships and how to get through tough situations. The first main character is Garnet who is a seventh grader with a love for art, but has trouble making friends. She is somebody that most kids her age could relate to. I loved how her life wasn't perfect just like nobody in the real world's is. Her sister, Opal, is very popular at her school and loves her sister very much. In this book, Garnet and Opal's mom leaves them at her sisters house to pursue her music career. She cares much more about herself than her two daughters and her husband in this book. If we could see what Opal was thinking about this whole time, that would have made this book even better. The two sisters are basically opposites and Opal sometimes faked her feelings. It would have been very interesting to be able to see what Opal was really thinking about. *SPOILER* One theme I noticed in this book is great. Just because your going through a hard time now does not mean it won't get better. This is something a lot of people could use sometime in their life. When Melanie (the mom) leaves her kids, they think their life is over and then their dad is nearly killed buy a bomb, but then school gets better for Garnet. She still can't stand it, but at the end of the year, their dad is out of the hospital and brings them back home from their aunts house. Even though their mom never came back, they were happy. They learned that if she did come back, things would never be the same. Things will get better eventually.
November 16, 2012
Reviewed by Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com
Garnet Hubbard is having a fairly good summer and is even excited about the prospect of entering seventh grade in the fall. Her life in Mirabeau, Texas, is filled with family and friends. All of that changes overnight.
Self-centered Melanie Hubbard, Garnet's mother, decides to seek her fortune as a country singer in Nashville. Because Garnet's father works on an oil tanker in the Gulf, Garnet and her sister are dropped off at Aunt Julia's when their mother runs off. The two girls begin life on their spinster aunt's lonely homestead outside the dusty Oklahoma town of Willow Flats.
Life in Willow Flats is dull and boring. School starts with pretty, popular Opal fitting right in, while Garnet's days are filled with teasing and taunting from the locals. News of an accident on the oil tanker and their father's serious injury creates worry for an already stressed Garnet. And when his disability checks never seem to arrive, Aunt Julia must resort to selling prized possessions and seeking help from welfare to keep the girls fed and clothed.
D. Anne Love does a superb job describing Garnet's frustration toward her absent mother, her attempts to fit in as part of Willow Flats, and the discovery of previously hidden talents and future dreams. Garnet's story will tug at the heartstrings of anyone who has suffered disappointments from those they love and found the courage to carry on despite them.
Garnet Hubbard is having a fairly good summer and is even excited about the prospect of entering seventh grade in the fall. Her life in Mirabeau, Texas, is filled with family and friends. All of that changes overnight.
Self-centered Melanie Hubbard, Garnet's mother, decides to seek her fortune as a country singer in Nashville. Because Garnet's father works on an oil tanker in the Gulf, Garnet and her sister are dropped off at Aunt Julia's when their mother runs off. The two girls begin life on their spinster aunt's lonely homestead outside the dusty Oklahoma town of Willow Flats.
Life in Willow Flats is dull and boring. School starts with pretty, popular Opal fitting right in, while Garnet's days are filled with teasing and taunting from the locals. News of an accident on the oil tanker and their father's serious injury creates worry for an already stressed Garnet. And when his disability checks never seem to arrive, Aunt Julia must resort to selling prized possessions and seeking help from welfare to keep the girls fed and clothed.
D. Anne Love does a superb job describing Garnet's frustration toward her absent mother, her attempts to fit in as part of Willow Flats, and the discovery of previously hidden talents and future dreams. Garnet's story will tug at the heartstrings of anyone who has suffered disappointments from those they love and found the courage to carry on despite them.
October 5, 2016
This book is about a girl named Garnet, her sister, Opal, and their mother, Melanie. They all lived together but then one day her mother decided she wanted to pursue her lifelong dream on becoming a singer in Nashville. So they packed up and their mom dropped them off at her sisters house in Oklahoma telling them that she would be back after she got settled in Nashville. But days had passed and there was no sign of their mom. Then weeks passed and weeks turned into forever. Then they realized she wouldn't be back. For her birthday, she had asked for a guitar so she could sing and do what she was passionate about, but instead she got a vacuum cleaner. She didn't have friends and unlike her sister, who was the most popular girl in school, she was a nobody. So she decided to leave for Nashville.
