Lisa Glatt

The Short of It:

Super flawed characters, an engaging story and a nudist camp. This will probably be one of my faves for the year.

The Rest of It:

From Indiebound:

"Seven-year-old Hannah Teller is on her way to school when she’s hit by a car. Martin Kettle—just out of high school, still drunk from the night before—is the driver who injures Hannah and leaves her by the side of the road. Glatt follows the intertwined lives of these two characters as they deal with the accident’s show more aftermath."

Martin’s guilt over the accident leads him to Hannah’s bedside at the hospital. There, he leaves her secret presents, inquires about her progress and realizes that he’s changed her life forever but decides not to come forward. Instead, he moves far away and attempts to get his life in order, never really getting past the actions of that fateful day.

Hannah’s family is supportive, but her mother and father are on the brink of divorce and the added burden of caring for a crippled child just adds to their stress. Endlessly hopeful, her parents do their best for Hannah, but ultimately their marriage ends leaving Hannah to deal with visitations, new significant others and the nudist lifestyle that her step-father encourages.

Yes folks, nudist lifestyle. You read that right. This was such an interesting addition to the story and although it did make for some awkward moments, I couldn’t help but think that in some way, it mirrored the awkwardness and disappointment Hannah had over her own body. Realizing that she may never walk again, Hannah’s perception of what others think of her plays a huge role in who she is and the idea of being naked, in front of all those people is too much for her.

The story spans many years and alternates between different characters but it all comes together beautifully. It was meaningful, sometimes funny, other times very deep. All of these characters have their quirks and for some, deep running faults, but you can relate to all of them which is not something that happens too often.

I haven’t seen many reviews of The Nakeds which surprises me because it’s really quite good. I hope you pick it up.

For more reviews, visit my blog: Book Chatter. show less

Why don't I have enough budget to buy all the cute beginning chapter girl series out there? Why? Why? Well, at least I can put Abigail Iris on the top of my wishlist and hope money will be left in the budget at the end of the year....

Abigail Iris knows exactly what she wants for her half-birthday; an adorable kitten from the adoption group at the farmer's market. When she gets her wish, everything seems to be working out perfectly....but then things go wrong.

I haven't read the first Abigail show more Iris story (although it's now on my to read list!) but what set this story apart from the other little girl series is the strong realism of the story and sweet character of Abigail Iris. She's not a perfect little girl; she squabbles with her siblings and is whiny and selfish on occasion. Her family is realistic and warm; they have financial difficulties, arguments, and her parents' divorce isn't the picture-perfect glossy story I see so often in beginning chapter books. But Abigail is knows when she's being unreasonable and selfish and makes an effort to fix things that have gone wrong. Her family is warm and caring and works through their problems together.

Verdict: Joy Allen's charming black and white illustrations bring to life this story about friendship, family, and growing up. Hand this one to kids who are comfortable with chapter books (its length and vocabulary put it a little above a beginning chapter book) and to fans of Clementine and Kennemore's Alice.

ISBN: 978-0802786579; Published March 2010 by Walker; ARC provided by the publisher at ALA show less

Abigail Iris is sick of being One-of-Many―brothers and sisters, that is. She'd rather be an Only, like all her best friends, and not have to compete with siblings for time or attention. So Abigail is thrilled when she joins her friend Genevieve's family on a trip to San Francisco. She gets to stay in a fancy hotel, visit Chinatown, order room service―and she doesn't have to share anything with her pesky older siblings! Amid all the fun, though, Abigail discovers that having a set of show more parents to yourself might be nice some of the time, it just isn't right for Abigail all of the time. An adorable story for Onlies and One-of-Many alike starring a one-of-a-kind new character! show less

I loved Lisa's book A Girl Becomes a Comma Like That. I thought it was amazing, and this one was just as good. I love her writing style. Her writing style is very gritty and realistic, and I can really get into her stories because of it. It's hard to explain. "The Apple's Bruise" is a book of short stories, but with these stories, you're pretty much dropped right in the middle of these people's lives, their discussions, their arguments, their problems, and that's it. That's all you get. You show more don't get to see the beginning or the end, which makes many of them rather disturbing. show less