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What Members Thought
Really, it is 4 and 3/4 stars. Yes, it is THAT good. I could not put this down. Everything else had to suffer until I finished. It has been my goal lately to read more realistic fiction featuring male characters and I grabbed this one after reading a review. Oh, boy. This is one of those books in which you, as the reader, just want to reach into the book and give this kid a hug.
I am not going to recap the plot here, but I will add my thoughts. I will not get spoilery.
Frankie Joe is a sympathe ...more
I am not going to recap the plot here, but I will add my thoughts. I will not get spoilery.
Frankie Joe is a sympathe ...more
Frankie Joe is a very appealing character. I found myself rooting for him to make it back to Texas and his mother even while I knew that wasn't likely to happen. Frankie tells his story in first person, present tense, which helps create a feeling of being there with this earnest family as they adjust to a new (temporary, hopes Frankie) member. The oldest half-brother is quite believable, and Frankie's unintentional place as the eldest son creates realistic tension between the two boys. Although
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I thought this was a very well written and engaging story about a boy who is sent to live with a family he's never met, all the while yearning to escape back to the life he's known with his mother. I do admit that as an adult it was pretty easy to guess what was going to happen to Frankie Joe. The ending was not a surprise, but it was a touching book.
My problem. Maybe someone else can clear this up for me, but I for the life of me cannot decide what the time period in this story is intended to b ...more
My problem. Maybe someone else can clear this up for me, but I for the life of me cannot decide what the time period in this story is intended to b ...more
Frankie Joe's has been sent to live with his father and stepmother following his mother's arrest. Leaving his home and friends behind in Laredo, Texas Frankie Joe moves to Clearview, Illinois with a family he never knew he had including his four brothers: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. His step mom Lizzie works very hard to include him in all aspects of their family including established routines and traditions like: chores, after-school activities and Saturday tutoring. Despite everything Franki
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I am pretty sure my 4th grade daughter liked this book more than I did, so I bumped it up a star. This book is a Golden Sower nominee, and the 8th of 10 books on our reading list. The story is about a 13 year old boy who, until recently, lived with his single (free-spirited, un-mothering to the point of neglect) mom in a trailer park in Laredo, Texas. Unfortunately (or perhaps not), his mother's adolescent activities range to the illegal, and she ends up in jail. His biological father comes to f
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Solid realistic fiction. Frankie Joe is a character you'd like to meet in person whether you're a kid or an adult.
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Nebraska Intermediate Golden Sower nominee for 2013/2014. Suprisingly good MG realistic fiction. Frankie Joe has been shipped off to a father he doesn't know after his mother goes to jail. To top it all off he has four "legitimate" half brothers and a step-mother thrown into the mix. Kind of a "fish out of water" story, but with a really lovely ending. This could be a hard story for some kids to read if they have absentee or neglectful parents like Frankie Joe but it is a lovely story of love ov
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Frankie Joe's mom made a big mistake and now Frankie Joe is going to live with his dad who he really doesn't know. On the drive there, Frankie Joe also finds out that he has four half brothers and a step mom he never knew about. He misses his mom and his friends at home so he starts making a plan for how to get back. This is a great story about resilience and making realistic plans. It would be great connected to "One for the Murphys" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt or "The Pictures of Hollis Woods" by Pa
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12 year old Frankie Joe loves his mother Marti with a fierce love. It's always just been the two of them and Frankie Joe takes good care of her. But lately Marti has made more poor choices than good and the latest bad decision has her serving time. Now Frankie Joe finds himself uprooted from his Laredo, Texas home to go live in northern Illinois with the father he's never known, who, it turns out is married with four other children. Frankie Joe sure doesn't plan to stay where he's not wanted. To
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I liked the characters in the story except for frankie's new family. His parents were annoying! The pec was nice but some do it was too convenient. The ending was rushed and too much emotionl helping and heart changing happened into few pages. ...more
Apr 04, 2012
Donalyn
marked it as to-read
Aug 07, 2012
Elisabeth
marked it as to-read
