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Autumn Street
When her father leaves to fight in World War II, Elizabeth goes with her mother and sister to her grandfather's house, where she learns to face up to the always puzzling and often cruel realities of the adult world.
Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1980
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About the author
Lois Lowry
143 books22.8k followersTaken from Lowry's website:
"I’ve always felt that I was fortunate to have been born the middle child of three. My older sister, Helen, was very much like our mother: gentle, family-oriented, eager to please. Little brother Jon was the only boy and had interests that he shared with Dad; together they were always working on electric trains and erector sets; and later, when Jon was older, they always seemed to have their heads under the raised hood of a car. That left me in-between, and exactly where I wanted most to be: on my own. I was a solitary child who lived in the world of books and my own vivid imagination.
Because my father was a career military officer - an Army dentist - I lived all over the world. I was born in Hawaii, moved from there to New York, spent the years of World War II in my mother’s hometown: Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and from there went to Tokyo when I was eleven. High school was back in New York City, but by the time I went to college (Brown University in Rhode Island), my family was living in Washington, D.C.
I married young. I had just turned nineteen - just finished my sophomore year in college - when I married a Naval officer and continued the odyssey that military life requires. California. Connecticut (a daughter born there). Florida (a son). South Carolina. Finally Cambridge, Massachusetts, when my husband left the service and entered Harvard Law School (another daughter; another son) and then to Maine - by now with four children under the age of five in tow. My children grew up in Maine. So did I. I returned to college at the University of Southern Maine, got my degree, went to graduate school, and finally began to write professionally, the thing I had dreamed of doing since those childhood years when I had endlessly scribbled stories and poems in notebooks.
After my marriage ended in 1977, when I was forty, I settled into the life I have lived ever since. Today I am back in Cambridge, Massachusetts, living and writing in a house dominated by a very shaggy Tibetan Terrier named Bandit. For a change of scenery Martin and I spend time in Maine, where we have an old (it was built in 1768!) farmhouse on top of a hill. In Maine I garden, feed birds, entertain friends, and read...
My books have varied in content and style. Yet it seems that all of them deal, essentially, with the same general theme: the importance of human connections. A Summer to Die, my first book, was a highly fictionalized retelling of the early death of my sister, and of the effect of such a loss on a family. Number the Stars, set in a different culture and era, tells the same story: that of the role that we humans play in the lives of our fellow beings.
The Giver - and Gathering Blue, and the newest in the trilogy: Messenger - take place against the background of very different cultures and times. Though all three are broader in scope than my earlier books, they nonetheless speak to the same concern: the vital need of people to be aware of their interdependence, not only with each other, but with the world and its environment.
My older son was a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force. His death in the cockpit of a warplane tore away a piece of my world. But it left me, too, with a wish to honor him by joining the many others trying to find a way to end conflict on this very fragile earth.
I am a grandmother now. For my own grandchildren - and for all those of their generation - I try, through writing, to convey my passionate awareness that we live intertwined on this planet and that our future depends upon our caring more, and doing more, for one another."
"I’ve always felt that I was fortunate to have been born the middle child of three. My older sister, Helen, was very much like our mother: gentle, family-oriented, eager to please. Little brother Jon was the only boy and had interests that he shared with Dad; together they were always working on electric trains and erector sets; and later, when Jon was older, they always seemed to have their heads under the raised hood of a car. That left me in-between, and exactly where I wanted most to be: on my own. I was a solitary child who lived in the world of books and my own vivid imagination.
Because my father was a career military officer - an Army dentist - I lived all over the world. I was born in Hawaii, moved from there to New York, spent the years of World War II in my mother’s hometown: Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and from there went to Tokyo when I was eleven. High school was back in New York City, but by the time I went to college (Brown University in Rhode Island), my family was living in Washington, D.C.
I married young. I had just turned nineteen - just finished my sophomore year in college - when I married a Naval officer and continued the odyssey that military life requires. California. Connecticut (a daughter born there). Florida (a son). South Carolina. Finally Cambridge, Massachusetts, when my husband left the service and entered Harvard Law School (another daughter; another son) and then to Maine - by now with four children under the age of five in tow. My children grew up in Maine. So did I. I returned to college at the University of Southern Maine, got my degree, went to graduate school, and finally began to write professionally, the thing I had dreamed of doing since those childhood years when I had endlessly scribbled stories and poems in notebooks.
