Pictures of Hollis Woods

Hollis Woods is a foster child, and she's been billed as trouble. Ever since the past summer, she's run away from homes when she gets tired of being there. She's given a new chance, however, when she goes to live with an older woman named Josie, who connects with Hollis through their artistic ability. In between the chapters narrating "The Time with Josie," Hollis slowly explains what happened that caused her to start running.

Because of the similarity in plot - an independent heroine in search of a place to belong - I couldn't help but compare and contrast Hollis' story to The Great Gilly Hopkins. But after awhile, I stopped the mental comparison. Hollis has a different personality and different desires from Gilly. Even though she's show more "trouble" because of her running, Hollis shows kindness in her unwillingness to leave Josie alone when it becomes clear that the older woman has become more than normally forgetful. She does want a family, but she makes one where she is instead of trying to recreate the past. I really enjoyed this story, and I cheered for Hollis all the way. show less

I picked this one up at a local used book store for less than $2. I hadn't watched the movie, though I do plan to now, and was curious as to how they made a film from such a short book (probably a one day read or shorter.) I was completely surprised by how much emotion and substance the author has packed into what appears at first glance to be a pre-teen book. It definitely still qualifies as being for teens, even young teens, but is an excellent book for any age. The story follows an orphan, Hollis Woods, as she moves into a new foster home under the care of an eccentric artist who is quickly becoming lost in the effects of dementia. Hollis frequently looks back on her past experiences in foster homes, many of which she ran away from, show more including the only foster family where she felt like she belonged. I loved her care and loyalty to Josie Cahill. I think it shows that even those children the system deems as troubled and perhaps not worth their time, are really just lost children needing to find their place of belonging. This is one book I'm so glad I picked up. show less

Hollis Woods has been an orphan since she was found. She's been a heck of a lot of trouble for the foster families she's been a part of, usually sticking around for a few months, then running away. But she is a prodigy as an artist.

In some chapters, Hollis is telling about her current foster situation, with an elderly woman, also an artist, who Hollis really cares about, but who is beginning to suffer from dementia herself, and therefore is not a competent guardian. In other chapters we get glimpses of a past family that Hollis was a part of. A family she clearly loved very deeply. But something went wrong and she left.

Hollis Woods is a sad and lovely girl. Though the DSS folks clearly found her to be an awful pain, the vision the show more reader gets is of a girl who has never felt like she belongs anywhere or with anybody, making her a very sad character.

It builds to a conclusion that warms the heart. show less

This book has connected with me since I first read it when I was around 11-12. I am not an orphan. But for some reason, I felt like one. I connected with Hollis in a way that I haven't connected with characters in a long time. The story is pretty simple and straight forward. Hollis is a young girl (12) who has been an orphan her whole life. She was abandoned on a street called Hollis Woods. And grown up in foster care her whole life. She has been shuffled around countless times and thinks she is "always trouble for somebody." Hollis's talent is drawing. She is a fantastic artist for her age and even through her hard life, as long as she has paper and a pencil, she will be fine. The book goes back and forth through chapters entitled show more "Time with Josie" and different pictures she has drawn that mean a lot to her. The pictures represent flashbacks of a time over the summer where she lived with the Regan family. The Old Man, Izzie and their son, Steven. Hollis grows to love them over the summer and as time goes on they grow to love her as well. When they ask Hollis if they can adopt her, she thinks she finally has a family. She and Steven get in a car accident (Steven has a habit of taking his father's old truck without his permission) and Steven gets hurt pretty badly. Hollis thinks this is proof she is bad and leaves. She refuses to talk to them and won't go back to live with them, even once Steven is okay. Hence her time with Josie. She is currently living with an elderly woman and a painter named Josie. She has been a foster mother to a number of children and Hollis's social worker thought that the art thing would make them connect. It does, but Josie is getting early onset alzheimers. I won't go into too much more detail because I have already spoiled a lot, but Hollis is forced to confront the Regans and what is going on with Josie. For some reason, I really cannot name it, other than I felt like a lonely orphan looking for my family at the time, this is a special little book. show less

Hollis Woods is afraid, so she runs. She is afraid of abandonment, she is afraid of feeling and she is afraid of commitment. Hollis has suffered tremendously, but has also been loved, but her suffering would not allow her to feel deeply enough to allow that love in, until someone needed her. Through the frailty of Josie, who has a common interest (art) and an authentic need (she is loosing her memory), Hollis learns that each day holds special moments that create pictures worth holding onto for a lifetime. She learns to love, and as importantly, to allow herself to be loved.

When children confuse us, rejecting even the kindest invitations, we would be wise to consider that perhaps there are parts of them and their histories that we show more simply do not understand. Perhaps the need is not to be invited, but rather to be needed. Hollis Woods can serve to remind us of the power of being needed. show less

What a wonderful, wonderful book! This 2003 Newbery Honor winner might be my #1 book of the year!

Hollis Woods received her name from the area in which she was abandoned as an infant.
Hollis Woods received her spunk after years of feeling neglected and unwanted.
Hollis Woods, like most people who learned hard knocks at an early age, built a hard impenetrable wall around her soul.

Shuffled by the system into one house after another, Hollis Woods, simply ran away when she felt it was time to get going.

Hollis Woods is an incredible artist who draws people and her surroundings in order to make sense of an upside down life. At the age of six when her school assignment was to draw a picture of something containing the letter W, Hollis drew a show more family to represent the word Wish or Want!

Years later when her wish and want came true, she pushed the family away.

This is a book exceedingly well written by an author who knows how to portray the emotions of a child struggling to belong.

Highly recommended show less

Buddy read with GR friend Laura. I could have easily read this book during a single day, if scheduled that way. It was very hard to stop reading as I wanted to keep reading, and I did read it over 3 days, my buddy taking a bit longer because she got even busier with real life than I am. Whatever you do, don’t pick page 125 as a stopping point. Luckily, the chapters are short and it’s easy to read just one more if you don’t want to stop.

I had seen and enjoyed the tv movie when it first aired. I remembered one scene at/near the end of the movie but was surprised and glad that I remembered no other details of the story, even as I read the book all the happened was not familiar and no memories of the story surfaced as I read it. The show more story was like new to me, and from what I remember of the movie, I think it changed a great deal from the book, especially the details of that one thing at the end of the movie and near the end of the book.

Great story. Wonderful and memorable characters including an especially unique cat.

I cried at the end, mostly happy tears. I would have adored this book when I was 9-12 years old and I loved it even now.

I might watch the movie again. I have the DVD home from the library. I want to see the art, particularly Hollis’s. I remember a bit about how Josie’s art looked.

Recommended for those who have interest in orphan/foster child stories, for artists and those interested in art, those who enjoy (complicated) family stories, those who can appreciate reading about older people with memory problems, cat lovers, most girls ages 9-12. show less