From Back Cover:

In Violet’s sleepy Southern Town, alligators lurk, lightning strikes, and change is just around the corner.  Eleven-year-old Violet Raines likes things just the way they are in her backwoods town of Mitchell Hammock, Florida.  She loves going to the fish fry with her best friend, Lottie, collecting Brain Freeze cups with her good friend Eddie, and watching lightning storms on a warm summer day.  But when Melissa moves to town from big city Detroit, she brings with her makeup and Truth or Dare and talk of boys.  It’ll take the help of Violet’s friends, her mama, a few run-ins with lightning, and maybe even melissa, for Violet to realize that growing up doesn’t have to mean changing who you are.

My Review:

On the back cover, this book is recommended for ages 8 to 12.  I am enjoying this book, but I can’t imagine the eight-year old girls I teach would even begin to comprehend it.  I would recommend this book for girls no younger than 10 through maybe 13 or 14 years old.

As a grandma, it reminds me a great deal of my childhood.  In my neighborhood I had a best friend, and we were all set  another girl moved in.  Three girls don’t work very well as Violet finds out when Melissa move in and threatens her best friendship with Lottie.  There will be jealousy in most cases and that’s what is happening in this story.  Some girls want to grow up quickly and become teenagers and others still want to play outside.  Children from cities differ from children in the country in their interests and behavior.

This story deals with growing up, emotions, and relationships.  I love the southern flavor and homey writing.  The characters remind me of my friends and I growing up.  They are real and honest, naive and experienced.  I recommend this book for middle schoolers especially, but even as an adult I am enjoying it!  I look forward to more Violet in the future!

This entry was posted on Friday, May 8th, 2009 at 1:04 am

This post was written bySally and is filed under children's books, Fiction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.