A novel in words and sketches. It's only temporary, twelve-year-old Skye McPhee writes in her sketchbook after being shipped off to her gran's in Sierre Madre, California. After all, her parents have their hands full taking care of her older brother, who's been severely injured in a car accident. So now Skye is in a new school sketching new kids and trying to stay invisible until she can return home. But her new life starts turning out better than she hoped; she's making cool friends, and being away from her brother is actually drawing her closer to him. And then her sketchbook disappears and everything changes. Suddenly, Skye realizes that she doesn't want her life in Sierra Madre to be temporary after all. But does she have a choice?
Sally Warner is a writer of fiction for children and young adults and of books on creativity. She made the Lily series and Emma series for children's books. Sally Warner was born in New York City and grew up in Connecticut and California, where her family moved when she was eight years old.
The book I have recently read is “It's Only Temporary” by Sally Warner, and I choose this book because one of my older siblings had read it before me and suggested it to me. The central theme of this book is that even though there are tough times they can be supported by friends and family. Before I read the book I knew the author was also an illustrator because the cover of the book was drawn by Sally Warner. When I first picked up the book I had hoped to learn more about the author because I thought it was an autobiography. The book gave an autobiography feel because the cover was drawn by the author with a picture that might have looked like the author. When I think of autobiographies I think of the enriched life the author has had but the book “It's Only Temporary” was not an autobiography but was a fictional story about a girl named Skye McPhee who is in sixth grade and lives with her family in Albuquerque. When I figured out that it was not an autobiography my expectations of the book were wiped clean and I did not know what to expect. I also had no expectations for this book because my sister who suggested it read really boring books and has given me bad reading suggestions in the past. The story begins at Skye's brother Scott’s car accident, “ this had to be the worst field trip ever, Skye told herself. But her mom was determined that they should visit the accident site before bringing Scott home from rehab” (P.3, paragraph 2) Knowing that it was an accident it helped me understand the story at first because when you get to a certain age and you want to get your license; you have to take a five-hour class. This five-hour class is the most boring five hours of your life and I don’t know about your five-hour class but all we did in mine was watch videos about car crashes. The narrator Skye McPhee is also the main character who tells her story in a difficult time in her life. At her brother, Scott’s accident and is told day by day from the first-person point of view. Skye's brother is hurt after the accident so the author uses the literary technique of euphemism by other characters talking about the accident in light terms were as the author also uses the literary technique of dysphemism because Skye is mad at her brother for getting in the accident. when reading the first few pages I try to grasp the story as fast as I can so I can understand the rest of the book. The book “It's Only Temporary” drew me in by curiosity because I wondered how the main character Skye McPhee was going to get through the challenges and how she was going to deal with them throughout the book. Examples of these challenges are “This had to be the worst field trip ever, Skye told herself. But her mom was determined that they should visit the accident site before bringing Scott home from rehab for a trial visit.” (P.1, paragraph. 2) The challenge Skye would have to face is seeing her brother after a traumatic event in his life. Another example of a challenge Skye would have to face is “‘we’re here, so let’s take a look,’ Skye said, hoping they wouldn’t start fighting again.” (P.5, paragraph. 2) The challenge that Skye is facing is having to deal with her parents fighting during an elongated amount of time. Skye’s personality is shy, creative, and easygoing. While there are a couple of bullies in this book at Skye most of the other people as in her school friends treat her kindly and with respect. The author is trying to get the reader to feel safe in the comfort of friendship and family with the way her friends and family interact with the main character. The main character is likable because of her personality and the way she reacts with the people that she meets. After Skye sees her brother after the accident she is forced to move a new town with her grandma in the Sierra Madre. This includes going to a school district another thing Skye is forced to do is to make a friend when her grandmother makes her walk with her neighbor Maddy. The first few hours of Skye's new life feels forced and unnatural. As time goes on she meets other friends in the art class but she also meets some eighth-grade bully’s that say nasty things to her and her new friends. The eighth grade bullys is another problem that she will have to face. An example of this is “still, kids seemed to say it all the time - without even