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froggylibrarian1's review against another edition
4.0
Missy is having a rough time lately. Her brother Patrick has noticed they are poor and needs her help to raise money for new clothes. Her dad is getting remarried. Her two best friends are away at camp and seem to be growing up and moving on without her. Missy is struggling...but when she and Partick start picking blueberries at a local farm she finds something she enjoys. Until Patrick starts hanging out with a new girl instead of her and the other kids start questioning the truth behind the blueberry fields and an old "blood fued".
So this "coming of age" story was quietly successful. I enjoyed the story and felt that Missy was easy to relate to. My concern is whether my readers will stick with the book since it is so quiet. I had a few issues with references to Patrick and his new girlfriend in her bikini top and when Missy mocked Shauna's assests using apples ;0
Overall a nice book...
So this "coming of age" story was quietly successful. I enjoyed the story and felt that Missy was easy to relate to. My concern is whether my readers will stick with the book since it is so quiet. I had a few issues with references to Patrick and his new girlfriend in her bikini top and when Missy mocked Shauna's assests using apples ;0
Overall a nice book...
jeannemurray3gmailcom's review against another edition
4.0
Great book about growing up. Highly recommended. Missy is 12 years old and learning about what is important in life.
scostner's review against another edition
4.0
I finished this book earlier today, but I had to wait a bit before writing about it. The voice of Missy (the main character), sounded amazingly similar to my own at that age and it brought back memories and feelings from those times in my life that needed to settle a little. Missy is at that age where everything is changing - her brother is worried about going to high school, her father is getting remarried, her best friends have decided they are too old now to do some of the things they have always done together - nothing is the same. As most tweens and teens do, Missy fluctuates between anger, bewilderment, and laughter as she tries to come to terms with her life.
By the end of the story, Missy comes to the end of a long roller coaster of emotional upheaval and has a very mature thought as she watches her mother and father. "...do you turn those things off - close them like a book you once loved but couldn't possibly read again? And if so, are our lives made up of books like that? Entire collections of moments that make us who we are, but are impossible to keep open all at once?" As a librarian and book lover, I love the imagery and find it very true.
I don't want to give you the idea that this is a maudlin book, because it has plenty of bright moments, too. One of my favorite scenes is when Missy goes to her friend's house to help her pack for summer camp. Constance and Allie are going to camp, but Missy always helps on Packing Day. This year, Allie has decided she wants to be called Allison and both girls are worried about packing their bras (now that they wear them). Missy proclaims in a robot voice, "I-See-That-You-Two-AreVery-Grown-Up-Now-That-You-Go-to-Sleepaway-Campand-Also-Wear-Bras...Perhaps-We-Should-Also-Discuss-Marriage-And-Careers." Although sometimes the humor is the kind that is laughing to keep from crying, Missy is very funny.
For readers going through those transitional times in their own lives, whether it is going from tween to teen, from elementary school to middle school, or some other big adjustment, this story will resonate with you. Perfect for those who enjoy realistic fiction, coming-of-age stories, writers like Cynthia Rylant or Phyllis Reynolds Naylor.
I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
By the end of the story, Missy comes to the end of a long roller coaster of emotional upheaval and has a very mature thought as she watches her mother and father. "...do you turn those things off - close them like a book you once loved but couldn't possibly read again? And if so, are our lives made up of books like that? Entire collections of moments that make us who we are, but are impossible to keep open all at once?" As a librarian and book lover, I love the imagery and find it very true.
I don't want to give you the idea that this is a maudlin book, because it has plenty of bright moments, too. One of my favorite scenes is when Missy goes to her friend's house to help her pack for summer camp. Constance and Allie are going to camp, but Missy always helps on Packing Day. This year, Allie has decided she wants to be called Allison and both girls are worried about packing their bras (now that they wear them). Missy proclaims in a robot voice, "I-See-That-You-Two-AreVery-Grown-Up-Now-That-You-Go-to-Sleepaway-Campand-Also-Wear-Bras...Perhaps-We-Should-Also-Discuss-Marriage-And-Careers." Although sometimes the humor is the kind that is laughing to keep from crying, Missy is very funny.
For readers going through those transitional times in their own lives, whether it is going from tween to teen, from elementary school to middle school, or some other big adjustment, this story will resonate with you. Perfect for those who enjoy realistic fiction, coming-of-age stories, writers like Cynthia Rylant or Phyllis Reynolds Naylor.
I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
smlunden's review against another edition
3.0
I was successfully invested and riled up by the plot, but then it wrapped up before I had a chance to calm down, leaving me a bit angry at her whole family?
booksandbosox's review against another edition
3.0
http://librarianosnark.blogspot.com/2015/07/review-secrets-of-blueberries-brothers.html
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