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Rubber Houses
Typical teenager Kit lives a happy, normal life of friends,boys, and loving family. She and her younger brother, Buddy, are incredibly close despite their eight-year age difference, bonded by a shared love of baseball and math. But when Buddy is taken suddenly by cancer, Kit and herparents struggle to survive. Told in spare, lyrical verse, Rubber Houses is a powerful novel that perfectly captures the intense and excruciating pain of the loss of a loved one, and the slow but gradual hope of living again and finding one's way back home.
152 pages, Hardcover
First published January 3, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
September 26, 2011
Genre: Poetry, Realistic Fiction
Rating: ****
Rubber Houses uses raw emotion to tell a heart-wrenching story of life and loss. The simple text structure is simple and supports the message of the story.
Summary:
Kit's somewhat normal life is turned upside-down when her younger brother faces a deadly illness. The story centers around how Kit responds to the changes that come from this challenge. Told through the use of baseball metaphor and verse, Rubber Houses becomes a story of finding hope and healing when it may seem lost.
Main Characters:
Kit: A teenage girl about to start her senior year of high school. She loves math and is excited about the places she is going.
Buddy: Kit's younger brother. He enjoys math (thanks to Kit) and baseball. He looks up to Kit.
Friends and Family: Kit and Buddy's parents and their friends also hold important roles in the story. It is through their interactions with Kit that the story is told.
Key Issues:
Family, Friendship, Choice, Loss, Tragedy, Hope
Other Interesting Information:
The verse used in this novel is easy to read and understand. It is a text that captures the emotion needed to tell the story. Applications beyond disease could be used in helping readers/students experiencing challenges in their own lives.
Rating: ****
Rubber Houses uses raw emotion to tell a heart-wrenching story of life and loss. The simple text structure is simple and supports the message of the story.
Summary:
Kit's somewhat normal life is turned upside-down when her younger brother faces a deadly illness. The story centers around how Kit responds to the changes that come from this challenge. Told through the use of baseball metaphor and verse, Rubber Houses becomes a story of finding hope and healing when it may seem lost.
Main Characters:
Kit: A teenage girl about to start her senior year of high school. She loves math and is excited about the places she is going.
Buddy: Kit's younger brother. He enjoys math (thanks to Kit) and baseball. He looks up to Kit.
Friends and Family: Kit and Buddy's parents and their friends also hold important roles in the story. It is through their interactions with Kit that the story is told.
Key Issues:
Family, Friendship, Choice, Loss, Tragedy, Hope
Other Interesting Information:
The verse used in this novel is easy to read and understand. It is a text that captures the emotion needed to tell the story. Applications beyond disease could be used in helping readers/students experiencing challenges in their own lives.
March 27, 2010
I don't know what to say about this book or my thoughts on it. If someone told me that this book helped them get the the death of a sibling I would immediately think they were lying. I hate saying that but it's true.
For me, it takes a very talented author to write in verse, along the lines of say, Ellen Hopkins or even Sonya Sones. This author didn't get it for me.... at all.
I thought the writing was average at best, I never really felt for Kit besides the generic feeling of being sorry she lost her brother, it just didn't pull me in and make me care. I don't see how it could being that it was so "surface-y" - if that makes sense. It stayed on the surface of everything, really didn't dig deep and I think it was meant to. It had to be meant to with a subject like this.
Now, I'm sure I could go back and pull a "bad" verse from a Hopkins book and any other out there but this:
"Kitchen
I think
I'm hungry
then
it turns out
I'm not."
Yeah, that just doesn't do it for me.....
Definitely NOT a book I'd recommend to anyone.
I'm giving it two stars because I didn't hate it, it just didn't grab me and I try to reserve the one star ratings for books that make me want to hurl or damage something.
For me, it takes a very talented author to write in verse, along the lines of say, Ellen Hopkins or even Sonya Sones. This author didn't get it for me.... at all.
I thought the writing was average at best, I never really felt for Kit besides the generic feeling of being sorry she lost her brother, it just didn't pull me in and make me care. I don't see how it could being that it was so "surface-y" - if that makes sense. It stayed on the surface of everything, really didn't dig deep and I think it was meant to. It had to be meant to with a subject like this.