thinking about it, like it was an all-purpose insult.” (P.56-57, Paragraph.3) when faced with bullying the main character doesn't seem like the kind of person to speak up but i feel that she would go to a trusted adult. Througoutthe book skye does exactly that even though she gets bullied along with her friends she doesnt speak up and tries to get revenge until it has gone to far; but eventually tells her grandmother what has happened and what she has done. The problems that skye face tell me that she is struggling with the changes that were forced onto her, the way that she handles them tells me that she care for the people she hangs out with. When she tries to get revenge she get revenge for all the bulling that the eighth graders have done to herself and her friends. If i was in a similar situation i would try to go to a trusted individual. When reading this book i was feeling two emotions happy and sad; i was feeling sad at the beginning of the book and then i felt happy at the end of the book. I felt sad at the beginning because it felt very forced and uncontrolled skye had so many struggles that she had to face and even she was confused on how she was going to fix them. I felt happy at the end of the book because you see a natural progression of her life and at the end you finally get to see a resolve a so called happy ending and it's sweet but not corny like most stories. Some impressions of the other people weren't bad the good people in her life were a positive influence in the story and on the main character's life. while most of the antagonist’s were a struggle to relate to as time went on you almost felt sympathy and compassion for them and why they did some of the things that they did. Some of the information that was left out was the views the main character had on other characters. The views were never spoken out loud but you can tell how the main character feels based on the pictures she draws. For example on page 58 you can see a nice picture of the schools art teacher mrs. o’hare. Based on how the picture is drawn to show a good side of the teacher you can tell the main character likes that teacher. I wish that the view of people around the main character were spoken because it could of helped to understand the pictures better in a way of not seeing them for the first time. An alternate ending for this book could of be seeing Sykes friends life after she had gone back home and what each friend would accomplish to. The book it's only temporary doesn't remind me of any books, most of the other books ive read are about darker tones of reality whereas this book has a light tone of reality. I can relate to these events because I used to be bullied and it was a hard time in my life that i had struggled with. I wish I could go back and tell those kids off or I had told a trusted adult instead of bottling up everything that went wrong for so long. I feel that Skye has grown as an individual throughout the book and baucuse the story is told about her life, she is the most interesting character in the book. The illustrations dispersed throughout the book help to give a more conspice image of the events in the book for example on page eleven there is a picture of Skye’s brother after the accident. The book wasn't really boring but the toughest parts to read were two people having a conversation because most conversations were stagnant or really slow just for the main point to come across. In this book the events that happen to Skye could happen to anyone because everyone was twelve once in their life. Most of the characters in the book got along due to the relationship they all had to art. Most of the other main characters were friends because they all had art class together. If I were to make a movie of this book the most important parts of the book are the major conflict of bullying and how the main character deals with getting bullied. When filming the tones of the book would drastically change from scene to scene because of the way the narrator speaks from chapter to chapter. the parts of the story that stuck out the most were the parts were skye got into trouble and how she fixed most of her problems with her friends and family. If I were to suggest this book to my friends and tell them about this book i would tell them to read it as if you were twelve years old and try to go back to the time when you were in sixth grade. This book related to me that there is someone who is willing to help me intimes of need orif im in a rough part of my life by the way the author uses the people around her to help with her problems. The person most like the character in the book to a real life representation is my oldest sister to the main characters grandmother. These two people are alike because they both would do anything for the pearson they cared about, both are very stereotypical healthy, and both want the best for the people around them. This book help my with my personal struggles because I've always struggled with anxiety and depression and it is hard to get out of my head sometimes that I forget the effect it has on the people around me or how those people might be able to affect me. If I had learned something from this book, I have learned that it is not a bad thing to ask for help. When it comes to certain struggles that I have it is hard for me to ask for help beacusei belive that it is a sign