Teen and Young Adult Fiction Reviews
“Everyone knows a Wanda.” I stole that from a recent Amazon review of The Hundred Dresses. Winner of the 1945 Newbery Honor Award, The Hundred Dresses has never been out of print. Why? Because it’s an ageless story about bullying.… Read the rest
Painting the Rainbow is a beautiful, multi-generational story of the Greenwood family’s summer reunion. The Greenwoods appear healthy, supportive of one another, ideal—except for the mystery of Jesse’s death more than twenty years earlier.
Thirteen-year-old Holly narrates, but a neat twist is added.… Read the rest
Three weeks ago, I promised reviews based on my granddaughters’ favorite books. The oldest finally decided she loved Jane Eyre the best. She’s six, so she read the children’s version from the Treasury of Illustrated Classics. Voracious reader that she is, I give her four more years before she tackles Charlotte Brontë’s original text.… Read the rest
While Scriblerians focus almost exclusively on middle grade and YA fiction, the occasional picture book review adds some extra fun, especially if a personal story is attached.
I’ve been on “Baby Watch” for all of February. Three little granddaughters are waiting for their baby brother’s arrival.… Read the rest
Anthropomorphic. What a mouthful! But many children’s stories are anthropomorphic. Simple definition: a literary device attributing human qualities to animals or objects. However, Robert O’Brien’s Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, an anthropomorphic story, is not merely fantasy.… Read the rest
Growing up, I had always heard of the book, Mr. Popper’s Penguins, yet had never read it. I guess a story about penguins just didn’t draw my attention, but since my hometown is stuck in the deep freeze right now, Antarctica and penguins came to mind.… Read the rest