Now, I'm sure I could go back and pull a "bad" verse from a Hopkins book and any other out there but this:
"Kitchen
I think
I'm hungry
then
it turns out
I'm not."
Yeah, that just doesn't do it for me.....
Definitely NOT a book I'd recommend to anyone.
I'm giving it two stars because I didn't hate it, it just didn't grab me and I try to reserve the one star ratings for books that make me want to hurl or damage something.
November 23, 2024
Ellen Yeomans writes in the same style as Ellen Hopkins, creating beautiful, heart wrenching stories through a series of creative poems. This followed the story of a family dealing with a young boy who had cancer. It was so touching, building up a family only to destroy it. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I look forward to reading more from this author.
April 16, 2023
(copied from my book review blog: Patricia's Particularity)
Written in Free-Verse, Ellen Yeomans tells the story of a teenage girl, Kit, who experiences pain, heartache, growth, and hope. Kit starts out just like any normal teenager: active, fun, loving life, and dreaming to explore the world. Kit is like any normal teenager... until.... her brother, Buddy, becomes ill and dies without warning. With Buddy's untimely leave, Kit and her family must find the will and strength to carry on. But how?
Kit is forced to grow up in many ways that most teenagers never have to, adults at that matter too. Instead of being a "normal" teenager, Kit is driving to the hospital, staying at a Ronald McDonald home out of state, and in a way taking care of her parents while not taking care of herself.
I personally felt very connected to this novel - loosing a mother to cancer a few years ago I believed everything Kit went through, as I went through the same emotions. The numbness, the anger, the confusion, and of course the pain. Even the hope that comes with time, that life does goes on and that you can be happy again.
The change in Kit occurs one "un-normal" day in the shower - she notices the grout peeling and starts to peel the remaining away. I personally saw this as a representation of Kit's old self (before Buddy's death) being peeled away and then later replaced by a new self (new grout).
Yeomans does an amazing job translating the pain and grief anyone feels when they loose a loved one, in particular a close family member. A unique aspect to this YA Verse Novel is Yeomans' way of bringing in Baseball and Math into the Novel and Kit's and Buddy's relationship. This is most notably seen in the way Yeomans "chapters" her novel by Baseball year and seasons. This is a perfect book for anyone looking for understanding and even an outlet. You will be surprised how affecting and moving such a innocent seeming novel appears to be.
Written in Free-Verse, Ellen Yeomans tells the story of a teenage girl, Kit, who experiences pain, heartache, growth, and hope. Kit starts out just like any normal teenager: active, fun, loving life, and dreaming to explore the world. Kit is like any normal teenager... until.... her brother, Buddy, becomes ill and dies without warning. With Buddy's untimely leave, Kit and her family must find the will and strength to carry on. But how?
Kit is forced to grow up in many ways that most teenagers never have to, adults at that matter too. Instead of being a "normal" teenager, Kit is driving to the hospital, staying at a Ronald McDonald home out of state, and in a way taking care of her parents while not taking care of herself.
I personally felt very connected to this novel - loosing a mother to cancer a few years ago I believed everything Kit went through, as I went through the same emotions. The numbness, the anger, the confusion, and of course the pain. Even the hope that comes with time, that life does goes on and that you can be happy again.
The change in Kit occurs one "un-normal" day in the shower - she notices the grout peeling and starts to peel the remaining away. I personally saw this as a representation of Kit's old self (before Buddy's death) being peeled away and then later replaced by a new self (new grout).
Yeomans does an amazing job translating the pain and grief anyone feels when they loose a loved one, in particular a close family member. A unique aspect to this YA Verse Novel is Yeomans' way of bringing in Baseball and Math into the Novel and Kit's and Buddy's relationship. This is most notably seen in the way Yeomans "chapters" her novel by Baseball year and seasons. This is a perfect book for anyone looking for understanding and even an outlet. You will be surprised how affecting and moving such a innocent seeming novel appears to be.
June 1, 2021
3 stars *may change
my hold for this book at the library took forever damn. anyway this was ? definitely something. grief stories are always interesting to see what the different interpretations of it are.
my hold for this book at the library took forever damn. anyway this was ? definitely something. grief stories are always interesting to see what the different interpretations of it are.
