Delacorte, March 2009
Overall Grade: A
Almost-11-year-old Carolina Campbell faces tragedy early when her parents die. And her best friend movies away. And her grandmother suffers a stroke. And her foster parents are mean and neglectful. And when they don’t even come after her when she runs away. But when she comes to the Harmony farm, run by kind Mr. Ray and Miss Latah, Carolina learns that if you allow it, tragedy can be the door to true happiness.
In her debut novel, author Marilyn Taylor McDowell crafted a beautiful story around a very beautiful character. Although the plot is somewhat predictable, it is above-average for a character-focused novel, containing a few twists and turns which were refreshingly surprising. The sense of time and setting is tangible and the consistency of all the characters in their world is excellent.
Literary Quality: A-
Plot: B (But it’s a character-focused book)
Voice: A+
Originality: A-
Descriptive Ability: A+
Humor: n/a
Illustrations: n/a
Believability of Characters: A+
Believability of Situations: A+
Overall Reading Enjoyment: A
Possibly objectionable topics*: death of parents, child neglect
Overall Grade: A
Almost-11-year-old Carolina Campbell faces tragedy early when her parents die. And her best friend movies away. And her grandmother suffers a stroke. And her foster parents are mean and neglectful. And when they don’t even come after her when she runs away. But when she comes to the Harmony farm, run by kind Mr. Ray and Miss Latah, Carolina learns that if you allow it, tragedy can be the door to true happiness.
In her debut novel, author Marilyn Taylor McDowell crafted a beautiful story around a very beautiful character. Although the plot is somewhat predictable, it is above-average for a character-focused novel, containing a few twists and turns which were refreshingly surprising. The sense of time and setting is tangible and the consistency of all the characters in their world is excellent.
Literary Quality: A-
Plot: B (But it’s a character-focused book)
Voice: A+
Originality: A-
Descriptive Ability: A+
Humor: n/a
Illustrations: n/a
Believability of Characters: A+
Believability of Situations: A+
Overall Reading Enjoyment: A
Possibly objectionable topics*: death of parents, child neglect
1 comment:
I love the set-up of your blog posts! Reporter's Review? Brilliant!
I have never read or heard of this book but it sounds like something my little sister would read. I'll tell her about it! :)
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