Willo Davis Roberts (1928–2004)

Well this was a fun LFL find. A little longer and more intense than one might guess from blurb, but also funny bits, and bits that were all about 'the feels.' I see there is a reprint with a dramatically different cover... which it deserves. However, it is hard to imagine, now, that the grandfather would not have a phone at the cottage, or in his pocket, so a reader has to approach this somewhat as 'historical fiction' in a sense.

If they can, they may love it. Solving the mystery, hiding in a treehouse/cave built by themselves on an island, learning that other families are 'broken' too, learning to row one boat & paddle another, the big stray dog... lots to enchant a kid. Some of you might have read this when you were a child. (Lots of people apparently loved this copy, as it's rubbed & wrinkled and needs a rubber band for the loose pages.... ;)

"... sometimes, when you hurt a lot, you don't feel like being nice to other people."… (more)

This summer comes with a side of death. As Cicis's first summer back to the lake cabin in 2 years she comes back to a surprise.

This book is about the death of a high school girl who got killed at what seemed to be a peaceful lake community. The conflict in the book is why someone would kill Zoey, and frame it on someone innocent. That is what Cici’s here to find out.

This book gives you a perspective of how Cici's summer trip to the lake is going. Although there are multiple feelings and emotions in this book she genuinely liked that summer even tho she got shot at and could have almost died twice that summer she still likes the thought of going there. After everything that happened that summer will always be the same as when she was a kid.

This book is full of emotions and feelings that people can relate to because Cici’s always having to feel whether that's liking Jack as her crush, being scared from gunshots, or even getting random stomach aches from discussing things that are unpleasant like death of Zoey and the thought of it being her crushes older brother. Although Cici didn't like Zoey because she needed attention from boys all the time, it got annoying. Never to the point where she thought she would get killed tho from being too annoying. Hence why she never would think Brody, Jack's older brother, would kill her even if she was trying to flirt with Brody most of the time.

I think the theme of the book Is to not say it's not always the first person you suspect of wrongdoing. The book shows the theme by instead of Trafton being caught for Zoey's murder Brody was found guilty because his footprints in the sand were the only clue they found. About a year later Cici found the true criminal being Trafton and blackmailing the judge at the same time.… (more)

Kidlet contemporary scifi!

I was gifted this by a friend who really liked this when they were younger. I made a joke about Matilda at the time, but this predates it re: precocious girls who have telekinetic abilities. The story is dated in some ways (using a phonebook to find someone? The across the hall neighbor considers astronauts as a thing that were science fiction twenty years prior?) but the feelings of being alone and wanting to find others like you are timeless, as is suddenly living with an estranged parent.

I have some questions about the world the story takes place in that aren't addressed, but that's what imagination is for I suppose (and would a ten year old be super curious about Big Pharma?) Anyway, good elementary level science fiction.… (more)

A Classic Worth Revisiting

I read this for the first time nearly 30 years ago, when I was just a bit younger than Katie's age of 9. Its not overly invested in explaining why Katie is as she is, its more interested in showing us about how she relates to world around her.

In that way I can see how some folk have revisited this within the scope of Roberts exploring autism. Much like the X-Men were stand ins for everything from racial tensions to being gay, Katie's struggles with adapting to the world at large make her relatable on multiple levels.

She's gifted, quiet, precocious and emotionally detached (at least, against how other kids are). She draws comfort from reading, and wonders why exactly others find her disturbing. Including her mother, who she hasn't seen for six years (at least not regularly).

The first time I read this was also the first time I stayed awake all night reading. I barely noticed the time I was so absorbed in finding out of Katie would resolve the mystery of who she is.

Some of it is dated - there was no modernizing this as new editions released. Discussions about long distance telephone charges, having to use multiple maps to figure out where something was, and a phone book to find a person is all...well...a thing of the past. Certainly folk still use maps or phone books, but they would not be the first thing a kid Katie's age would suggest.

Left largely unexplored is Katie's father, Joe. He appears to be an adventurer some kind, as Katie mentions he was sometimes in Montana and sometimes in Texas. Maybe a salesman? Its left pretty vague other than "he was always on the move".… (more)