Not my favorite of the GCBA nominees. ( )

At first glance, Feathers is a short book about a girl growing up while the world changes around her. Peering deeper past the surface, however, it’s filled to the brim with so many beautiful and wonderful things. The language is enriched with a special take on the world through the eyes of a deaf boy, Frannie’s brother: “Water, he signed, water and air. It sounds the way air feels on your face on a windy day.” There’s a love within her family that is tangible, that cause the reader to empathize with the characters, and everyone, no matter how subtle the part, has several sides to them, the good and the bad, sorrow and laughter, like each truly feels like a real person one could know.Also, there are many layers of conflict with plots and subplots throughout the text: Frannie’s mom’s fear about her pregnancies and miscarriages, Jesus boy’s struggle to fit in to an all Black community as a White child adopted by Black parents, the bully’s inner issues regarding belonging and family history, Frannie’s deaf brothers feelings of isolation from the rest of the world, Frannie’s best friend’s search for spiritual meaning and connection with an old religion to her current circumstances, and Frannie’s own journey toward depth, hope, and understanding the world around her. It’s a quick read, but something you may want to read two or three more times to grasp all of the nuances throughout the text fully. I recommend this to readers 9 .-Lindsey Miller, www.lindseyslibrary.com ( )

I wasn't sure what to think when I started reading Feathers. I knew it was a book for children and that it was a Newbery Honor book, but that was all I knew. I'm going to be honest, I'm still not sure what to tell you all it was about. I suppose the best I could tell you was that it was about hope.

Hope is the thing with feathers

That is the beginning of the poem "Hope" by Emily Dickenson. It is the poem that starts the story and starts Frannie thinking about hope. Frannie was the main character of the story that takes place in the 70's amid times of racial tension - and hope. Her brother Sean is deaf but communicates flawlessly through sign language. It was nice to hear his voice in the story. Her parents are loving and warm - which is always nice. They've gone through rough times as a family, after her mother lost a couple babies and one died young.

A new boy comes into the school and he happens to be white. He's described as pale, blond, and extremely different from all the other children in the school. He's nicknamed Jesus Boy and we never do learn his real name. He's mysterious and Frannie is drawn to him.

Each of the characters is searching for hope. Sean hopes for a bridge to the hearing world, Frannie's mother hopes for a healthy pregnancy, her best friend, Samantha, hopes for the real Jesus to return. I can't pinpoint exactly what Frannie wants except to say that she hopes for all the people in her life to be happy and content around her.

This is a lovely little story that really makes you think about what you hope for. I recommend this to anyone -because we all need hope. ( )

This book is a quick, easy read, but it is powerful. I borrowed it from the library and, upon finishing, ordered it online.

Feathers speaks to the differences and similarities of all of us through the eyes of Frannie. As she balances her life between family, middle school, old friends, and the new boy in school, she begins to question some of her ideas about what is truly important. Behind it all, are the Jesus Boy and an Emily Dickinson poem that speaks louder and clearer to Frannie as she relates both to her life. The book takes place in the early 1970's, but speaks to every generation of young people who are quite sure who they are. ( )

Frannie realizes that she is no longer the baby of the family, her mother is expecting another child. Then a white boy moves into Frannie’s school which is an all back school and the kids name him Jesus. Jesus become Frannie’s friend and stops the school bully from bulling him. While all of this is going on Frannie is trying to decide what Ms. Johnson, the teacher, is trying to get her students to understand about a poem she read to them. Finally Frannie realizes that hope is like a feather you have it for a while and then it is gone.

I enjoyed the book but it was a slow reading book. It did not keep your attention as well as I thought it would. You could understand Frannie’s problem with the poem. But in the same instance even though Jesus Boy seemed to be an important part of the story he seemed to be left out of the story and came back in at odd times.

I would use this book so that students so can get the understanding of what if feels like to move into a new school that is different from where you came. It could show them that not everyone has to be the same each person is different and even though it has always been this or that way things can change. And most important of all to hold on to hope but really the moment is like a feather and it will float away. ( )