I think this is a good book for classrooms because I feel like a lot of kids have had this happen where there parents either don't care about them, or they are abandoned by someone or their parents. This is a close to the heart book and i think it could really relate to people as they go through different things. it also shows that you should run after your dreams and don't give up.
I think this is a good book for classrooms because I feel like a lot of kids have had this happen where there parents either don't care about them, or they are abandoned by someone or their parents. This is a close to the heart book and i think it could really relate to people as they go through different things. it also shows that you should run after your dreams and don't give up.
April 7, 2010
2.5 maybe. The book was kind of depressing, although I didn't get into most of the characters very well so it was less depressing than if I had thought about it more. Garnett is almost thirteen and lives a decent life in Mirabeau, Texas in the 1960s with her older (popular) sister, dad who is gone much of the time for work, and a mom who always wanted to be a famous singer and has extreme mood swings. But when her mom decides to follow her dream of singing in Nashville after a fight with her dad and leaves the girls at their aunt's (who they've never met) in Oklahoma, her life takes a turn for the worse. And nothing seems to get better. Her dad gets badly burned and they're forced to stay with their aunt for longer than planned, she can't seem to make any friends at school, the disability checks don't arrive and they're forced to eat government food, etc. The only thing that saves Garnett is her art teacher and art.
August 11, 2011
Garnet and Opal are happy in their sheltered existence of small-town Texas. But when their mother decides to uproot them to travel to Nashville to make a name for herself in music. The girls are not happy, but they really don't have a choice, do they? They are unceremoniously dropped off at their Aunt Julia's house and mom doesn't even stay for dinner. Eventually the girls realize that their mother never intended to come back for them. Even when their father is gravelly injured, the only thing their mother does is to re-route the family disability checks to her instead of her children.
The girls survive a year at school in Oklahoma, but for Garnet it's just barely. Opal is popular as ever, but Garnet can't find her place.
The writing in this book is phenomenal. However, the ending of the story left me frustrated. Daddy comes back, but are they going back to Texas? Or will they stay in Oklahoma? It could have been tied up more neatly.
The girls survive a year at school in Oklahoma, but for Garnet it's just barely. Opal is popular as ever, but Garnet can't find her place.
The writing in this book is phenomenal. However, the ending of the story left me frustrated. Daddy comes back, but are they going back to Texas? Or will they stay in Oklahoma? It could have been tied up more neatly.
June 24, 2015
Good book! Garnet and her sister Opal live in Texas with their parents. Dad is often away from work. One morning, their mom decides she wants to move to Nashville to pursue her singing career. She drops the girls off at their aunt Julia's house in Oklahoma, promising to be back once she's succeeded. Julia takes the girls in, but doesn't have the money to care for them. As they begin to settle in and get used to each other, their father is in an accident. Opal is beautiful and well- liked, she settled in quickly. Garnet isn't as sure and she struggled with the mean girls in her grade. She finds a place in her art class and with her teacher Paula.
It's a sweet coming of age story. I liked it enough to finish it!
It's a sweet coming of age story. I liked it enough to finish it!
August 19, 2013
Depressing but catchy... I bought it for my sister but I read it before she even received it.
There is only one word that can describe Opal and Garnet's mother and it isn't flattering. I loved this book and I gave it to all of my friends to read as well.
This book could pluck any fluffy feathered high tailed bird of their cocky nest and bring them down to earth.
Brilliant but sad: authors have to draw their inspiration from somewhere and I dearly hope that no one had to ever go through this.
All and all a good book, well written great plot line , unpredictable and unconventional and it is.... beautiful.
