Joan Bauer is one of my favorite authors of all time. Almost Home is a lighthearted look at homelessness. If that sentence bothers you, it should. I'vJoan Bauer is one of my favorite authors of all time. Almost Home is a lighthearted look at homelessness. If that sentence bothers you, it should. I've read a few YA/MG books that centered around tweens losing their homes and dealing with not having a place to hang their hat, and none of them were lighthearted. The issue is serious and heartbreaking. I put the book down for two weeks because I wasn't emotionally ready to deal with another book about a family that loses everything.
Once I got into it, I realized it doesn't actually deal with the complexities of homelessness, not really. Bauer wanted it to be uplifting and full of sweetness, which was why she named the main character Sugar and sprinkled thank you notes throughout designed to make the other people feel better.
Rant break: Maybe it's me, but I'm tired of women/girls who bend over backward to make other people feel better about themselves while their lives fall apart. I'm tired of women who are required to be gracious in the face of adversity, who let life happen to them instead of taking the lead. I don't know what it's like to be homeless, and I never will. (Not listing my reasons.) Most of all, I'm tired of heroines who have to be sweet and good in order to be likeable. I'd have liked to see Sugar lose it, especially with her father (and how creepy is it that she calls her dad, "Mr. Leeland"?) but the most you get is a respectful disagreement. I parent teens who like me and are generally good kids, but they've had their moments because they're human.
Okay, rant aside, I still liked the book. Bauer intersperses the sweetness with poems that reveal the depth of Sugar's pain when the people who are supposed to be there for her fail time and again. Sugar also emails back and forth with her 6th grade teacher who provides emotional support and encouragement. As a 6th grade teacher, I can tell you that this happens, though kids often push boundaries there, trying to make you into their parent who failed. You can't replace anyone, so that's hard. Anyway, Sugar didn't really need her teacher because she had good foster parents.
I don't think I'll recommend this one to my students as much as I will her other titles. It was well-written and a good story, but it was a little too sugar-coated for my taste....more
This would be a great read-aloud for middle grades (5-7th). It has all the JB hallmarks: a flawed/injured MC, supporting characters who cHeartwarming.
This would be a great read-aloud for middle grades (5-7th). It has all the JB hallmarks: a flawed/injured MC, supporting characters who can be helped by the MC, a heartwarming plot, great writing/use of figurative language, and a life lesson applicable to everyone.
One Truth Revealed is a smartly-written and sweet romance. Taking place mostly in an old town where everybody knows everything about everyone, this coOne Truth Revealed is a smartly-written and sweet romance. Taking place mostly in an old town where everybody knows everything about everyone, this cozy story is like a visit with old friends. Lina is lost, floundering in her attempt to find a place where she feels like she belongs. She doesn't feel at home in London, where she was raised, or with her adoptive parents, and she goes in search of her birth parents. Drew fled Oldcastle years before to escape his overbearing mother. Both make their way to this little Doc Martin-type town and fine each other.
Their attraction is immediate, and the love story that follows forces them to face their parental issues. I liked this book and its unhurried pace. I liked Lina and Drew. I felt bad for Lina when it came to artificial insemination, though. When I went through it 15 years ago, the technology was much more advanced and the outcome much more certain, especially for someone with her good health history. I loved how supportive and nonjudgmental Drew was. I cracked up at how quickly and how Britishly they got over misunderstandings. My Irish-Italian temper would have gone off on those people and held a grudge for years. But the British aren't like that. They're all "Oh, you broke my heart. Would you like some tea?"Lina and Drew both felt bad for what I would consider justified reactions. Grant's portrayal of them just made me like them all the more.
I loved every second of One Truth Revealed....more
The positives: 1. Great plot. This is my first book about what it was like to be behind the iron curtain. 2. Diverse characters. I mean this in a personThe positives: 1. Great plot. This is my first book about what it was like to be behind the iron curtain. 2. Diverse characters. I mean this in a personality-way. Nielsen does a great job presenting diverse viewpoints and reactions to Russian-occupied East Berlin during the 1960's. 3. Likeable characters. Gerta and her brother Fritz are idealistic, frustrated, and loyal to each other and their ideals. Their mother is also well-thought-out, though you have to look deeper to see it because this story is told from Gerta's POV, and she's a little immature to realize exactly what her mother is enduring. Young readers will most likely also be oblivious to it, but it's there.
Where it fell short of 5 stars: 1. Slow start. I put this down for about a week and didn't miss it. I picked it back up because my daughter assured me it was a good story. She was right. 2. Too-perfect ending. It truly has a storybook ending. Even the tragic elements are glossed-over. 3. Pacing. Not only did it have a slow start, I didn't understand why the ending was drawn out for so long. I would have liked to see more interaction with the dad/brother and less time spent tunneling.
Overall, I liked this book and I would recommend it to others who like historical fiction....more
I read this because my students raved about it. While I see the appeal to the under-12 crowd, this title didn't 'wow' me. The plot is predictable, witI read this because my students raved about it. While I see the appeal to the under-12 crowd, this title didn't 'wow' me. The plot is predictable, with a tropes I grew up seeing in middle grades fiction. Things I liked: 1. Short chapters, easy read for struggling readers. 2. Simplistic plot, but meaty and mature enough for reluctant readers ages 10-13.
Things I would change: 1. The ending was mean. Nobody recovers from a coma ready to go back to work. He was awake for weeks while those kids were depressed and feeling guilty. 2. Some of the chapters were so short it seems more like multiple personality disorder. 3. Speaking of which, the characters were melodramatic caricatures. Some may see this as a plus for reluctant readers.
Because of Mr. Terupt is beloved by many students--but only once. I haven't see a kid re-read this one, and very few pick up the other in the series....more
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