After my marriage ended in 1977, when I was forty, I settled into the life I have lived ever since. Today I am back in Cambridge, Massachusetts, living and writing in a house dominated by a very shaggy Tibetan Terrier named Bandit. For a change of scenery Martin and I spend time in Maine, where we have an old (it was built in 1768!) farmhouse on top of a hill. In Maine I garden, feed birds, entertain friends, and read...
My books have varied in content and style. Yet it seems that all of them deal, essentially, with the same general theme: the importance of human connections. A Summer to Die, my first book, was a highly fictionalized retelling of the early death of my sister, and of the effect of such a loss on a family. Number the Stars, set in a different culture and era, tells the same story: that of the role that we humans play in the lives of our fellow beings.
The Giver - and Gathering Blue, and the newest in the trilogy: Messenger - take place against the background of very different cultures and times. Though all three are broader in scope than my earlier books, they nonetheless speak to the same concern: the vital need of people to be aware of their interdependence, not only with each other, but with the world and its environment.
My older son was a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force. His death in the cockpit of a warplane tore away a piece of my world. But it left me, too, with a wish to honor him by joining the many others trying to find a way to end conflict on this very fragile earth.
I am a grandmother now. For my own grandchildren - and for all those of their generation - I try, through writing, to convey my passionate awareness that we live intertwined on this planet and that our future depends upon our caring more, and doing more, for one another."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 117 reviews
July 8, 2014
Man, Lois Lowry is just the best, isn't she. The actual very best.
This is a really great book. I loved reading it and I'd recommend it to everyone. Even though I'd read a lot of reviews, I didn't quite understand what I was getting. (Basically, all that many reviews can clearly say is, "Oh my gosh, this is sad.")
Mainly, I had forgotten that it is set during WWII. But "the war" hums quietly in the background of everything here, as six-year-old Elizabeth (I gotta love a kid named Elizabeth) tries to understand what adults even mean when they say "the war." The war is why they move from the city to their grandfather's stately home in Pennsylvania, the war is why her dad is away, the war is why a lot of things, though she doesn't really understand. Elizabeth's perspective is a really good reminder of how little explaining gets done for children, sometimes.
So she and her mother and siblings are living in this big, grand home, with antiques and a domestic staff and some older relatives Elizabeth doesn't know. Being just six, she's sort of a goofy kid, and isn't really poised to pick up on fine rules and social cues. ("'Elizabeth! Why is your hand sticky?' 'I was licking it.' I had been. 'I was wondering what I taste like.'")
So, one of the things Elizabeth does is start bonding with people who are different from her, and she's little enough that it gets smoothed over without fuss. The cook, Tatie, is a bemused grandmotherly figure, and she's often got her grandson Charles with her, who becomes Elizabeth's best friend. But then in addition to all the rules she already doesn't understand, "because of the war," there's a new confusing set of things she has to accept because Charles and Tatie are black. Charles isn't allowed in the front of the house. Charles has to go to a different school. And a really painful episode occurs when Elizabeth has a tantrum when her grandmother tells her that Tatie can't read or write. (Elizabeth, perceiving a horrible insult, breaks down and insists that "she can too can too can too!") It's too hard for her to believe what these things really mean, the guilty feelings that come with her uncomprehending (six-year-old!) privilege, so she glances off them in denial.
But she does know. One difficult thing this book does is make use of the n-word, twice. Elizabeth uses it, once, and then the second time she is thinking about why she did it and how bad she feels. In its context I think it's a really strong choice to have used it. But, I think also important to know about in advance, if you're sharing this book with a child, so you can be sure the context is gained, and talk about how to treat this word.
The book does this really wonderful job of opening up a lot of class differences, and just letting them gape at us, unresolved. The book isn't exactly about those differences, but it wants us and Elizabeth to see into them. Aside from Tatie and Charles, there's also some great stuff with meeting her new school friend's family, a normal family that lives in a normal house with a normal number of rooms and normal stuff around, that does its own chores. When she tells her name to her friend's mom, the mom becomes really embarrassed and awkward.