November 11, 2021
my goodness, I loved this book. Heartbreaking and healing, a beautiful tribute to family and friendship, how patience and talk helps us walk through the most intense griefs. The best friend is my favorite.
January 3, 2018
I thought the idea behind the story was heartfelt, but I didn’t feel any real, raw emotion reading it.
April 12, 2011
Written in Free-Verse, Ellen Yeomans tells the story of a teenage girl, Kit, who experiences pain, heartache, growth, and hope. Kit starts out just like any normal teenager: active, fun, loving life, and dreaming to explore the world. Kit is like any normal teenager... until.... her brother, Buddy, becomes ill and dies without warning. With Buddy's untimely leave, Kit and her family must find the will and strength to carry on. But how?
Kit is forced to grow up in many ways that most teenagers never have to, adults at that matter too. Instead of being a "normal" teenager, Kit is driving to the hospital, staying at a Ronald McDonald home out of state, and in a way taking care of her parents while not taking care of herself.
I personally felt very connected to this novel - loosing a mother to cancer a few years ago I believed everything Kit went through, as I went through the same emotions. The numbness, the anger, the confusion, and of course the pain. Even the hope that comes with time, that life does goes on and that you can be happy again.
The change in Kit occurs one "un-normal" day in the shower - she notices the grout peeling and starts to peel the remaining away. I personally saw this as a representation of Kit's old self (before Buddy's death) being peeled away and then later replaced by a new self (new grout).
Yeomans does an amazing job translating the pain and grief anyone feels when they loose a loved one, in particular a close family member. A unique aspect to this YA Verse Novel is Yeomans' way of bringing in Baseball and Math into the Novel and Kit's and Buddy's relationship. This is most notably seen in the way Yeomans "chapters" her novel by Baseball year and seasons. This is a perfect book for anyone looking for understanding and even an outlet. You will be surprised how affecting and moving such a innocent seeming novel appears to be.
Kit is forced to grow up in many ways that most teenagers never have to, adults at that matter too. Instead of being a "normal" teenager, Kit is driving to the hospital, staying at a Ronald McDonald home out of state, and in a way taking care of her parents while not taking care of herself.
I personally felt very connected to this novel - loosing a mother to cancer a few years ago I believed everything Kit went through, as I went through the same emotions. The numbness, the anger, the confusion, and of course the pain. Even the hope that comes with time, that life does goes on and that you can be happy again.
The change in Kit occurs one "un-normal" day in the shower - she notices the grout peeling and starts to peel the remaining away. I personally saw this as a representation of Kit's old self (before Buddy's death) being peeled away and then later replaced by a new self (new grout).
Yeomans does an amazing job translating the pain and grief anyone feels when they loose a loved one, in particular a close family member. A unique aspect to this YA Verse Novel is Yeomans' way of bringing in Baseball and Math into the Novel and Kit's and Buddy's relationship. This is most notably seen in the way Yeomans "chapters" her novel by Baseball year and seasons. This is a perfect book for anyone looking for understanding and even an outlet. You will be surprised how affecting and moving such a innocent seeming novel appears to be.
October 30, 2007
Rubber Houses by Ellen Yeomans is verse novel fiction that is very touching.
Kit is a normal teenager...until she finds out her 9 year old brother has cancer.
Instead of taking her pre-senior year road trips and hanging out with friends, she drives to the hospital and waits with her parents while her brother undergoes extensive treatments.
And then...he is gone. Her brother, Buddy, who loved baseball and his BF Aziz...who loved hot chocolate and 4th grade - he slips into a coma and then dies.
Reeling from the shock of it all, Kit and her parents become three strangers living together, but apart. They each deal with grief differently. Her father checks out completely. Her mother takes to researching cancer as if it will bring Buddy back. Kit tries to sleep it off. AFter she alienates her BF Callie and can't even stand her own company, she takes a shower/bath one evening and begins a new journey. She notices the caulk in the bathroom has become molded. And in the process of peeling it out and reapplying grout, she picks up a new hobby...a new job (in the downtown hardware store), and a new outlook on life. Once she starts to volunteer for a Habitat for Humanity kind of group, Kit finds that she is working on healing, on becoming a new person with her new scars.
