Last weekend I started my mental vacation a little earlier and tore through these three easy-reads:
Unfortunately, The Penny Pinchers Club wasn't as good as I thought it would be. It was kinda shallow and not all that realistic. The lack of depth and my inability to feel a real connection with the main character mad this book kind of a waste for me. Too bad.
I try to read the Newbery nominees each year, and I had high hopes for this book, given the number of awards it's won. Having lived in Oakland/Berkeley for over ten years, I was looking forward to making some connections with the setting of the One Crazy Summer, and I was interested to read a young-adult novel take on the Black Power movement of the late 1960s. Again, though, I was disappointed. While the protagonist had some depth to her character, the book overall lacked the kind of depth I had hoped for. I'm not sure how much a young reader would take away in terms of understanding the historical period through narrative. More details and some additional information via and afterward of "historical notes" would have helped.
Turtle in Paradise was by far the best of last weekend's reads. I felt a good connection with the main character, the historical details were plentiful but not pedantic, and the plot moved along well enough to keep a young reader engaged. There's an afterward with some additional details that as an adult I found especially interesting.
LOVE it! Keep writing reviews! It'll help guide me to some good summer reading.
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