It’s likely that only the most die-hard fans of the Little House books will appreciate this novel, set on the midwestern prairie in the 1870s. First-time novelist Arrington tells the story of resourceful 11-year-old Polly and her 9-year-old sister, Jessie, daughters of Swedish-immigrant homesteaders. The girls’ mother falls into a near-catatonic state at the beginning of the tale, and ultimately, horrified and powerless to stop her, her daughters watch her walk out of their lives. It soon becomes apparent that she has had a delayed reaction to the deaths of her two infant sons in the recent past and is no longer able to cope with her difficult and lonely life. Meanwhile, before the story began, the girls’ father had gone off to bury his deceased brother and, having broken his leg, has been unable to return home. Polly and Jessie manage on their own while fending off grasping neighbors. Despite the girls getting lost at one point in the high, wild grasses, the bluestems that surround their home and define their lives, there is little adventure here and the sisters’ experiences are surprisingly uninvolving as they wait and wait for Papa to come back. Young readers will likely be impressed by how much responsibility the children easily assumed in the “olden days,” but this novel is too bland to arouse much interest otherwise. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-399-23564-7
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In this 1920's story, set in the rural Northeast, Annie Lucas is the first in her family given the opportunity to continue her education. But there are obstacles: she must pass high-school entrance exams, find a room in town, persuade her family to release her from duties on the farm. As she watches her two oldest siblings escape the drudgery of farm life and the youngest enter the world, nearly costing her mother's life, she's beset by conflicting emotions. Foremost, she doesn't want to follow in her mother's footsteps, though circumstances persistently press her in that direction. First-novelist Clark's delineation of Annie's character is awkward and erratic, yet the final pages here provide a satisfying and credible conclusion. (Illustrations not seen.) (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1993
ISBN: 1-56397-053-8
Page Count: 196
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1993
Banks returns to the small Kentucky town featured in Project Wheels (1993) for another lightweight, deftly written episode in the lives of an ethnically mixed group of sixth graders. Jury Jenkins is drawn to new African-American classmate Ayreal, which puts him at odds with his twin, Judge, and friends Faye and Angela, who don't quite trust Ayreal; meanwhile, Jury's mother, considering remarriage, is hanging out with an older man with very conservative ideas. Readers will enjoy watching Jury try to puzzle out the odd behavior of girls and grownups and are sure to get the point when Ayreal explains her initial coldness to Angela by describing how she overheard the father of another white friend make racist remarks. Unforced humor and lively, simply drawn characters make the lessons palatable. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: April 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-395-66610-4
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
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