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Richie's Picks: ZEBRA FOREST by Adina Rishe Gewirtz, Candlewick, April 2013, 288p., ISBN: 978-0-7636-6041-3
"Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm
Into this house we're born
Into this world we're thrown
Like a dog without a bone
Actor on a loan
Riders on the storm"
-- The Doors (1971)
"So we had no photos, not of my father, and certainly not of my mother, who, Gran said, had run off when I was three and Rew just one.
"I had one and a half memories of my mother. I say 'a half' because whenever I tried ...more
"Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm
Into this house we're born
Into this world we're thrown
Like a dog without a bone
Actor on a loan
Riders on the storm"
-- The Doors (1971)
"So we had no photos, not of my father, and certainly not of my mother, who, Gran said, had run off when I was three and Rew just one.
"I had one and a half memories of my mother. I say 'a half' because whenever I tried ...more
Jul 19, 2013
Barbara
rated it
really liked it
Shelves:
character-building,
reading,
literacy,
ncbla2014,
facing-fears,
families,
identity,
self-esteem,
weather,
school
During the summer of 1980 eleven-year-old Annie Morgan learns that her life has been built on a house of cards consisting of lies and secrets. Things at home have been tenuous at best for a long time since her grandmother is prone to depressions that send her to bed for long periods of time. Annie and her brother Rew have learned to fend for themselves, and Annie pays the bills and purchases the groceries from time to time. But when a local prison break at Enderfield sends several prisoners runn
...more
Annie and Rew live with their grandma. Grandma is subject to severe mood swings; sometimes she will cook and take care of the kids, and at other times she will retreat to her room for days on end, leaving the children to fend for themselves. She is a hoarder-her house is cluttered with piles of books and magazines. Yet there is no TV, no radio, and absolutely no photographs. She will tell the children stories about her childhood, but any inquiries about their parents is sure to bring on one of h
...more
11 year old Annie's world is full of lies and stories. She lives with her grandmother and younger brother where she enjoys spending time in the Zebra Forest (woods behind her house that consist of white birch trees and shadows similar in appearance to a zebra's hide), rereading Treasure Island, and telling tall tales about the father she's never known.
An escaped prisoner seeks refuge in their house and the kids are stunned to find out that this man is their father. They live a hostage-like exis ...more
An escaped prisoner seeks refuge in their house and the kids are stunned to find out that this man is their father. They live a hostage-like exis ...more
What is the likelihood that two books about 12-year-old girls with incarcerated parents would be published in the same year? (Zebra Forest, Sure Signs of Crazy) Both books focus on what is like to come into adulthood without a parent, book books look at what it is like to turn twelve in an non-traditional life, but that might be where the similarities end. Sure Signs of Crazy takes head on what life is like when your parent is an infamous criminal, what happens when mental illness runs in the fa
...more
Rew and Annie live with their Gran, but Gran is not always the best caretaker. Annie has taken over paying bills and grocery shopping while Gran retreats into her own world. One day, the back door rattles and an escaped convict appears in the kitchen. How Annie and Rew (along with Gran) cope with the surprising stranger is indicative of each person's nature. Each person grows in their own time and way, bring a satisfying conclusion to a story that may be difficult for some younger children.
...more
Zebra Forest by Adina Rishe Gerwirtz – Realistic Fiction, 5th grade and up – Such a touching, angry and forgiving book. Annie, young girl takes charge of her family when her grandmother goes through phases of silence and inactivity. She has a little brother named Rew she helps care for as well. She and Rew enjoy time together storytelling, relaxing amongst the trees near their house. But unfortunately once night an escapee from a nearby prison breaks into their home and holds them hostage. The s
...more
An odd story and subject matter for a MG novel. I found it too dark and disturbing and quite frankly not that interesting. It seems like the plot hints at a deeper issue but never delivers. The parallel between the story and Treasure Island, that the author seems to be driving home never seems to materialize.
Ever since she was small, Annie's had three wishes:
1. Get tall
2. Have an adventure
3. Meet her father.
She knows none of them will come true. Especially not the last. After all, her father's dead -- killed by an angry man, Gran told her and her brother Rew for as long as she could remember.
But when there's a breakout at Enderfield, the prison on the other side of the Zebra Forest, Annie just might get her adventure -- and learn a lot she never knew about her family...
A story about secrets and f ...more
1. Get tall
2. Have an adventure
3. Meet her father.
She knows none of them will come true. Especially not the last. After all, her father's dead -- killed by an angry man, Gran told her and her brother Rew for as long as she could remember.
But when there's a breakout at Enderfield, the prison on the other side of the Zebra Forest, Annie just might get her adventure -- and learn a lot she never knew about her family...
A story about secrets and f ...more
I enjoyed this book. I would reccomend it to children 6th grade and older because of content.
I couldn't buy the main event in the plot, but the story-writing was enjoyable.
...more
Apr 10, 2013
Beth
marked it as middle-grade-to-read
Sep 05, 2013
Donna
marked it as to-read
Jan 02, 2014
Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy)
marked it as to-read
Shelves:
audiobook,
must-read-in-2014-challenge
Mar 06, 2014
Kathy
marked it as to-read
