Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

*Review contains spoilers*

I'm not familiar with Naylor's work, so had no expectations, other than liking the sound of the blurb, which paints it as a simple growing up/teenage love/finding your own way in life story, with a fair bit of Christian faith thrown in. The structure of the blurb worried me a little - a tad Virginia Andrews - and the first half of the book had me presuming that it was just a re-working of that standard of Regency romance plots: find the two people who fight all the show more time, and they will end up together at the end. So the *actual* story kind of snuck up on me.

When it comes right down to it, this is a book about how a family and a community cope with a single, small disaster - that of the cot-death of an 8 week old baby. We see the events through the eyes of Evie, the 16 year old second child of the local minister and the local midwife, who goes to spend the summer with her cousin, who is expecting a baby a few weeks after she arrives. The cousin doesn't live far away, but there has been some event that has meant that she and her husband don't come to visit anymore, a story that gets gently explored through the story (see, Virginia Andrews worry).

So, Evie has been learning about love, and betrayal of friends, and all those kinds of normal teenage angst things, up to that point. Plus, she has been learning about babies, and coming to love her cousin's child. When the child dies, it causes a reasonably cliched ripple of events through the community, including causing Evie to doubt her thus far unquestioning faith.

Not only do I think that this is an amazing book with respect to the issues already mentioned, but it is an amazingly good book about faith, and religion, and the differences between the two. It is good to read a book that treats any religion with respect and understanding, as well as not being overbearing or preachy, and this one really manages that fine line. It doesn't change my beliefs, but it did give me the feeling that I have more understanding of aspects of the Christian religion, which was pretty amazing, given that it is a fairly minor part of the story.

As to plot, characterisation, world-building? Good pacing on the plot, especially on the twists, fabulous characterisation - without the caricature that sometimes happens with teenager protagonists, and I have no fault with the world-building. And the 'show don't tell' about everything was fabulous. Oh, and dialogue that *never* made me want to scream. show less

When Marty discovers an abused and underfed hunting dog on his rambles through the countryside, it's love at first sight. Unfortunately, the dog belongs to Marty's neighbor, a hard, cruel man who isn't interested in giving the dog up. Moreover, Marty knows his family can't afford a pet; they can barely afford to keep food on their table. When Marty finds the dog again, he faces a moral dilemma: is it right to lie in order to save an animal's life?

This Newbery winner has appealing subject show more matter, makes for interesting group discussion, and has a strong first-person narrative voice. Plus, the dog doesn't die! (I don't feel that that's a spoiler, as there are three more books in the series with the dog's name in the title.) It's not a new favorite of mine, but it's a solid choice on the part of that year's committee. I can see myself recommending this book to young animal lovers. show less

There are many things that young teenage girls want to be, and one of the biggest ones is to be “in”—to be one of the coveted few, the most popular, the most beautiful, while simultaneously dressing, acting, and thinking exactly like every other girl in the nation. In the winter of seventh grade, Alice McKinley wants just that. Her friend Pamela convinces her to join some clubs, most of which Alice couldn’t give a whit about. She gets her ears pierced, and Pamela welcomes her into show more the “Sisterhood of Women” with open arms, while their bodily self-conscious friend Elizabeth nearly faints with terror from the news, and anything else that has to do with the human body.

In her family, strange sorts of love are in the air. For her older brother Lester, it’s the problem of trying to decide between two girls, Marilyn and Crystal, without adding any more into the mix. On the other hand, their father is certainly keeping his budding romance with Miss Summers, Alice’s language arts teacher, on the down-low.

Alice thinks it’s her dream come true when she’s suddenly included in the Beautiful People group, a group of four girls and boys who are automatically paired together and silently receive the envy of everyone else in their grade. The trouble is, they don’t do ANYTHING. All they do is stand next to each other and laugh and tease and talk chitchat about nothing. How much is it really worth to be in the popular group if Alice can’t be herself anymore? show less

Pamela should be allowed to have fun... she should not be taught to hide her light, but instead be taught self-defense. That being said, she did take her game a bit far. And Elizabeth should not be mocked for wanting to be innocent a bit longer. But see, that what made (makes?) these books so wonderful: there's no pat answers, no absolutes.

Unfortunately they are dated in some ways. And there is far too much BS in the schools... for example everyone almost immediately forgives the boys who show more tangled Pamela's hair in gum... her hair so long she could sit on it... they really need to be taken off the team or at least be given detention or something, not to mention paying for her haircut.

So much development book-to-book; glad they're short so I can keep reading to find out what happens! show less