So the 2008 Newbery winners have been announced, but it’s only been in the last several months that I managed to read the 2007 winner and one of the honor books. I always love it when I agree with the committee.
The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron (Newbery winner) and Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson (Newbery honor) were both so good I made my husband read them.
Here are brief summaries and my thoughts:
Higher Power of Lucky (Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books, November 2006) early Middle Grade novel
Summary: 10 -year-old Lucky is sure her guardian Brigitte wants to go back to back to France and she’ll end up in an orphanage. (Brigitte is Lucky’s father’s first wife that he arranged to come take care of her after Lucky’s mother died.) “The meanness gland in her heart and the crevices full of questions in her brain make running away from Hard Pan, California (population 43), the rock-bottom only choice she has.”
Author Susan Patron has such a way of putting you right there with Lucky; I think it’s her attention to details – one in fact which got some negative attention in the press. This book is so hopeful. It’s one I think all kids should read.
Hattie Big Sky (Delacorte Press, 2006) Young Adult Novel Summary: “For most of her life, sixteen-year-old Hattie Brooks has been shuttled from one distant relative to another. Tired of being Hattie Hear-and-There, she summons the courage to leave Iowa and move all by herself to Vida, Montana to prove up on her late uncle’s homesteading claim.”
I loved the character of Hattie. I loved learning more about a time period–WWI–that I was less familiar with. Made me wonder what my own ancestors had experienced.
Do you have teens whining about how tough they have it? Have them read this novel, which by the way was inspired by a true story.
Read more about the author at her websitehttp://www.kirbylarson.com/.
P.S. I’ve known Kirby for years, and she is a real sweetie, which makes her award even more deserved.
I picked the book up on Saturday morning and due to grandchildren present didn’t finish till Monday about 4 pm. Some stuff in the book annoyed me and other things amazed me, when I thought, she had to have all this planned when she wrote book one. My two guesses on which main characters would die: well, one I was absolutely correct and the other I was wrong. I don’t think the epilogue was necessary, but since it was there, there were some other questions I wished it had answered. There was a place where I wish the characters (at least Harry, Ron and Hermione) had responded to the unexpected appearance of an object, which will remain unnamed so as not to spoil anything for anyone. But overall, I enjoyed it.
Murder Mystery, yet so much more…
My recommendation on this book is only start it when you have a lot of time to read. Because, if you’re like me, all thoughts of what you’re supposed to be doing will get shoved aside by the desire to know what happens in the story. None of my “I’ll stop at the end of a chapter” thoughts stood a chance. Eventually I just gave in and read to the end of the book.