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February Read - The Year of Billy Miller
By Kristen · 22 posts · 121 views
By Kristen · 22 posts · 121 views
last updated May 18, 2014 09:12PM
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It's Never too Early to Start...
By Kristen · 214 posts · 780 views
By Kristen · 214 posts · 780 views
last updated Jan 02, 2014 08:10AM
What Members Thought
A lot of readers seem to have felt this book started to drag or get disorganized in the middle, but I had the opposite experience... I thought it was deadly dull and pointless until the middle, at which point I read straight through. While I didn't think this was one of the best kids' books of the year, of what I read, I didn't find as many good kids' books as usual, so I throw up my hands. This one had a few major sticking points for me, especially a letter near the end that provides the kind o
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I love when a book takes me out of my reality and plops me square in the middle of another. One Came Home is that book. The setting alone made me wish with all my might that I might live in the middle of nowhere before cell phones and Pinterest just so that I could look up into a night sky and hear silence.
Big sister disappears and everyone presumes she is dead. Little sister has done lost her mind and decides to pick up a shotgun, hit the trail on a mule (yes, a mule, as in half donkey, half h ...more
Big sister disappears and everyone presumes she is dead. Little sister has done lost her mind and decides to pick up a shotgun, hit the trail on a mule (yes, a mule, as in half donkey, half h ...more
My Mock Newbery Club selected this book. Clearly, the official Newbery committee liked it. My feelings are slightly more than neutral. I found the background information on the passenger pigeons very interesting. I also loved the strong female protagonist.
I've never considered myself a big Western fan, but I loved True Grit and I sure enjoyed the heck out of this. Georgie is the kind of narrator who is amusing without being aware of it. I imagine her so serious and self-important (like Mattie Ross), but not unlikable.
Weird side note: I read Navigating Early recently and I couldn't help but be struck by the similarity in the plots. Both books are about a kid going after a supposedly dead older sibling. Is this going to be a new thing? Like journe ...more
Weird side note: I read Navigating Early recently and I couldn't help but be struck by the similarity in the plots. Both books are about a kid going after a supposedly dead older sibling. Is this going to be a new thing? Like journe ...more
One Came Home started slowly for me, but picked up until I couldn't go to sleep without finishing it. I enjoyed the voice of Georgie, and her interesting way of dealing with the circumstances of her sister's death, which were unacceptable to her. Pursuing the truth, finding some new information, encountering dangerous animals, defending her family and friends, all from the back of a donkey.
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I think I need to read more books eligible for the 2014 Newbery; just not sure how this one stacks up. It's thoughtful, and the protagonist is memorable and changes through her experiences. One Came Home is set in 1871 Wisconsin, so the period is not like WW2 or the Civil War.
At least 1 weakness I can find is a sense of the older sister Agatha. She never came alive for me, but that might be my failing as a reader. I did find the conflict & plot development memorable, and humor also played a par ...more
At least 1 weakness I can find is a sense of the older sister Agatha. She never came alive for me, but that might be my failing as a reader. I did find the conflict & plot development memorable, and humor also played a par ...more
"True Grit" for the 4th grade girl. Enough guns and mystery and suspense for, dare I say, the boys. My only quibble was the unnecessarily long ending.
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Part mystery, part historical fiction. The voice of the female protagonist is very believable. The story twists and turns and keeps you guessing. It is worthy of the Newbery Honor.
Took me a couple of attempts to get through this one, but I'm glad I kept trying. I thought it was very good, but suffered from having a little too much going on. The fire refugee stuff at the end felt particularly tacked on - like it was only there because that happened the same year as the pigeons so Timberlake tried to make it fit through the theme of Georgie learning mercy. Georgie's voice was strong and I enjoyed the twists and turns of the mystery surrounding Agatha's disappearance.
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I was skeptical of this story at first...I liked the distinct voice of the 13 year old girl narrater, but I didn't like the subject matter that much. Eventually, though, I was hooked! It turns into a very exciting western-style story. If you enjoyed "True Grit," you will like this book.
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Given a 2014 Newbery Honor Award. And I think it is well deserved. An adventure book set in Wisconsin the year of the largest carrier pigeon nesting recorded. With its many twists and turns, it had me guessing and re-guessing. Highly recommend.
Mar 09, 2013
Kristin McIlhagga
marked it as to-read
Mar 15, 2013
Parry Rigney
marked it as to-read
Apr 26, 2013
Jamie
marked it as to-read
Oct 28, 2013
sharon
marked it as to-read
Jan 27, 2014
Astrid Lim
marked it as wishlist
Jan 30, 2014
June
marked it as to-read
