While spending the winter of 1947-48 in Miami Beach with her family, ten-year-old Sally makes up stories, casts herself in starring roles in movies, and encounters a sinister stranger. ( )

I was recently reminded of this after a conversation about the rarity of children's books about Jews that aren't all Holocaust all the time. I remembered loving this as a kid and am pleased that it stands up well to a rereading as an adult. Blume really is a good writer.

This is the story of Sally, a ten-year-old girl who moves from New Jersey to Florida with her mom, brother, and grandma after World War II, because her brother has been ill and winters down south are recommended for people's health. The community they move to seems to be all Jewish and most of the other families are also down there for the winter due to illness.

Not only does Sally have to make new friends, but she also has to adjust to how different things are in the south, such as calling everyone ma'am and sir, and segregation (I love when she writes to her dad, confused about someone who scolded her and her friend for using the colored water fountain, and her dad says it's not that different up north, people are just quieter about it, and as an example asks her how many black kids were in her old school in New Jersey).

The other main thread is Sally's wild imagination (including her deciding a strange old man who lives in their apartment building is Hitler in disguise) and how she misunderstands things she hears grown-ups talking about (reading this as an adult, it's much more amusing to see the things that fly over Sally's head).

If you never read this as a kid, or even if you did, I highly recommend checking it out. It's definitely a fun (and very quick) read. ( )

This was always one of my favorite books by Judy Blume. I'm sure others would pick Are You There, God, but this is the one I found most relatable and interesting. I was stunned to realize that Sally is only 10 (this must be my third or fourth time reading it and I just now caught it *headdesk*). She has her moments of immaturity, but I went through the book thinking she was at least 13. No matter the age, though, I'm sure plenty of children can relate to her. This is a historical fiction book, but the way it reads, you really couldn't tell. There are references to WWII being over and Hitler, but it's still just another girl living her day-to-day life. The characters are all lovely and Sally talks to them in a very engaging way, letting us know simultaneously about her world and theirs. The one nitpicky comment I have about this book is the excessive use of ellipses. Too many conversations had those triple dot-dot-dots and it did mess with my concentration at times.

Rating: 5/5 ( )

A wonderful book! I highly recomend this book to all whom are 10-13. Delightfuly funny Sally Freedman and all her adventures while she is wintering in florida, and discovering
all the amazing trouble a girl with a big imagination and a natural talent for trouble. ( )

One of my childhood favorites, this book tells the story of Sally J. Freedman who is ten years old in 1947. She moves with her mom, grandma, and brother from New Jersey to Miami Beach for the winter because her brother has been ill. Although things aren't great at first, she tries to be brave and look at the move as an adventure, but she misses her father and finds some things about Florida hard to get used to.

Sally is one of my best literary friends and she's a great character to get to know! ( )