Ruth White (1) (1942–)

At first I was rather concerned that this relatively rich and almost spoiled child was to be exploited by the author as spoiled, but it turns out she's really a sweetheart, almost always trying very hard to be kind, to be good, and also to figure out whether always being good is satisfying. And gosh, even she, we learn at the end, has had her horrible experiences.

Woodrow, too, is an individual, not a trope or icon in any sense at all. And I'll let you know right now I appreciate his true theory, revealed in the end, about what happened to his mother.

I like that all characters have their backstories, even Woodrow's father who gets maybe 5-6 pages of attention. We don't necessarily learn a lot about them, for example, the grandparents, but clearly the author knows exactly who they are.

I see that there is a sequel. Even though I only read this because of Newbery Club, I will consider reading further.

If only to get more ideas for food: cornbread crumbled on vegetables, Peach Ice drink, made from vanilla ice cream, fresh peaches, and ginger ale.

Do not name your children Belle, or Love... or Chastity or Summer or Caesar for that matter. Let them be themselves, instead of fighting with the expectations risen by their name.… (more)

Ugh. How to evaluate. Some lame bits, esp. near the beginning. Some bits of brilliant writing. An important theme: "Fear of the unknown" does indeed cause a lot of problems... including racism, homophobia, book banning, and even the misunderstandings that lead to wars.

But a society of conformity is no answer, as we know from [b:The Giver|3636|The Giver (The Giver, #1)|Lois Lowry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1342493368l/3636._SY75_.jpg|2543234], [b:Brave New World|5129|Brave New World|Aldous Huxley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575509280l/5129._SY75_.jpg|3204877], [b:1984|58325858|1984|George Orwell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1623581287l/58325858._SY75_.jpg|153313], and many other dystopias. Do we need this book, or do we need to encourage more people to read the better classics?

I don't particularly recommend this unless your library has been purged of the more well-known books. I do recommend that you discuss the themes with your children.… (more)