Because of Winn-Dixie

Because of Winn-Dixie, by Kate DiCamillo

Started 01.21.21 • Finished 02.08.21

It all starts out when India Opal finds a dog at a store and names it Winn-Dixie. Over summer almost everything happens to Opal because of Winn-Dixie. Opal makes new friends because of Winn-Dixie, meets Gloria Dump, becomes friends with the librarian, and meets Otis. Near the end a party happens which gets cut short by a thunderstorm. Winn-Dixie goes missing but is found under a bed in Gloria Dump's house cowering. 5 stars and a stroke of excellence for this book. Amazing!

Timothy, age 12

Sarah, Plain and Tall

Sarah, Plain and Tall, by Patricia MacLachlan

Started 01.29.21 • Finished 02.05.21

A girl named Anna did not think highly of her brother Caleb when he was still a newborn. A woman named Sarah plans to move to where Anna, Caleb, and their dad live. She writes to the kids about what she looks like and what she likes to do. When she first arrives, Sarah feels lonely. Sarah picks flowers, shows her shell collection from Maine, and tells the children about Maine. Papa makes a dune of hay for Sarah and the children to slide down, and Sarah calls it "our dune," which makes the children hope that she will stay. On the prairie, winters are cold, and there are lots of times that snow falls. Sarah wants to learn to drive a wagon so she can go to town by herself. Sarah brings colored pencils of blue, gray, and green, the colors of the sea. Sarah decides to stay.

Neph, age 10

The Invention of Wings

The Invention of Wings, by Sue Monk Kidd

3/25 | Started 01.13.21 • Finished 01.29.21 | 4 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this book club selection! The book follows almost the entire lifetime of two women: one privileged white woman, and one enslaved black woman. It flip flops between each character every chapter but the storyline flows quite well. Some of the characters are historically accurate, some are amalgamations of actual people, and some are entirely fictional.

Everything she knew came from living on the scarce side of mercy.

Set in Charleston, SC during the 19th century, the book vividly chronicles some of the violence and torture inflicted on the slaves. It also portrays some of the hardships endured by those who aligned with the abolitionist movement, specifically women, and the awkward marriage of abolitionists and women's suffragists.

She was trapped same as me, but she was trapped by her mind, by the minds of the people round her, not by the law. At the African church, Mr. Vesey used to say, Be careful, you can get enslaved twice, once in your body and once in your mind. I tried to tell her that. I said, “My body might be a slave, but not my mind. For you, it’s the other way round.”

I hesitate to say much more about the book for fear of spoilers, so I will just say that it is beautifully done. It shows the power of family, stories, and living by convictions. If you were a fan of Kidd's earlier novel The Secret Life of Bees, you are sure to enjoy this one.