Linda Oatman High

She had me with the opening phrase, "The springtime sunshine pours like warm honey from the sky…" I loved this book, not only for the rich language or the strong granddaughter to grandfather bond it is based in, but because of its overarching gentleness. It feels like a quiet observational text, one that doesn't force itself on the characters, but rather lets the story come as it will. There are no great speeches dripping with deep wisdom, just a record of the experience told with a show more comforting lilt. show less

The poeticly inclined diva, Laura Crapper,
otherwise known as Sister Slam,
is a curvy, loud-mouthed, boot-stomping,
vest-wearing, skirt-swinging,
flame-haired graduate from the realm
of high school hell. Together
with her fellow word warrior
and best friend, Twig, hit the road
with a squealing of gravel spitting tires
and begin their Poetic Motormouth Road Trip
to the enchanted land of New Jersey,
where they plan to stand
in the circular spotlight glow
and slam words into the microphone.

Along the show more yellow divided road, they
discover real world realities
in the form of cops and fender benders,
lost wallets and luggage,
along with divine new possibilities,
like applause and recognition
for notebook bound phrases
spun into spoken work, and perchance,
even a bit of romance in the form
of a green-eyed Jake.

This novel, broken
into lines and rhymes,
is a fast paced read full
of fun and good times.
Though the rhythm perhaps
lacks the flow of natural dialog
and the condensed nature
of scenes and events unfolding
rapidly, from line to line
and page to page,
means the level of depth
is somewhat shallow, there remains
growth and coming
into adulthood by remembering home
and accepting the raw hurt
of loss. The result is imperfect,
but playful and joyful and a book
worth reading. show less

A girl travels to Atlantic City with her father, a professional photographer, and is entranced by the diving horses at Steel Pier. SPOILER: She not only gets a chance to dive that summer (as a passenger), but grows up to become one of the divers. The author's and illustrator's notes at the end are as interesting as the story. The pictures are lovely and bring back memories of the beach and boardwalk in Atlantic City, where I also stayed as a child from Philadelphia.

"Even Rose, who would have been my bosom buddy, if I had a bosom, just didn't get it." Silver Iris Nickles wants a dog, and within the first chapter the message is loud and clear. By chapter two her and Rose are painting her sleeping grandfather's toenails and chatting it up.

For a 1995 book, this one feels very rough and is worded a touch harsh at the start. Words like papaw and chew and mamaw stand out, and for those who don't know their meaning off the bat, it becomes a bit of a trip. The show more first few chapters are silly, but rough to read out loud.

There is a distinct lack of touch with reality in this story. Dudley is a stalker and eccentric fellow. Which is really really hard to word nicely. He's a creep, he stalks her for a long time, he takes two of her most prized possessions, he peeks in her window, he's really messed up. Definitely did not age well, but it's written as he's just misunderstood(but lines like "I wanted a part of you" and sleeping with things that were her come off creepy).

Her papaw has fake teeth, and has a heart attack that turns him around, and he decides to get married, which also reads weird. Sort of a final marriage to die during or something(honestly that part had me displeased and disturbed greatly). The Chapter of the marriage is even titled Two Dried-up Old Lovebirds. Kind of all the nope material I needed from a book right there because of implications.

There's talk of Avon and Kmart in this book, and whew, that alone had me in a tizzy, those are some relics nowadays, slowly fading out.

Some things that happen and are said are dated farther back than the nineties, making for a little bit of that aged feeling(and you gotta explain them too), but the book isn't bad, it's okay, not great or a thrill, just an okay book. In another ten or twenty years it might suffer worse from aging, had I read this as a child in the nineties I bet I'd have hated it a lot. It's not a dog book that grips you like most are. In fact, it's a dog book likely destined to just be let go of, and nodded to, but not much more. show less