Theresa NelsonCríticas

The plucky heroine, Julia, and a few other characters, are based on some real people. I really enjoyed this story and thought it would be a good movie.

Slim watches over her father, a disarmingly charismatic man, as his struggle with AIDS reaches its climax.

A quick glance at the cover and title of this book might have one expecting a Little House on the Prairie-type story of survival on the plains, but this is actually the tale of a spirited young girl's year in a St. Louis orphanage. Over the course of that year, Julia bites a nun, accidentally steals a pair of binoculars when she sneaks into a baseball game, plots to break her brother out of juvie, and has a near-fatal run-in with some gangsters -- and those are only a few of her adventures. Despite her daring escapades, Julia really dreams of a simple life on a farm, with some chickens and maybe a cow, and her family all together, and plenty of room to breathe . . . but is there any way she can attain that dream?

Really, my only problem with this book is how little the title and cover fit the story. The story itself is well-written and interesting, with funny parts and suspenseful parts, covering a bit of history not often explored. It's loosely based on the author's husband's family history, adding a ring of authenticity, and both major and minor characters are multifaceted and well-developed. If you like historical fiction featuring scrappy protagonists in urban settings in the early 20th century, give this book a try -- just don't look at the cover and expect Oregon Trail!½

Geraldine is torn. Her brother and his best friend have been larger than life figures in her life, but when her brother goes to Vietnam and his friend, Sam, begins protesting, a rift is formed between the family and Sam. Geraldine needs to see him in a new way to understand how he feels and heal the break.

There was a girl named Geraldine and she had an older brother, wind, and his best friend Sam. Swore they will have an enteired friendship and a everlasting one too. They think than morales and the Vietnam war have nothing to offer to the school. Uncle they came to visit.
Kim O.

Ruby, her little brother, Pete, and their mother have moved to California following the sudden absence of Ruby and Pete's father. Her mother is reluctant to explain her father's disappearance, so Ruby, who loves movies and dreams of becoming a famous screenwriter, rationalizes his absence with dramatic scenarios involving accidents or undercover work for the CIA. A straight-A student, Ruby is paired for a seventh-grade project with Big Skinny and Mouse, two boys whom Ruby regards as morons. Intending to spend the summer writing her screenplay, Ruby winds up working off a community service sentence with Big Skinny and Mouse after the three are caught during a prank involving graffiti. Ruby is humiliated, insisting her part was due completely to "extenuating circumstances." As if that's not enough, Ruby must also cope with a landlady who walks around with her parrot, Lord Byron, perched upon her head, and her mother's boss, who seems to be spending more and more time with Ruby's mother. Author Theresa Nelson does an outstanding job of intercutting the day-to-day story with snippets of Ruby's screenplay. She also shows a deft hand at balancing the funny, sad, and ultimately touching story of a young girl learning to accept sometimes-complicated realities. (Linda Ruble, Children's Literature)

John and Patricia Beatty Award Finalist, 2004

Under Review