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December Read - Three Times Lucky
By Kristen · 24 posts · 129 views
By Kristen · 24 posts · 129 views
last updated Jan 12, 2013 04:02PM
What Members Thought
Newbery winner
I liked the ending, but it was a chore to get there. Don't see the appeal and wonder if it would be a bit of hard sell for the intended audience
...more
I liked the ending, but it was a chore to get there. Don't see the appeal and wonder if it would be a bit of hard sell for the intended audience
...more
NOTES:
1936 notes:
Abiline, 12 years old, is sent to live in a rural town in Kansas in 1936 while her dad is working on RR lines. Can't find anyone to talk about or even mention her dad Gideon. Not sure if will be staying at summer's end or go back to him
Girlfriends" Ruthanne and Lettie
Hattie Mae: has been writing a local column in town's paper since she finished HS. Very nice lady.
Book takes place in 1936 and also has a storyline in 1918 during WWI.
Abiline tries to discover stories about her dad ...more
1936 notes:
Abiline, 12 years old, is sent to live in a rural town in Kansas in 1936 while her dad is working on RR lines. Can't find anyone to talk about or even mention her dad Gideon. Not sure if will be staying at summer's end or go back to him
Girlfriends" Ruthanne and Lettie
Hattie Mae: has been writing a local column in town's paper since she finished HS. Very nice lady.
Book takes place in 1936 and also has a storyline in 1918 during WWI.
Abiline tries to discover stories about her dad ...more
Meh. I acknowledge that the writing is quite good, but this book just didn't impress me. I was never really pulled in the story, and it made me sad that I cared WAY more about the flashback sequences than I did about Abilene's current situation. I also kind of think that this book could have been edited down just a bit. Still, I did enjoy (even if I did not love) all of the different threads and the way that they came together. Someone else will probably love this book more than I did.
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So it won the Newbery Medal and thus I read it. It will however collect dust on the shelf until some other group (e.g., Black-Eyed Susan) nominates it, because it is just too plain depressing. Lots of death and depression (as in the Great Depression). Loved the first couple of pages. Not nearly as good as Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (Newbery Honor last year).
I don't usually wait this long to read the Newbery winners... but this one was worth the wait! Loved the story line! Loved the way the two stories wove together... probably didn't hurt that I was driving through Kansas as I "read" the book and could really visualize the surroundings... but just an amazing story! Loved this book!
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Abilene and her father have been drifting from town to town, looking for work, for as long as she can remember. Her father, thinking that Abilene needs more, sends her to live with his friend in Manifest, Kansas. She soon discovers a hidden compartment in her bedroom that contains letters written years before. Who wrote these letters and who kept them hidden away? While this is a sweet book and I did like it, I do not understand why it was chosen as the 2011 Newbery Winner.
Everything historical fiction should be - the Newbery was definitely deserved. The story within a story was expertly told. The immigrant stories were realistic and true. Abilene can take her place with Mark Twain and Anne of Green Gables. The town of Manifest comes alive through the newspaper clippings and of course the characters as their stories are revealed.
I just loved this book. It was definitely deserving of the Newbury Award. I felt the author did a wonderful job of pulling the reader into the small town of Manifest and the lives of the mysterious characters of its past.
A well written book about a girl searching for clues to her father's past.
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I thought this book had so many great layers. It made me tear up.
sweet storytelling voice.
Jan 13, 2011
Alyson
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
teen-books,
childrens
I had a little trouble getting into this because with the depression era, small town, quirky characters...I kept waiting for Grandma Dowdel ( A Long Way From Chicago) to show up!
Then the story really developed for me and I enjoyed it. Yeah for a debut author winning the Newbery! ...more
Then the story really developed for me and I enjoyed it. Yeah for a debut author winning the Newbery! ...more
I'm so glad this won the Newberry. Beautiful book.
...more
Jul 19, 2011
Dana Duffy Backs
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical,
children-s
Good book, not much kid appeal. Too many historical references that kids, the age this book is meant for, won't understand.
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This heartwarming tale certainly deserved the Newbery Award. It has suspense, great plot, and beautifully rich and varied characters. It has valuable historical fiction references to 1917-18 and 1936. I wholeheartedly recommend it to readers aged 9-15
Jan 10, 2011
Natasha (Vasilly)
marked it as to-read
Jan 10, 2011
The Reading Countess
marked it as to-read
