Scan barcode
sarahfretz's review
3.0
Name: Sarah Fretz
Citation: Fraustino, L. R. (1998). Dirty laundry: stories about family secrets. New York: Viking.
Genre: Short Stories
Award:
Format: Hardcover
Selection: Scholastic Teachers and Publisher's Weekly
Dirty Laundry by Lisa Rowe Fraustino | Scholastic.com. (n.d.). Scholastic, Helping Children Around the World to Read and Learn | Scholastic.com. Retrieved April 8, 2013, from http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/dirty-laundry
Forecasts: Children's books. (1998). Publishers Weekly, 245(23), 61.
Review:
Although the book is approximately fifteen years old, Dirty Laundry: stories about family secrets tells eleven stories that most teens and even adults can connect to. Each story is written by a popular author that most teens know. What is unique about each of these stories is how they each tell a story about a family with a secret.
These stories touch upon many subjects including death, pregnancy, mental illness, divorce, and even stage fright. Each story reveals a secret that the family is holding, sometimes even for generations. As the secrets get revealed, the reader comes to empathize or understand where the characters are coming from.
One of the best stories in the book was written by popular young adult author Laurie Halse Anderson. In her story Passport, young Jared is dealing with the divorce of his parents and his father's new girlfriend. Uniquely enough, Jared tells his story mostly in terms of a war zone with statements such as "Land of Mom", "Kingdom of Dad" and his need to "maintain diplomatic relations with both parents until graduation." Her funny yet serious story is one that many teens can relate to as they grapple with being torn between parents while trying to balance a teenage life.
Although not all stories are as engaging as Passport, they all have a story or message to tell. A reader can easily find a story that they could relate to. Each family has a secret (or more than one!) and these stories show that there are not only other people (even if fictional) with these secrets but also cause the readers to think of how bad secrets can be for others.
Recommended.
Citation: Fraustino, L. R. (1998). Dirty laundry: stories about family secrets. New York: Viking.
Genre: Short Stories
Award:
Format: Hardcover
Selection: Scholastic Teachers and Publisher's Weekly
Dirty Laundry by Lisa Rowe Fraustino | Scholastic.com. (n.d.). Scholastic, Helping Children Around the World to Read and Learn | Scholastic.com. Retrieved April 8, 2013, from http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/dirty-laundry
Forecasts: Children's books. (1998). Publishers Weekly, 245(23), 61.
Review:
Although the book is approximately fifteen years old, Dirty Laundry: stories about family secrets tells eleven stories that most teens and even adults can connect to. Each story is written by a popular author that most teens know. What is unique about each of these stories is how they each tell a story about a family with a secret.
These stories touch upon many subjects including death, pregnancy, mental illness, divorce, and even stage fright. Each story reveals a secret that the family is holding, sometimes even for generations. As the secrets get revealed, the reader comes to empathize or understand where the characters are coming from.
One of the best stories in the book was written by popular young adult author Laurie Halse Anderson. In her story Passport, young Jared is dealing with the divorce of his parents and his father's new girlfriend. Uniquely enough, Jared tells his story mostly in terms of a war zone with statements such as "Land of Mom", "Kingdom of Dad" and his need to "maintain diplomatic relations with both parents until graduation." Her funny yet serious story is one that many teens can relate to as they grapple with being torn between parents while trying to balance a teenage life.
Although not all stories are as engaging as Passport, they all have a story or message to tell. A reader can easily find a story that they could relate to. Each family has a secret (or more than one!) and these stories show that there are not only other people (even if fictional) with these secrets but also cause the readers to think of how bad secrets can be for others.
Recommended.
duplica123's review
4.0
This is an interesting collection of 11 short stories that all have to do with family secrets written for teens/young adults.
The theme is an interesting one. I liked the ones that focused on the obvious secrets a family can have - family members that are never talked about, personal histories that are really painful, etc., but I was really surprised by a couple of them which ended up being ghost stories - talk about skeletons in the attic! I enjoyed several of these stories, and had read other works by two of the authors.
Overall I enjoyed the book. I liked getting a quick glimps at what could be a larger story. I would recommend this to young adults looking for new authors to try, as well as anyone who likes short stories.
The theme is an interesting one. I liked the ones that focused on the obvious secrets a family can have - family members that are never talked about, personal histories that are really painful, etc., but I was really surprised by a couple of them which ended up being ghost stories - talk about skeletons in the attic! I enjoyed several of these stories, and had read other works by two of the authors.
Overall I enjoyed the book. I liked getting a quick glimps at what could be a larger story. I would recommend this to young adults looking for new authors to try, as well as anyone who likes short stories.
More...