What a painful but poignant read.
Kit is a normal teenager...until she finds out her 9 year old brother has cancer.
Instead of taking her pre-senior year road trips and hanging out with friends, she drives to the hospital and waits with her parents while her brother undergoes extensive treatments.
And then...he is gone. Her brother, Buddy, who loved baseball and his BF Aziz...who loved hot chocolate and 4th grade - he slips into a coma and then dies.
Reeling from the shock of it all, Kit and her parents become three strangers living together, but apart. They each deal with grief differently. Her father checks out completely. Her mother takes to researching cancer as if it will bring Buddy back. Kit tries to sleep it off. AFter she alienates her BF Callie and can't even stand her own company, she takes a shower/bath one evening and begins a new journey. She notices the caulk in the bathroom has become molded. And in the process of peeling it out and reapplying grout, she picks up a new hobby...a new job (in the downtown hardware store), and a new outlook on life. Once she starts to volunteer for a Habitat for Humanity kind of group, Kit finds that she is working on healing, on becoming a new person with her new scars.
What a painful but poignant read.
March 24, 2008
Yeoman tackles the delicate subject again, of the death of a youngster. I know Ellen, and I know that it is a demon she is battling constantly.
I'm not sold on the idea of telling this story through a series of poems -- in large part, of course, because I so dislike reading poetry myself. That said, hoever, I thought this story was told a little easier, and more convincingly because of its unique format. It seems totally plausible that a teenage girl would write a great deal of poetry and tell this story in that way.
However, I did feel that some opportunities were missed. A girl writing poetry might not write so directly, all the time, about what has happened, but a sense of when she's feeling ought to come about in some more mundane writings. None of the poems were simple, everyday, kinds of writing that I thought should occur. For instance, suppose she wrote a couple of poems early in the book about liking cats, but at some point after her brother's death she writes a poem about a cat that got in her way and how she hates cats. That's the sort of opportunity missed here.
Even so, I enjoyed the writing more than I expected, and thought this did a good job of getting to the heart of a teenager.
I'm not sold on the idea of telling this story through a series of poems -- in large part, of course, because I so dislike reading poetry myself. That said, hoever, I thought this story was told a little easier, and more convincingly because of its unique format. It seems totally plausible that a teenage girl would write a great deal of poetry and tell this story in that way.
However, I did feel that some opportunities were missed. A girl writing poetry might not write so directly, all the time, about what has happened, but a sense of when she's feeling ought to come about in some more mundane writings. None of the poems were simple, everyday, kinds of writing that I thought should occur. For instance, suppose she wrote a couple of poems early in the book about liking cats, but at some point after her brother's death she writes a poem about a cat that got in her way and how she hates cats. That's the sort of opportunity missed here.
Even so, I enjoyed the writing more than I expected, and thought this did a good job of getting to the heart of a teenager.
May 12, 2008
Reviewed by Jocelyn Pearce for TeensReadToo.com
RUBBER HOUSES is a moving free-verse novel about Kit's experiences loving her younger brother, losing him to cancer, and moving on but never forgetting.
Kit and Buddy, despite their age gap, are very close, and Kit is devastated when he becomes sick and she finally, but not unexpectedly, loses her younger brother. She shuts down for awhile after Buddy's death, but slowly, she starts to pick up the pieces of her life and continue to live it, even without Buddy by her side, even with the pain of loss that, even when it's not fresh, is never gone.
This is an emotional, well-written novel about love, loss, and moving on despite it all. Kit is a realistic, well-developed character, but often she is the only one; the other characters seem less than real much of the time. Despite this, RUBBER HOUSES is worth reading. Whether readers can relate to Kit's situation or not, all will feel her pain at losing her brother in this painfully honest story.
RUBBER HOUSES is a moving free-verse novel about Kit's experiences loving her younger brother, losing him to cancer, and moving on but never forgetting.