of weakness;this book helped me get over some of the initial steps of asking for help when I need it in thefuture ican get help. Events in this book are told by a day to day format so when the narrator is going over events that are bad for the main character have happened between them is almost immediate. The events that are good for the main character happen at a slower rate than the events that put stress on the main character's life. This book was surprising in a matter of ways at first i thought it was going to be bad and I would enjoy reading it, then at certain points in the book thought it was going to take a darker turn of events but was lighter in tone , and lastly the stereotypes portrayed in this book were carried out to feel stroyotypical. The theme of this book was through tough times they could be advised through the friends and family who are there to support you. As the main character was telling the story the author kept certain information back, one thing that the author held back was information about the car accident and how the main character was withheld from seeing the accident; this also symbolises the other events that the main character was forced to do. The shortest parts of the story that took the longest were the conversations that the main character had with other characters. the longest parts of the story that took the shortest were the actions the main character had with other characters. You can tell when an author is using the literary technique of euphemism because the author uses two point of views of the same situation by the words and actions of other characters say and do. You can tell the author is scheduled, easygoing, and artistic you can tell because of the structure of the book that she wrote. The pattern of the book was on going as it was told like a consecutive line. Because the book takes on this pattern the story is toned corny by the way the stereotypes are written through the book. As a teen I don’t think i would of liked to get to know the author but if i was more close to the age of an adult i think would like to get to know her more because she’s scheduling heavy personality. The idea that the author carries throughout the book is that thought times can be helped through the support of friends and family. This view of the world can be wrong sometimes because the ones that do the hurting can be your friends and family. This world view point is very easy to sympathize with because it is a happy ending of sorts kind of viewpoint The most important event in this book is the guilt people felt after doing something ad to another character. If there was anything i would do to improve this book is to make the characters more mature than kid like. The book was written fo a younger audience and someone just starting to get into chapter books. My experience with other books told my that it was somewhat of an easy read. When reading this book it took me back to my old middle school almost to the point where i could see what was happening from a third person point of view. Since this was an easy read and have never read it before there wasn’t anything unusual compared to other books. The most important part of the story to me was the main character meeting her grandma because she is an important role in the main characters life. I wouldn’t read this book again because it was a little too easy to read and I want to challenge myself with harder books. One thing that could help other readers reflect on the book would be a better ending. My personal rating of this book would be seven in a half even though the book is not directed at me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Mr. Norman recently read this book to us called, "it's Only Temporary" by: Sally Warner! I think this book is pretty good because it uses challenges that could happen to anybody like bullies, moving to a new school having to make NEW friends far away from your old ones, and even like a hurt brother in the hospital you might miss. I think this book uses some big words, but if you inference it will help you a lot (we had to inference in class!) I can connect to this story when Skye the main character (the girl!) misses her brother who is injured from a car reck that lies in a hospital bed. I can connect to that like when I miss my mom if she is gone for a while or out of town! Skye is in a situation I'd never want anyone to be in she has to make new friends at a new school, live with her grandma that lives far away from her home, and does not even get to see her parents, brother, or friends for a long time. This book is interesting, sad until the end, and touching! This is one of those books you just want the character (Skye) to change her life go back home, go to the same school she was at, see her parents everyday, and even visit her brother more often! I felt it was nice of her brother to keyboard (email) Skye for his keyboarding for the day (this happened when he was recovering!) Overall I would give this book 3 out of 5 stars because it is a good book, but I think it shouldn't be as sad or depressing as it is. I recommend this book to ANYBODY who likes a good and touching story!
I read this book a long time ago, I like this book because its very organized and you don't get very confused and her brother was in a car crash and is paralyzed and he goes through a lot of lessons.
