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3.0 out of 5 stars
Nice ending, but overall not what I expected, October 13, 2010
This review is from: Bertie's War: A Novel (Paperback)
Roberta (Bertie) tries to follow all the rules and always do the right things, but her imagination often sends her tumbling into embarrassing or even dangerous situations. If she just knew exactly what to do in all situations, she'd never make a mistake and then everyone would love her. But she doesn't know all the rules. There's no way she possibly could! Fear perpetually paralyzes her. She's afraid of failure, of her father, of what others might think. Above all, she's afraid no one is doing anything about the "dirty commies" who want to drop a bomb and destroy them all.
Throughout the book Bertie juggles her fears with learning the ropes of adolescence. Is she too old for playing? Too young for Charlotte Bronte and Jane Austen? Is she too silly for her own good? Will she ever gain her father's approval? How can she protect herself? Her family? Will she ever learn to speak her mind without crumbling into a mess of tears and frustration?
Her family offers a solid, Christian backdrop. While they rarely teach her faith in formal ways, they provide consistent examples that spur her on in her personal journey toward knowing and trusting God.
WHAT I LIKE: This is a clean book. Too many YA titles these days involve sex, drugs, witchcraft, vampires and foul language. This one contains none of that. It is a simple coming-of-age book that promotes a virtuous, honorable lifestyle. I like that Bertie's family clearly values strong work ethics while encouraging a healthy childhood.
The last twenty pages were great. I like the way Bertie's father pushed her to think through to the root of her fear and actions. He put the responsibility solely on her shoulders, which is necessary for someone of her age. The conclusion offers hope and direction for readers struggling with the same issues of fear and insecurity.
WHAT I DISLIKE: I really struggled to get through this book. The pace was slow and, for most of the book, the characters lacked dimension. Bertie seemed a spineless, whiny girl far too old to be so entrenched in her fantasy worlds.
I feel the tagline was misleading. It reads "In the fall of 1962 the world went crazy and took a young girl with it." That sounds like an exciting, dramatic read, a promise that wasn't fulfilled. The text offered too little about the world crisis and too much about mundane internal struggles. Back-story fills the first two-thirds of the book, all of which takes place before the fall of 1962.
Also, this is less of a "dislike" and more of a caveat: kids who don't know their history may find this book confusing. The author leaves out many details, assuming her readers already possess a level of understanding about the time period and, more specifically, the Cuban nuclear crisis.
AGE APPEAL: Since most kids don't like reading about characters younger than themselves, I suggest 9-12.
Tanya -- Christian Children's Book Review
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Bertie's War...Every child's internal struggle!, January 19, 2010
This review is from: Bertie's War: A Novel (Paperback)
Bertie's War by Barbara Tifft Blakey takes the reader on a short trip back in time to the turbulent 60's where Communists and bomb shelters loomed large on everyone's radar. For twelve year old Roberta, or "Bertie", it is a reality that stifles her with fear. But, at age twelve, pretty much everything seems to strike fear into Bertie's heart.
For most of Bertie's life, she has used "pretend" as a way to escape her anxieties, retreating into her imagination to places that are safe and where she can control the outcome. However, as she is maturing, as she is caught in the in-between place of childhood and young adult, she is finding less comfort in her private world of pretend. Or, maybe, the world and its implications are becoming so big, they are encroaching on her ability to be a child. Either idea is something Bertie really doesn't want to contemplate.
Thus the reader finds himself in the trenches of the mind of a twelve year old, a mind with quite a fertile imagination, at an age most of us adults wish to never revisit. Yet, author Barbara Tifft Blakey takes us there with care and tenderness, with honesty and and humor. The lessons learned at such an impressionable age will last a life time for Bertie and help younger readers to see that there is a bigger picture in each situation, that their insecurities, although normal, should not be allowed to define them or have the last say in their character.
My eleven year old could certainly relate to the power of pretend from Berite's perspective; in fact, reading about Bertie sometimes made me think my daughter must have been secretly observed. Yet the times inwhich Bertie lived were a little closer to what I remember and what I can relate to growing up in the early 70's when my dad kept a large container of non-perishables in the garage "in case the Russians attacked". Bomb shelters and Communists were made much more of in the media in my day than the threat of Islam and Jihad are in the politically correct world at present. Still, the dilemma of how much to let the big problems facing our nation affect the oft bigger problems of sorting out life when your twelve can be overwhelming at any point in history.
Besides missiles in Cuba, Bertie worries about having the approval of her father who is frequently stern and aloof. Trying to win an elusive nod of approval from him becomes almost an obsession. Trying to stay out of the woodshed (where consequences are meted out) is a close second. If Bertie can just do everything right...then everything will be alright...right?
Seems like a simple equation for peace and happiness but that all unravels in many ways as the reader walks through and processes life a la Bertie. The war that sat at the doorstep of our nation back in the early 60's will eventually become a minor character as the war within Bertie breaks out on multiple fronts.
Bertie's War is an excellent Coming of Age story that reveals the depth of complexities within the seemingly simple things of life. Without preaching, it explores matters of the heart while assuming, and eventually healing, with matters of faith.
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