Piccola città

by Virginia Hamilton, Ada Arduini (Translator)

Bulhaire è una ragazzina solitaria, convinta che tutti la tengano d'occhio perché è in qualche modo diversa. Ma diversa da chi?
Diversa dalla sua stessa famiglia, perché la madre Bluezy e gli zii hanno la pelle scura, mentre lei è quasi bianca e ha i riccioli color paglia. Diversa dalla gente della piccola città in cui vive, che sparla della bellissima Bluezy e della sua tribù. Diversa dai compagni di scuola, che non devono domandarsi se il proprio pare è vivo o morto.
Ma poi accade qualcosa nella vita di Bulhaire: qualcosa di doloroso e bellissimo che la aiuterà a sconfiggere le bugie e i pregiudizi, a trasformare un nemico in amico, e soprattutto a ritrovare il passato e la metà di se stessa che le avevamo sottratto...

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Coming Of Age

146 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Virginia Esther Hamilton was the author of forty-one works of fiction and nonfiction. She was the first Black writer awarded the Newbery Medal and the first children's writer to be named a MacArthur Fellow (the "Genius" grant). She also received the National Book Award and the Hans Christian Andersen Medal.

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an fascinating preteen novel about 12 year old Buhlaire who lives with her two aunts, Aunt Digna, and Aunt Babe, in a Water House in Plain City. Buhlaire is described as having light eyes, pale skin, and bushy, straw-carrot Rasta hair. Her mother, Bluezy Sims, who owns the property where her family lives, travels a lot singing in different towns and has left her daughter in their care. The girl has few friends due in part to several factors, first being her mother is a blues singer, second, she lives in a poor section of town, and last, she keeps to herself, spending hours walking alone throughout the surrounding area. Grady, a boy in her class, follows her around though he and Buhlaire are constantly at odds. She dislikes her Aunt Digna, her primary caretaker who is strict and tries to keep the girl in line. Though not quite a teenager, Buhlaire feels she can take care of herself. Though she loves her mother, Buhlaire seldom sees her except when Bluezy breezes into town. She misses her father who she doesn't remember. She has been told that her father is "missing in action." In her mind, he is a fallen hero. When the principle of the school tells her that her daddy isn't dead but is alive and living in town, Buhlaire decides to find him, learn about her "backstory" and perhaps go live with him.

This is the first novel I've read by Virginia Hamilton. She's written many stories for children preteens and teenagers. I highly recommend her novels for young people and those interested in good story telling with provocative themes.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book when I was around 11 years old and I carried it with me everywhere. I think it's not only an excellent read but one which is easy to relate with and true. None of the characters are perfect and none of them are evil. There is dimension and depth to each.

[Harold Walters · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found in a Little Library. Pleasant surprise.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plain City is about a fierce and vulnerable biracial 12-year-old named Buhlaire. For as long as she remembers, Buhlaire has always believed her father had died in Vietnam. In a turn events, she discovers that her father is not dead; he is actually alive and living at the outskirts of Plain City Furious with the knowledge that has been kept from her, Buhlaire, in a search for self, takes off to meet her father for the very first time..

This book is storytelling as its best. Universal themes of identity, race, family and loyalty are omnipresent. Buhlaire's tenacity and intelligence shine throughout the book, despite painful realizations of racial strife and family relationships.. A moving and cautiously hopeful coming of age narrative. As one character says, "It's exciting, life is."

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I found the first 100 pages of this novel to be slow and repetitive. It really only takes place over a couple of days, and we're in the 12-year-old protagonist's head. When the novel opens, she thinks her father is dead. When she finds out her family has been lying to her, she wants to know her father. She thinks and she wanders in the snow. The last part picks up a bit and then I almost liked it.

[Maya]

i decided to read this book because i felt it was interesting .

[Jocelyn Montalvo Cullum]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11382099

[Marty Monforte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Virginia Hamilton's, novel "Plain City", features a 12 year old female, Buhlaire, who is told by her family and the community that her dad is deceased, but in reality he is living in the local community. Her school principal informs her that her dad is alive. Additionally, she has a mother who is frequently absent due to her singing career. Her mother loves her, but her career makes it difficult for her to stay at home all of the time. Buhlaire's two aunts and one uncle help to raise her during the times when her mother is absent.

Buhlhaire also finds it difficult to fit in at school. Her family challenges combined with her struggles in school, make it difficult for Buhlhaire to grow up and find happiness. However, she is a likeable character who deserves happiness, friendship and a stable family. Hamilton created a character that is easy to like, root for and develop compassion for. Buhlhaire is genuine and the kind of daughter that any father or mother would be proud of.

The principal conflict of the novel deals with her quest to find her father. This basic conflict raises several questions: Why was she told that he was deceased? Will she find him by the end of the novel? If she does find him, will he care for her or will he be indifferent? This basic conflict and attendant questions make the novel interesting and compelling.

Hamilton created a novel that was suspenseful and emotive. She created memorable characters, with Bulhaire being the most memorable. She is the protagonist of the novel. No one character is the antagonist. Instead, the lie about her father's status is the antagonist that opposes the main character. However, the lie is no match for the courageous Belhaire, whose perseverance and strength make her admirable and commendable.

The novel has several themes: One theme is the search for a meaningful relationship with one's family members. It can be a life long quest to improve our relationships with family members. Bulhaire is seeking a meaningful parent/child relationship with her father. She is also seeking to improve her relationship with her mother.

Another theme is honesty vs. dishonesty. Lies have the potential to harm people, while the truth can often lead to liberation and clarity. Bulhaire has been lied to, but her meaningful quest to locate her father has the potential to liberate her.

I recommend this novel for students in middle school. I also recommend this novel for parents who read to their children or teachers who read to their students.

[R.K. Cowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 3/4 stars

[Genevieve Paquette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as a child, maybe in the fourth or fifth grade, and I 100% didn't get it (as a white, rural, relatively sheltered kid with little frame of reference). I found it interesting, but a little confounding. And this was pre-internet- I couldn't just whip out my smartphone and look stuff up, so the stuff I didn't understand stayed mysterious.
But yeah, I was sorting out some boxes and found this copy and decided to read it again through adult eyes. Yeah, it was even heavier than I remember. Virginia Hamilton was not afraid of tackling tough topics, and doing it with both sensitivity and frankness.
I found the language a bit impenetrable as a kid, as it was a different vernacular than what I was used to. Today, it definitely reads like a product of it's time, and well. But the writing is solid and memorable (I still recall lines word-for-word from when I first read it!), the story is compelling and the characters well-rounded. It is an interesting book, and it was definitely interesting reading it again as an adult.