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摘要
摘要
In a small southern town in 1908, fifteen-year-old Annie Earle, though afflicted with a club foot and surrounded by a sick mother and brother, gains a new insight into herself and the possibilities of her life through her relationship with a young black woman and a new young man in town with whom she falls in love.
评论 (3)
《学校图书馆杂志》(School Library Journal)书评
Gr 9-12 Can a crippled girl fly? That is the metaphorical question which preoccupies 15-year-old Annie Earle Roland, whose capabilities have been disregarded by everyone because they perceive her clubfoot as a debilitating affliction. Sheltered in her small-town Southern home with her invalid widowed mother and a brother who retreats to the world of daydreams, Annie Earle resolves to step out of this gray world of frail people to start living. She is strongly influenced by 16-year-old black Queen Esther, her childhood playmate, who has such faith in Annie Earle's potential that she encourages her to turn to folk magic. Annie Earle's greatest challenge is to prevent the detested, avaricious Aunt Kat from taking over the family by having her sister declared incompetent. As she learns to spread her wings and fly, Annie Earl successfully confronts several situations which foster the growth of her self-confidence and assertiveness. Her first romantic involvement and sexual initiation is especially well-handled, with a stale denouement avoided. While the 1908 setting, the lifeless cover, and the slow start may discourge some readers, those who persist will savor the strong characterizations, polished style, and skillfully reiterated message that reaching for a dream can make it happen. Merilyn S. Burrington, Vergennes Union High School, Vt. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
出版社周刊评论
In the dog days of August 1908, Annie Earle Roland is 15. Her father is dead, her mother bedridden, her brother epileptic and lost in a dreamworld. She has just finished high school and it occurs to her that it is time to do something with her lifeshe is the only one in the family who can protect the Roland fortune. Aunt Kat wants to control everything, sending Annie and her brother to a religious institution, and turning ``Aunt'' Charlotte and her granddaughter, Queen Estherwhom Aunt Kat considers ``uppity niggers''out of the house. So Annie Earle takes a chance in believing in a ``conjure bag,'' and in herself, and ends up in charge of more than she bargained for. Calling to mind a sprightly yet bittersweet mix of Carson McCullers and the period author Gene Stratton-Porter, the novel is a beautiful look at coming-of-age in a time and place now past. Smooth characterization and imagery make this a novel to savor. Ages 12-up. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus评论
The time is approaching when 15-year-old Annie Earle will fly--though to almost everyone except her best friend, Queen Esther, she seems irremediably earthbound. The Rolands seem to be unlucky: Annie Earle has a clubfoot, her brother Brodie is epileptic and mentally retarded, her widowed mother Penelope is a pill-addicted invalid, and Aunt Katherine (a narrow, nasty piece of work) is poised to pounce on their considerable wealth. Annie Earle--a strong, stable character who may be embarrassed but is never angry or depressed over her infirmity--is sometimes ready to leap out of her confined life like one of the butterflies that Brodie chases so assiduously. As example, she has Queen Esther, free-spirited granddaughter of housekeeper Aunt Charlotte. It's ""Queen"" who persuades Annie Earle to buy a conjure bag to fend off Aunt Kat, and who provides encouragement when men begin to come around: Tommy Hickman (ephemeral), Achilles McPherson (a true first love, but a traveling man), and lawyer Jack Cato (a steadier prospect. In the tradition of the Cleavers, Hooks has crafted fine, strong characters struggling to hold a family together and emerging triumphant. His story rides on a deep understanding of southern life and attitudes at the turn of the century, from small-town gentility to a wild logging camp, from the Rolands' comfortably multiracial household to the vicious racism of Aunt Kat and the local rowdies. Complex and outstanding. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.