Kit and Buddy, despite their age gap, are very close, and Kit is devastated when he becomes sick and she finally, but not unexpectedly, loses her younger brother. She shuts down for awhile after Buddy's death, but slowly, she starts to pick up the pieces of her life and continue to live it, even without Buddy by her side, even with the pain of loss that, even when it's not fresh, is never gone.
This is an emotional, well-written novel about love, loss, and moving on despite it all. Kit is a realistic, well-developed character, but often she is the only one; the other characters seem less than real much of the time. Despite this, RUBBER HOUSES is worth reading. Whether readers can relate to Kit's situation or not, all will feel her pain at losing her brother in this painfully honest story.
October 20, 2012
I really liked this book. It is perfect for people who prefer reading about the change in a persons thoughts or emotions, rather than constant change in a situation. Every emotion was captured and explored very well. This book was very relatable. Though the death of a loved one is somewhat specific the feelings that follow apply to everyone. I think the theme of this book is you can't escape. You can ignore and deny, but eventually you will have to return to reality. The sooner you can except the way things are the sooner you can move on. Not only did we see this in the growth of the characters, but in clever symbolism throughout the book. This book was very sad and very beautiful. I highly recommend it.
December 1, 2013
I have missed reading novels in verse. This one did a lovely job of using the baseball season as an analogy for the grieving process. Though few words are used in a novel in verse, the author chose just the right words to convey the feelings of the characters; she showed me rather than told me. Nicely crafted, realistic, and sparse. Mel Glenn is by far my favorite novel in verse author, but she is definitely a new favorite. That she thanked Mel Glenn in the afterword is not a coincidence. If you like Shakespeare Bats Cleanup or Jump Ball, you will definitely enjoy the form and words even though teh story itself will make you cry.
March 20, 2008
Kit had her whole summer planned, a carefree one with work, and weekend trips with her best friend Callie. She couldn't wait for spring and then summer. Then her nine-year-old, baseball loving brother Buddy was diagnosed with cancer. She and her mother and Buddy drive the turnpike but to Children's Hospital in Boston where he stays till he dies. Her senior year is one of grieving, cutting off her friends and grief counseling. Her process of recovery starts in a hardware store. Told in verse that sparingly describe this journey, Rubber Houses is a tear jerker, but I loved reading it.
February 7, 2008
You'd better have tissues on hand while reading this one. It takes you through the various stages of grief after a loved one dies. I honestly felt for Kit because her grief brought back deep, painful feelings of my own past grief. Written in free-form verse, you'll have this book read easily in 1-2 hours.
July 1, 2008
This book was written and different type of formate than I was use to and it made it really quick. It was written kind of like Crank but in poems though. It was really sad and you can easially relate to the characters and understand their pain.
November 16, 2007
I need to read this again. The problem is that I read books written in poetry format too quickly and tend to miss some important elements of the story.
December 23, 2007
It was good I like the way that the aouthor keep the poems on the same topick
June 17, 2009
have tissues handy. I read this in one sitting.
October 6, 2009
Very good book dealing with the stages of grief. Written in poetic verse.
October 9, 2009
it was poetically written. a very sad story. i loved the author's take on the "rubber houses" i never expected what it meant [:
March 26, 2010
quick read -- very well written--super sad
December 30, 2010
I'm not a huge fan of books in verse, but I loved this one. It is a sad story but ends with healing.
I loved the authenticity. The thoughts and emotions. The complexity warring with simplicity.
I loved the authenticity. The thoughts and emotions. The complexity warring with simplicity.
September 23, 2014
A well-written book with great characters, especially Buddy (he was just so loveable :).
October 5, 2011
this was a good book and it is a small read so might work out well for reluctant readers. was very sad at some parts so if you want to read lively bks this is not one.
June 17, 2012
Great verse novel.
February 15, 2013
I really liked her voice in this story, but at some points she switches to different subjects too quickly for me.
January 16, 2014
Maybe a 3.5 or 3.75
Quick read that was really sweet and poignant, but probably not something I'll remember months from now.
Quick read that was really sweet and poignant, but probably not something I'll remember months from now.
March 6, 2013
a quick verse novel that tells a touching story of loss too early and how a family does or doesn't cope with it. very touching realistic look at losing someone so young.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews