Customer Reviews

Amy Moves In

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In my opinion, this book (along with Laura's Luck and Amy and Laura) is a children's classic, so why it is no longer in print is a mystery to me. I read this when I was in grade school in the 1970s and I found it wonderfully exotic. Imagine going to the convenience store to get penny candy and long pretzels out of a barrel! Imagine having a mother who looks like Joan Crawford (and this is considered a compliment!). The depiction of the Bronx during wartime is absolutely charming-- it's not the rough, slighlty seedy Bronx that one thinks of today.

I think publishers have a tendency to remove books from print if they feel that the subject matter is dated. (I notice that the All of a Kind Family series is out of print, too!). This is a huge mistake. I grew up with a tremendous respect for and interest in the past as a result of reading "old" books as a kid-- I was always much more interested in reading about "yesterday," and I think I had better manners as a result of my reading! I'm sorry to think that today's kids might not be able to take the same joy in the bygone days as I did.

This was my favorite book of all time in fourth grade and still it remains #1 on my favorite books list after some years after fourth grade. It was the first book that I read by Marilyn Sachs, and that might explain why it is so good. As a nine-year-old kid way after Mrs. Sachs first wrote this, I could sympathize with Amy. Amy was a scrawny nothing (I was pretty skinny myself at nine) who was nine years old and had an older sister who she adored, and loved to imagine things. But that was where our similarites ended. I was more of a Laura fan, who spent her time reading books and sometimes had to go and save her sister from prospective bullies. But Amy still remains my favorite. Forty years after her publication, Amy Moves In will remain a great book despite its out-of-print. She might be a "goner" now, since there's some kids who will never read her, but those who did - they know she's an absolute joy.

When I read this book as a child in the late 1960s, I didn't even know it took place in the 40s. You can't help but feel for Amy-- the new kid on the block. She's sweet, but flawed-- so anxious for cool friends that she doesn't seem to stand up for any principles-- unlike her older sister, Laura-- the "smart one." The book is full of warmth, adventure, good humor, and realistic family situations-- it remains one of the most memorable books of my childhood. The "spinoff" books were equally engaging-- "Laura," "Amy and Laura," and "Veronica Ganz" especially.

I read this as a kid and I enjoyed it, it is by far one of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors. The story supposedly takes place in the 1940's but things such as kids haven't changed all that much! It really focuses in on the lives of young kids; It talks about an ordinary closeknit family; Mama, Daddy, and their two girls Laura (oldest) and Amy (youngest). The fact that they are poor, Jewish and living in a different time period and a different area from where I grew up (them in the inner city outside NYC, me in the suburbs clear across the nation outside Seattle) from mine didn't really strike me initially. I grew up in a comfortable family in the upper middle class in the 1980s, but the story still could have been my own. It is timeless and could have happened anywhere at any time. They just moved to a new neighborhood and Amy has mixed feelings and gets into all kinds of adventures. Things that bothered me were that I thought that Amy was sort of a wimp and cried too much and her sister and mother should have had her fight her own battles since Laura can't always be there to do it for her. Also, I think Amy gives in too easily to friends and she initially has a bad choice in friendships, her standards are too low, however that evens out in the end. Also, I could not believe how rude the storekeepers were in the story; talk about bad customer service. How can they stay in business if they yell at people??? I guess they were very low class, so that was life in the Bronx back then! I was also hacked off about the way one chapter it made girls seem inferior to boys and seemed to let boys get away with hurting girls and there seemed to be no closure to it. However I guess in a latter chapter they vaguely mention a settlement about the boy-girl dispute in the girls' favor but it isn't quite clear. Anyway, their ordinary family life is disrupted when Mama has a terrible accident and winds up in the hospital. Daddy's sister Aunt Minnie comes to live with them (she's a screamer and she's a neat freak!) and Mama's one night stay in the hospital turns into months. I did not always care for Aunt Minnie, how she hated animals. She was a cruel heartless witch! I cried about the Kitten Herkey. He was just a helpless kitten, for Heaven's sake and Aunt Minnie was so irrational about it. It was not his fault he was a helpless kitty. She could have at least given him to someone else who would care for him. You don't take a pet away from children; that is a cardinal rule! AUNT MINNIE, HAVE A HEART, for crying out loud!!! Money was clearly not the issue, or Daddy would not have brought the kitten home in the first place. It's HIS house. Aunt Minnie was just plain MEAN!
The end of the book was disappointing in that it left a lot of questions unanswered, however it's a series and if you read the two following books you get more answers. This is an interesting book and you kind of have to read it more than once in order to understand it better and to enjoy it more.

Marilyn Sachs was pretty daring to write about life as it really was (and still is) in lower-middle-class New York. The heroine, Amy, is a realistically unpleasant little girl whose behavior is not justified or explained even by her dad's irresponsibility which impoverishes the family.. it's just laid out for you to see. Amy ingratiates herself with people she admires even after she sees they're racist bullies. She has to find her own answers; there weren't any kindly "counselors" back then. As for the idea that the boys seem "superior" to girls, face it; physically, at that age, they are. What Amy goes through with the boys in the park is an everyday reality that can't be changed by all the politically correct girls-can-do-anything wishful thinking in the world. There's more to identify with in the Amy stories than with all the unrelentingly cheerful Sweet Valley books in the world. Besides, I just love Rosa and I'd like to have a ball like that, too.

Amy's neighborhood is a special one. Amy has just moved to this neighborhood, unbeknowst of what follows. There's Aunt Minnie, Rosa, Cynthia, and Laura. There's Daddy and Mama. And of course, there's Amy. Things happen, although they can be boring, in Amy Moves in, and after reading, you may want to move to her neighborhood.

this is the story of amy stern and her family. they moved to a new neighborhood and like most children,amy wants to fit in. it takes a short while and she does. school is not so bad either,after making some friends.
soon after, amy's mother is hit by a car and ends up in the hospital for months. aunt minnie moves in to help. THIS aunt minnie is quite a character!(but don't we all know someone like this?) the rest of the book is amy,her friends,and some "adventures"-including fighting with the boys(ohh noooo.).
the author,marilyn sachs has created a great character in amy. amy is sweet/sour
and can be very naughty too (like when she lied about a owning a ball that belonged to another girl). later, amy feels remorse and admits the truth to the whole class!

Take me back to my childhood!! A delightful story that takes place in a simple time. I love the letters from the girls to mama and back again!! Things have changed-hospitals let kids visit these days.

Nine-year-old Amy's just moved into a new neighborhood, and it's tough. Not only does she have to get used to a strange new apartment and a new school, but she's got to make new friends.

Still, despite her fears, Amy tries to look on the bright side. She has fun exploring her new neighborhood, especially with her new friend Cynthia, an adventurous tomboy who dreams up all sorts of things Amy would never dare try on her own.

Before long, it's almost as if Amy lived her entire life in the new neighborhood. She's got lots of friends, the protection and companionship of her older sister Laura, and two loving parents. Who could ask for anything more?

One terrible afternoon, Amy and Laura come home from school to find their Aunt Minnie waiting for them. It seems that Mama was walking out on the snowy street when a car slid and hit her. Now Amy must be brave, as Mama's in the hospital for who knows how long...

Although the Amy and Laura books are set in the 1940s Bronx, they are timeless. Whether today or 60 years ago, Amy's thoughts and experiences are sure to ring true for readers.

I didn't care for this book. It made boys seem superior to girls. Also, it seemed to just drag along. I only kind of liked one part because it made me chuckle. That's why I gave it 2 stars instead of one. But, this is just my opinion. Check it out and see what you think.