It sat in my to-read crate for over a month, then I finally decided to pick it up. And... it was good. I read it in a night (when I should have been sleeping). It integrates illustrations, and reminds me a bit of a jr. Absolutely True Diary... in that way. Also deals with some seriously tough stuff. Opening with a bad-boy brother dealing with brain trauma after a car wreak. The rest of the story is relatively tame after that. It's not a shy novel. Includes using gay as an insult, fighting parents needing counseling, a surprise good-guy, and some nice inclusion of various kinds of syndromes (not to mention a hilarious Halloween costume). The main complaints I'd have are that Warner draws Skye in a slightly different style than the rest of the kids, the cover looks a little less edgy than it should (otherwise, I'd try to sell it to middle schoolers), and everything wraps a little too neatly.
While Skye’s older brother is rehabbing from a car accident, she goes to live with her Grandmother in California, seeking solace in her trusty notebook, full of drawings and secret thoughts. School is difficult; Skye finds a niche in the art club, but they are tormented by the football team. Through the challenges, Skye learns to stand up for her friends and herself, and becomes closer to her brother in the process.
Eh, 3.5 stars. There’s some interesting topics within this book, car accidents w/brain damage, marital problems, bullying, various “syndromes”; but I felt like with too many topics, none were really explored very thoroughly. Skye is a realistic character, very unsure of herself yet caring, and I liked the little drawings throughout the book.
When twelve-year old Skye's brother comes home after a terrible car accident she moves from Albuquerque, New Mexico to California to live with her grandmother. There Skye attends middle school where she reluctantly make new friends, learns how to stand up for herself and those she cares about. During this time she is her brother's "key boarding buddy" which bridges a new unexpected relationship with her brother.
I really liked this story but felt bad at first for Skye here she is a perfect child and her parents send her away. It is not until further in the story that I got the sense that this was probably the best thing for Skye in building new relationships not only with friends but her grandmother, and brother.
I loved this book more than I thought I would. I get pulled in and don't pay attention to what's around me- what's actually going on-when I read this book, because its so powerful. I love how Skye and Scott are being nice and REAL brothers and sisters to each other. After Scott's accident, skye thinks that he had changed back into his attitude "before he became 12." Because most people now don't do that. I think Skye and Scott have a connection that is lovable and sweet. I recommend this book for 3rd through 12 graders, or anybody older who would like a short sweet novel to read. This book is sort of romance, though in a brother-sister way. But obviously, this book is realistic fiction. I think many people will like this book, especially if you liked Out of my Mind. Get well soon, Scott!
Skye’s brother Scott was a mean, troublemaking teenager who broke rules and gave his family a hard time. Then he gets in a car accident, suffers brain damage, and suddenly his family needs to take care of him. Skye still remembers the surly Scott before the accident, and also the nice big brother Scott when they were little kids. She deals with these emotions, moving to a new town, and going to a new school through drawings in her sketchbook. The characters are well-defined and Skye comes across as sympathetic and realistic. This title is being considered for the ACL Distinguished List, but I voted No. It’s fine, but short of being compelling enough to merit Distinguished status.
It was short. I thought I would try a nice realistic fiction book for once and it was ok. It was a lot sadder than I expected it. I read it as a recommendation from my friend who really liked it. I thought that that how her brother recovered hid accident was ok, but it never told us what happened to Maddy, Hana, or any of her friends after the story ended. I think if Sally Warner wrote a sequel it would be pretty good. I thought it didn't have any funny parts, but it's creativity made up for it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This is an excellent book for 5th-8th graders, featuring an interesting main character named Skye, a girl who is going through some family issues and dealing with new friends. After her brother is involved in a serious accident, she moves in with her grandmother in a new city. The story uses a lot of humor to show how Skye navigates her new life and deals with new friendships and bullies at a new school. She learns a lot about herself and grows up in the process.
When Skye's brother comes home from rehab following a bad car accident, Skye is sent to live with her grandmother in California while things calm down. Although school provides several challenges, Skye's relationship with her brother improves through email.
It's about a girl that moves somewhere else for one semester because of her brother. Her brother has SERIOUS brain damage. It's not a sad book. It has good pics and it's kinda funny.
Reviews place at 4-7 and 5-8 but this felt very middle school to me. Interesting story and discussion of consequences for actions but not BES materials, in my opinion.