There's a whole lot of sweetness in the story, because Charles is really fun to be around and his friendship with Elizabeth is really funny and nice, even their annoying squabbles and competitions. Of course, in the end, something really horrible happens. It wasn't what I expected, though. This whole event, combined with Elizabeth's wild illness that follows it, makes for such a moving and memorable ending.
But, yes. It is terribly sad.
However, I'm so glad I read this, and I'm definitely keeping it, so that I can share it with somebody else someday. It is so lovely, and it's a great read for anybody.
This is a really great book. I loved reading it and I'd recommend it to everyone. Even though I'd read a lot of reviews, I didn't quite understand what I was getting. (Basically, all that many reviews can clearly say is, "Oh my gosh, this is sad.")
Mainly, I had forgotten that it is set during WWII. But "the war" hums quietly in the background of everything here, as six-year-old Elizabeth (I gotta love a kid named Elizabeth) tries to understand what adults even mean when they say "the war." The war is why they move from the city to their grandfather's stately home in Pennsylvania, the war is why her dad is away, the war is why a lot of things, though she doesn't really understand. Elizabeth's perspective is a really good reminder of how little explaining gets done for children, sometimes.
So she and her mother and siblings are living in this big, grand home, with antiques and a domestic staff and some older relatives Elizabeth doesn't know. Being just six, she's sort of a goofy kid, and isn't really poised to pick up on fine rules and social cues. ("'Elizabeth! Why is your hand sticky?' 'I was licking it.' I had been. 'I was wondering what I taste like.'")
So, one of the things Elizabeth does is start bonding with people who are different from her, and she's little enough that it gets smoothed over without fuss. The cook, Tatie, is a bemused grandmotherly figure, and she's often got her grandson Charles with her, who becomes Elizabeth's best friend. But then in addition to all the rules she already doesn't understand, "because of the war," there's a new confusing set of things she has to accept because Charles and Tatie are black. Charles isn't allowed in the front of the house. Charles has to go to a different school. And a really painful episode occurs when Elizabeth has a tantrum when her grandmother tells her that Tatie can't read or write. (Elizabeth, perceiving a horrible insult, breaks down and insists that "she can too can too can too!") It's too hard for her to believe what these things really mean, the guilty feelings that come with her uncomprehending (six-year-old!) privilege, so she glances off them in denial.
But she does know. One difficult thing this book does is make use of the n-word, twice. Elizabeth uses it, once, and then the second time she is thinking about why she did it and how bad she feels. In its context I think it's a really strong choice to have used it. But, I think also important to know about in advance, if you're sharing this book with a child, so you can be sure the context is gained, and talk about how to treat this word.
The book does this really wonderful job of opening up a lot of class differences, and just letting them gape at us, unresolved. The book isn't exactly about those differences, but it wants us and Elizabeth to see into them. Aside from Tatie and Charles, there's also some great stuff with meeting her new school friend's family, a normal family that lives in a normal house with a normal number of rooms and normal stuff around, that does its own chores. When she tells her name to her friend's mom, the mom becomes really embarrassed and awkward.
There's a whole lot of sweetness in the story, because Charles is really fun to be around and his friendship with Elizabeth is really funny and nice, even their annoying squabbles and competitions. Of course, in the end, something really horrible happens. It wasn't what I expected, though. This whole event, combined with Elizabeth's wild illness that follows it, makes for such a moving and memorable ending.
But, yes. It is terribly sad.
However, I'm so glad I read this, and I'm definitely keeping it, so that I can share it with somebody else someday. It is so lovely, and it's a great read for anybody.
February 1, 2011
I read a lot of novels for middle grade readers. I find they are often more well written than adult fiction. I have also noticed many of the books are written about children, but middle grade children wouldn't always understand them. Oh, they would get the gist of the story, but the language/vocabulary and the depth of the relationships between characters wouldn't be fully grasped. I am in no way suggesting authors should "dumb down" their work--it's always good for young readers to stretch (any readers, actually). I know the prose is usually spare, the plot is clearly defined and the relationships seem more real, somehow. Maybe I'm just wondering if these books have wide appeal with the age group they target.
Autumn Street is a perfect example. The basic plot could be understood by children, but there are so many layers to the story I believe would be lost on them. So, who is Lois Lowry's primary audience?
Here's just one passage I found beautiful: "Even today, with a brush, I would blur the woods. I would blur them with a murky mixture of brown and green and black, the hueless shade that I know from my dreams to be the color of pain. But the sky above Autumn Street would be resplendent blue. In the sky, the painted ghosts would flutter, hovering like Chagall angels, benevolently smiling down on the strip of Pennsylvania where they had peopled a year of my life."
Would a third grader find it beautiful, too?
Autumn Street is a perfect example. The basic plot could be understood by children, but there are so many layers to the story I believe would be lost on them. So, who is Lois Lowry's primary audience?
Here's just one passage I found beautiful: "Even today, with a brush, I would blur the woods. I would blur them with a murky mixture of brown and green and black, the hueless shade that I know from my dreams to be the color of pain. But the sky above Autumn Street would be resplendent blue. In the sky, the painted ghosts would flutter, hovering like Chagall angels, benevolently smiling down on the strip of Pennsylvania where they had peopled a year of my life."
Would a third grader find it beautiful, too?
April 23, 2015
Never read this before but we got a brand new copy at work and I was intrigued because Lois Lowry, hello old friend. Picked it up, started reading it at lunch and got so engrossed that I had to finish it later last night before I went to bed. Not going to lie, I got sniffly at the end even though I knew something was going to happen from her alluding to it on the first page. Good book, though, would rec. GREAT look inside a six year old's head which not every author can do well.
September 6, 2015
When reading this lovely, poignant tale, I was reminded of why Lois Lowry is one of my favorite authors. She writes with such magical images, and tugs at the heart without punching feelings. She is a soft writer who paints lovely pictures with pastels and clarity. There is a large element of magic realism in her character development.
Told from the perspective of precocious six year old Elizabeth who is a child of strong feelings and opinions, we learn that her father is sent off to WWII and she, her mother and her sister move to live on Autumn Street with her maternal grandparents. While living in Pennsylvania, she develops a very special relationship with Tatie, the family cook, and with Tatie's grandson Charles.
Elizabeth and Charles bond as childhood friends, filling a special need in each other.
Curious, Elizabeth does not understand why Charles and Tatie have to enter and leave the house through the back door. While Elizabeth vows she will marry Charles one day, slowly she learns the terrible truth of racism and bigotry.
The relationship with Charles' grandmother is incredibly beautiful. Sadly, on a cold winter day when Elizabeth and Charles use her new sled and venture into the woods at the end of Autumn Street, Elizabeth's protected life is deeply, forever changed.
Highly recommended!!!
Told from the perspective of precocious six year old Elizabeth who is a child of strong feelings and opinions, we learn that her father is sent off to WWII and she, her mother and her sister move to live on Autumn Street with her maternal grandparents. While living in Pennsylvania, she develops a very special relationship with Tatie, the family cook, and with Tatie's grandson Charles.
Elizabeth and Charles bond as childhood friends, filling a special need in each other.
Curious, Elizabeth does not understand why Charles and Tatie have to enter and leave the house through the back door. While Elizabeth vows she will marry Charles one day, slowly she learns the terrible truth of racism and bigotry.
The relationship with Charles' grandmother is incredibly beautiful. Sadly, on a cold winter day when Elizabeth and Charles use her new sled and venture into the woods at the end of Autumn Street, Elizabeth's protected life is deeply, forever changed.
Highly recommended!!!
February 20, 2012
From the opening description of the painting of Autumn Street to the final, haunting image, Lowry creates a world that feels completely authentic. Elizabeth's rivalry with and love for her sister, her difficult relationship with her distant grandmother, her admiration of her grandfather, and her overwhelming love for her best friend, Charles, all ring true. This a YA book with a lot of grown-up appeal-- it's beautiful, heartbreaking, and well done.
February 23, 2013
I am a big fan of Lois Lowry, both her lighter books like the Anastasia series and her more serious works like The Giver series. But this one I just couldn't enjoy. To begin with, it was very depressing, with one bad incident after another. This was a common theme in Lowry's early novels, of course, but yowza, this one was tough. It's set during WWII (one of my favorite time periods for historical fiction), but there wasn't much in the story that tied directly to that time period specifically. My main problem with the book, though, is that the main character is a 6 year old girl who thinks like a 40-something year old woman (as Lowry was when she wrote this book). The writing is absolutely beautiful, no doubt about it, but even if you view it as a memoir written many years later, I still believe that the thoughts and ideas attributed to young Elizabeth simply aren't realistic for even the most precocious of children. An older child protagonist (in her teens, perhaps) might have made this book work better for me. All in all, this is well-written and interesting as any Lowry novel, but it is not one of her better works. To me, it feels like the author was writing a book that kids would be made to read, but not one they would choose themselves.
December 29, 2017
I picked this up after seeing Lois Lowry and hearing that Autumn Street is her favorite of her published books, so I thought, well gee whiz! It's a sleeper for sure because it's measured and calculated in its delivery which is why it will not be for every audience and likely why it wasn't as popular as some of the others in Lowry's cache.
It focuses on World War II through a child's eyes and living in Pennsylvania rather than her bustling city because of the war and everything else "because of the war". The value of school and education. Family itself. And then when tragedy strikes, who it outwardly affects and who it affects internally.
It has the mood of Ethan Frome with an ending that is as twisted as it is surprising. I'm indifferent only because I don't know the audience for it. A bit like Wolf Hollow in that sense. You want middle readers to read it and feel it, but it's a slow plotting development that focuses on the characters and relationships in a time of heightened sensitivity.
It focuses on World War II through a child's eyes and living in Pennsylvania rather than her bustling city because of the war and everything else "because of the war". The value of school and education. Family itself. And then when tragedy strikes, who it outwardly affects and who it affects internally.
It has the mood of Ethan Frome with an ending that is as twisted as it is surprising. I'm indifferent only because I don't know the audience for it. A bit like Wolf Hollow in that sense. You want middle readers to read it and feel it, but it's a slow plotting development that focuses on the characters and relationships in a time of heightened sensitivity.
February 7, 2019
It's been a while since I read a book that had me in tears. This beautiful book, written by the extraordinary author Lois Lowry, is told completely through the eyes of a 6 year old girl living during World War II. Her father is off fighting and she is living with her mother, siblings, and grandparents in her mother's childhood home in Pennsylvania. I was so moved by the simplicity and the powerful telling of the story. Race, class, loss, and family are examined here, all through the eyes of a small and innocent girl. I would urge anyone to read it, even if the thought of reading a book for young people doesn't appeal. It's simply beautiful. For children, I would reccomend 5th grade and above. There are harrowing plot lines and abstract ideas that would go over the heads of anyone younger. To all young adults and adults... read away!!
August 10, 2022
Well, this book took a turn. Six-year-old Elizabeth, her older sister, and mother move in with her grandparents while her father is fighting in the Pacific Theater of WWII. Most of the story is Liz's curious, childlike narration as she struggles to navigate her world.
Two places really startled me: the use of the n word, which Liz hurls at her Black friend, Charles; and the end, which has a sad-happy conclusion. Lowry's writing is as always compassionate and even though Liz can be bratty, readers are always reminded that she's a child and her curiosity is always framed as natural and authentic, even as the answers are occasionally difficult to understand.
Very interesting reading this after reading her nonfiction book On the Horizon. They're interesting bookends to one another--Liz could be an avatar for young Lois, but either way, they're a fascinating duology.
Two places really startled me: the use of the n word, which Liz hurls at her Black friend, Charles; and the end, which has a sad-happy conclusion. Lowry's writing is as always compassionate and even though Liz can be bratty, readers are always reminded that she's a child and her curiosity is always framed as natural and authentic, even as the answers are occasionally difficult to understand.
Very interesting reading this after reading her nonfiction book On the Horizon. They're interesting bookends to one another--Liz could be an avatar for young Lois, but either way, they're a fascinating duology.
Read
March 3, 2023I saw Lois Lowry speak and she stated that this was her favorite book she’d ever written, as it was based on true events from her own childhood. A very deep and heartbreaking take on love and loss and race from the point-of-view of a 6 year old during WWII. For a book meant for older elementary/middle schoolers, this was written much better and much more succinct than a LOT of books I’ve read for adults. Beautiful writing.
February 1, 2024
I was weeping at the end with both its horror and beauty. Maybe a bit mature for its intended audience, better a little older to be able to comprehend the horrors of war and racism and class distinctions. But do get to the ending.
May 13, 2024
This book hit me as an adult and I understood more than I would have as a child. This story is deeply moving, familial, beautifully written through the eyes and growing pains of a child. I read this book because I heard Lowry speak about it in person, and I’m so glad I did.
Read
November 9, 2021i don't know what to rate this or what to say about it. it's just so terribly sad.
library-priority
September 1, 2025"should have won a Newbery"
July 15, 2023
As others have said: it's Lois Lowry, but there's way too much going on here.
March 30, 2024
2.5 why is this a children’s book?
November 11, 2020
I remembered this as one of my favorite Lois Lowry books that I had read after falling in love with her writing style when my Seventh Grade English class read The Giver together. I reconnected with her books around 2008, and read several of her novels published before and after The Giver around then, and maybe into the 2010's when I purchased a bunch of them for myself. This is only my second reading of Autumn Street, and it is sad and beautiful, a little quirky, and honest like a child, as told by the protagonist, Elizabeth, looking retrospectively on her 6 year-old self living in Pennsylvania during World War II.
Understanding racism and racial prejudice better now than I did when I first read this novel, I find this book very poignant considering the times we currently live in (2020). I also think that, for that reason, this is a great book to use to introduce children to the concept (and reality) of systemic racism in our society, and how it shaped Black lives from the time that slavery ended to the mid-20th Century and beyond. There are some great questions you could ask children to get them thinking about racism, prejudice, wealth, poverty, and more, just by understanding the ways the characters live and interact.
Children would understand that the Black characters in the book (Tatie and Charles) are treated differently than the other players, who are almost all white, but might not comprehend why, and this book offers many good conversation starters (i.e.: Why Charles has to live by the railroad tracks; why Charles can't attend school in a white neighborhood; why Tatie can't read and write as an adult, etc.).
Elizabeth's simple, honest observations of people and places around her were carefully crafted by Lowry and executed perfectly in writing; I truly read this book and view Elizabeth's world through her eyes - the eyes of a child who does not yet know pain, loss, death, tragedy, prejudice, or injustice - but observes and ponders all of these things intently and with deliberation. Some scenes may be a bit much for children who are not mature enough, or for helicopter parents who choose to censor their kids' media in unnecessary ways; but aside from those small things, Autumn Street remains a favorite of mine, and from what I hear, Lowry's favorite of all her published works as well.
Understanding racism and racial prejudice better now than I did when I first read this novel, I find this book very poignant considering the times we currently live in (2020). I also think that, for that reason, this is a great book to use to introduce children to the concept (and reality) of systemic racism in our society, and how it shaped Black lives from the time that slavery ended to the mid-20th Century and beyond. There are some great questions you could ask children to get them thinking about racism, prejudice, wealth, poverty, and more, just by understanding the ways the characters live and interact.
Children would understand that the Black characters in the book (Tatie and Charles) are treated differently than the other players, who are almost all white, but might not comprehend why, and this book offers many good conversation starters (i.e.: Why Charles has to live by the railroad tracks; why Charles can't attend school in a white neighborhood; why Tatie can't read and write as an adult, etc.).
Elizabeth's simple, honest observations of people and places around her were carefully crafted by Lowry and executed perfectly in writing; I truly read this book and view Elizabeth's world through her eyes - the eyes of a child who does not yet know pain, loss, death, tragedy, prejudice, or injustice - but observes and ponders all of these things intently and with deliberation. Some scenes may be a bit much for children who are not mature enough, or for helicopter parents who choose to censor their kids' media in unnecessary ways; but aside from those small things, Autumn Street remains a favorite of mine, and from what I hear, Lowry's favorite of all her published works as well.
April 1, 2009
Well holy crap! This was quite a book. If you don't want to get all rattled and choked up and needing a hug, maybe you shouldn't read it, because it's a rough one.
I've said before that my favorite thing about Lois Lowry is that she writes about weird kids. I don't mean weird like effortful stuff, but just, you know, weird. The kids who think too much and are different because they just ARE and who can't figure out why the world works the way it does when often that way is so awful. Kids who are like me. I mean, I'm old now, but I was that kid. I am still that kid in so many ways. And no one else nails it like she does. Elizabeth here, Meg of a Summer to Die, and of course the glorious Anastasia Krupnik.
Anyway, despite the happy little coverart we've got going on, this book reminds me most of To Kill a Mockingbird with a little bit of Bridge to Terabithia thrown in. Also it is absolutely unique too, very much its own thing, and of course one hundred percent Lowry.
I've said before that my favorite thing about Lois Lowry is that she writes about weird kids. I don't mean weird like effortful stuff, but just, you know, weird. The kids who think too much and are different because they just ARE and who can't figure out why the world works the way it does when often that way is so awful. Kids who are like me. I mean, I'm old now, but I was that kid. I am still that kid in so many ways. And no one else nails it like she does. Elizabeth here, Meg of a Summer to Die, and of course the glorious Anastasia Krupnik.
Anyway, despite the happy little coverart we've got going on, this book reminds me most of To Kill a Mockingbird with a little bit of Bridge to Terabithia thrown in. Also it is absolutely unique too, very much its own thing, and of course one hundred percent Lowry.
March 18, 2014
What a sweet, delightful, well-written book. I don't know that I remember any other author being able to capture so perfectly what it is like to be in the head of a child. She remembers exactly how it felt to overhear adult conversations and make incorrect assumptions; constructions of your world, based on what you heard. She remembers what it is like to take on the heavy guilt of thinking you're responsible for someone's death, when you're not. She remembers what it is like to be filled with desires, emotions, wants, and not know how to express them appropriately.
Lowry was able to retain all of the sweetness and innocence and difficulty of childhood, with the most beautiful and poetic writing without there being a conflict between the two.
This sensitive and impactful coming of age story takes place in Pennsylvania during WWII.
"We told each other, promised each other, that the pain and the fear would go away. It was not ever to be true."
Excited to talk about this with my book group in a few weeks.
Lowry was able to retain all of the sweetness and innocence and difficulty of childhood, with the most beautiful and poetic writing without there being a conflict between the two.
This sensitive and impactful coming of age story takes place in Pennsylvania during WWII.
"We told each other, promised each other, that the pain and the fear would go away. It was not ever to be true."
Excited to talk about this with my book group in a few weeks.
May 7, 2009
I can't even believe how much sadness is in this book. I mean, I work with kids, and I feel like I know how much trauma can happen to kids, and how much it can impact them. But this book wasn't about a homeless kid with an abusive mom's boyfriend, or any of the other things at work that make me cry. This was a six year old who sees a lot happen, and doesn't see a lot more, and figures out how much things in life can hurt sometimes. And I expected some war and some death and some racism in the book, but this book instead just took it all out of me. I was not expecting to cry my eyes out over it, and I sort of feel like LL just smacked me across the face, turned the page, and smacked me again. Then she stepped on my foot once I was about recovered. Plus I'm all hormonal, and why would LL smack me when I'm all hormonal tonight? But this was good, this book, even with and because of the sadness.
May 8, 2019
There were a few things I enjoyed about this book: Vivid prose, strong connection of events related to theme (like the boy found at the train tracks and Charles, or the neighbor boy with pneumonia and then Elizabeth), and enticing metaphors in the language—such as the death of bugs in the garden or the father being stabbed with bayonets.
However, there was also quite a bit I didn't care for: The "plot" seemed to be built on character development and interaction, not on an actual moving story. The narrative was at times slow, and while a number of chapters elicited real wonder, others felt like total filler being fed to the reader at a snail's pace. I'm the type of reader that enjoys a tight, fast-flowing plot with only the highlights of feeling, introspection, emotional development, etc.
This was a decent read, but I don't think this author is for me.
However, there was also quite a bit I didn't care for: The "plot" seemed to be built on character development and interaction, not on an actual moving story. The narrative was at times slow, and while a number of chapters elicited real wonder, others felt like total filler being fed to the reader at a snail's pace. I'm the type of reader that enjoys a tight, fast-flowing plot with only the highlights of feeling, introspection, emotional development, etc.
This was a decent read, but I don't think this author is for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 8, 2019
I was in 5th grade when I read this novel and I still love it. She is more of a children's author now but I believe this one was for young adults, and somewhat autobiographical as well since she also lived in PA during WWII with her maternal grandparents. This wasn't a typical story I was used to...I had read lighthearted stories with some sort of parable attached to it. This book has overly adult themes and looking back on it, it was really such a dark story. It was the first time a book made me cry. I was 10. Years later, I had an opportunity to buy the book in hardcover, used, but it was a first edition that belonged to a library that was being closed down. I still read it every now and then...it will always have a place on my shelf.
September 28, 2016
For years, I had vague recollections of this book, and then it popped up in the GR sidebar as a recommendation! Elizabeth's family goes to live with her mother's father and stepmother while her father is off fighting in World War II. Elizabeth is 6, and doesn't quite understand the world around her, from the war, to racism, to her own family privilege. I can't imagine this book being published now, honestly--it's of the ilk that came out in the 70s and very early 80s. Like, you know, with the brutal deaths.
This book totally made an impact on me, I remember being so fascinated by it. I suspect because it tackled so many complicated things in a way that was accessible. And because I always was drawn to the dramatic.
This book totally made an impact on me, I remember being so fascinated by it. I suspect because it tackled so many complicated things in a way that was accessible. And because I always was drawn to the dramatic.
July 23, 2016
”It was a kind of pretending of pride, of the pain of powerlessness, of need —and fear of need— and it came from caring: from caring so much that you were fearful for your own self, and how alone you were, or might someday be.”
I feel this is one of those books I would have loved as a kid.
I loved the relationships Elizabeth had with many of the characters. I liked how it wasn't a sweet, fun story. It's a life story; there's good and bad. These are the types of books I was always drawn to and enjoyed reading.
I feel this is one of those books I would have loved as a kid.
I loved the relationships Elizabeth had with many of the characters. I liked how it wasn't a sweet, fun story. It's a life story; there's good and bad. These are the types of books I was always drawn to and enjoyed reading.
October 4, 2016
{3.5 stars}
A little morbid and sad at the end...not the most uplifting story, but I love the story, characters, and writing style. Who would know that a six year old could be so fascinating! Her love for Charlie was adorable and emotional. Despite it being geared for younger children, I wouldn't recommend it for under young teens as some events might frighten younger readers.
*couple swear words and a few conversations that some people might be annoyed about, but personally I thought it was realistic to what kids talk about with innocence.
A little morbid and sad at the end...not the most uplifting story, but I love the story, characters, and writing style. Who would know that a six year old could be so fascinating! Her love for Charlie was adorable and emotional. Despite it being geared for younger children, I wouldn't recommend it for under young teens as some events might frighten younger readers.
*couple swear words and a few conversations that some people might be annoyed about, but personally I thought it was realistic to what kids talk about with innocence.
May 29, 2008
After the charm and wit of the Anastasia books, I recall being rather unprepared for the more serious tone of this one. War, death, serious sibling rivalry, all pop up in this little book. Definitely a strange turn for Lowry. A good book, but for a young kid who was looking for more fun with Anastasia, rather alarming.
August 28, 2013
I liked this book but it was really sad at the end. All of the sweet, precious things about the story felt negated as a result of the end. I enjoyed the story and how it showed how children are truly color blind. I felt it was more of a story about that rather than a story about life in the US during Ww2.
April 5, 2016
Another Lowry book I wanted to read. A book about friendship in mixed races during WW2. Another good book, but sad in the end. Lowry seems to hit the nail on the head when delving into childhood questions of adult behavior. Elizabeth and Charles ask the hard questions, and don't often get the answers they're looking for. Their search into the woods is tragic.
December 20, 2007
This book was a quick read. Some sadness and excitement at the end. I thought the dialogue was good, storyline not very exciting, characters above average. Racism is there in between the lines - the reader comes to that realization as the book goes on.
October 13, 2009
I read this book the first time when I was 9, and have returned to it periodically since. It is a beautifully written near-memoir, one you could appreciate as children's literature or a really good fictionalized autobiography.
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