Bringing Nettie Back

by Nancy Hope Wilson

Clara believes that her best friend Nettie has the most wonderful life, until something awful shatters Nettie's perfect world and the two girls learn the true meaning of friendship. Reprint.

Genres: Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade, Childrens

135 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Alahna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure if I cried when I read this (it's been over 20 years since I read it in the 5th or 6th grade) but I do remember it was the first time I was convinced I was experiencing a brain aneurysm. And this book has stuck with me for that long. Or maybe it's just my fear of aneurysms.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has been haunting me for the past few years - I read it as a kid and couldn’t figure out the name of it for the longest time. Tried Reddit book searching posts and googling everything I could remember but I finally found it with the help of ChatGPT. Pretty much how I remembered and low key traumatizing

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure how to rate this. It felt pretty juvenile. I dont think I'd read it again but it was fine one time.

[Lily Hewitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as a child and it’s one of those that stick with you forever. I’m 35 now and I’ve been thinking about it a lot recently. I’m hoping to share this gem with my kids one day. Loved it

[Peggy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A children's book I read in researching for my own children's lit. I had a few problems with this book--kind of technical stuff. There are way too many characters in the book. The protagonist, Clara, has five siblings and something like four dogs. Her siblings are not well differentiated, to the point where one can easily be substituted for another.

I understand that the author may have wanted to create an atmosphere of chaos, but even so, if the narrative is written as close to the Clara's POV as closely as it should have been, the reader would be able to tell who's who; each character would have certain characteristics that set them apart from one another. Otherwise, they're just filler.

As far as things I liked about the story- Clara (aka Raz) is well-characterized and portrayed realistically. I can feel her anguish when her best friend comes back from the hospital.

I also liked the subplot about the tension between her and her dad, and between her parents. I thought the dad was a little one-dimensional, though (how many times can he "chuckle" at something that one of the other characters says? What else does he do but chuckle or express disappointment to Clara's mom?). He finally comes through towards the end, though, when Clara learns something about her dad, which resolves the tension.

[Kaelee · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a juvenile fiction book with a heavy subject. I didn't like it at all, mainly because it wasn't written well. Sure, it's set in the 1950s so the language is going to be different, but some of the things the characters said were weird and didn't fit. And it was never apparent what the actual problem of one of the characters was - I had to read it in the synopsis on here. I don't know who I would actually recommend read this book - too juvenile for adults and too heavy/not understandable for kids.

[Holly Ristau · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a book in contention for the Maud Hart Lovelace book award during the 1995-6 school year. This was my response at that time: A sorry of a girl whose best friend has a brain tumor. Takes place in the late '50's. Very good.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sad story about a girl who tries to accept that her best friend, who has sustained brain damage, will never be the same.

[Arlene Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I sure wish I could pound out the reading like I used to.