There is only one word that can describe Opal and Garnet's mother and it isn't flattering. I loved this book and I gave it to all of my friends to read as well.
This book could pluck any fluffy feathered high tailed bird of their cocky nest and bring them down to earth.
Brilliant but sad: authors have to draw their inspiration from somewhere and I dearly hope that no one had to ever go through this.
All and all a good book, well written great plot line , unpredictable and unconventional and it is.... beautiful.
August 14, 2016
Sisters Opal and Garnet, ages 14 and 12, are uprooted from their home and left with an aunt they barely know so that their mother can pursue her dream of country music stardom. It's a rough age to live through at the best of times, and it's made so much more difficult by the abrupt changes they're forced to accept. The story centers on Garnet, and is told from her point of view, but my favorite part of the book is the sisters' relationship. It just rang true to me; the sisters deal with their anger and disappointment in different ways, they bicker and fight, but at heart they understand one another and pull together when they need to.
May 4, 2015
This book was quite strange. In my opinion, the ending was horrible. The last couple of pages were not very entertaining, and the very last sentence of the book was maybe one of my least favorite endings ever. I just didn't get it, I was hoping she would have explained more. I was disappointed. But overall, it was an okay book with detail. The lack of good vocabulary words is also quite sad. But I liked the plot and the way D. Anne Love payed attention to the detail. Like I am learning in my Englis right now, I loved the way how she showed and didn't tell. I loved the imagery and figurative language as well. Even though it wasn't one of my favorites, it was still quite a good book.
August 4, 2023
One of my elementary school reads. I could hardly give a summary, but I remember one quote. I think the main character’s name was Garnet and her sister’s name was Opal, because their mom was obsessed with stones or something? After a particularly rough day at school, Garnet says something like, “What do you know? Garnet is only semiprecious.” This was a big deal because Opal (her sister) is a completely precious stone. Little me probably thought I related to this, but it’s been however many years and I still randomly think about that quote. Probably means it had to be good.
December 22, 2019
I enjoyed this story of a mom who leaves her two girls with her sister while she chases her dream of being a star in Nashville. At one point, the main character talks about feelings of love and hate for her mother bouncing around inside her at the same time, and it was such a perfect description. I wish I had written down the page number so I could include an exact quote! The emotions in this book are so real you can taste 'em.
May 10, 2009
Great book . . . love that time period. With all the changes around her she just keeps holding onto HER BELIEFS. When Principal Conley comes in Miss Mendez's art room and goes on about communisum, she stands up for her painting for history. I feel that Garnet is not semiprecious, but brave for standing up for what she believes in.
February 29, 2008
Set in the 60's, really nice atmosphere to this book. Sisters who are left with their aunt by their mother who runs off to fulfill Nashville dreams try to adjust to small-town life, being the outsiders...
July 4, 2008
I just happened to pick this book up at the library. It actually was a fast read- I read in one day. I thought it was easy to get into. It is from the perspective of a 13 year old girl, so definitely a girl's book.
September 9, 2009
I thought this book was darling! It is told in first-person from the point of view of 12 year-old Garnet. Her insights range from humorous to heartbreaking as she learns to live the painful decisions of her mother, while growing up in the changing times of the 60's. Great read for a young girl.
October 12, 2009
This book was one of the best book I have ever read. One day, when I was at the library, I saw it on the shelf. I decided to read it, and I loved it. It was one of the most touching stories ever. I told my friend about it and she read it and loved it too. I was so happy I found this book.
September 19, 2010
this book is about a family that is tearing apart...wich is really sad the two sisters are going through so much trouble they just wished they were back home with there daddy at the esnd of the school year they were both happy and sad to go back to dallas,texas to there old life
November 4, 2010
Amazing book about finding yourself and who you really are. It really touched me. D. Anne Love created a strong connection between the character and the reader. I love how Garnet keeps her head up through thick and thin and always has a positive face.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews