The Homeschool Liberation League [Hardcover]

Lucy Frank (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 9, 2009 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

After a summer at Wilderness Camp, thirteenyear- old Katya decides that she absolutely cannot go back to school. At school she can't eradicate invasive alien plants, go on foraged-food-finding missions, or just be herself. Her parents, despite being "school kind of people," are willing to give it a try, but Katya has to stick to their (just-like-school!) assignments. This isn't what she had in mind.

So with the help of a mysterious violin-playing boy, Milo, and new friend Francesca, Katya comes up with a plan to save her homeschooling experience. The three become the founding members of the Homeschool Liberation League--but will it be enough to convince Katya's parents that her ideas about learning might be just right for her?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6–8—After an awesome summer at Wilderness Discovery Camp, eighth-grader Katya dreads going to public school, which she finds "stupefying." She convinces her parents to homeschool her so she can enjoy her newfound interests in science and nature. Their idea of homeschooling is very different from hers. She spends most of her days working in her mother's beauty shop and doing lessons from the incredibly boring DIM (Daily Instructional Matrix) instead of wandering the area examining plants and animals. She begins dating Milo, a violin prodigy who is homeschooled as well and hates it, and they form the Homeschool Liberation League in order to change their parents' approach to education. With the help of Katya's friend Francesca, a reporter for the school paper, Katya and Milo work to achieve the outcome that they desire. Various local residents assist with Katya's schooling, particularly Eddie Horton, a regular customer at the beauty shop. The main characters are engaging, and the teens' actions and emotions realistically show the struggles that come with adolescence. Frank includes text messages and emails, which lend authenticity to the way these teens interact. The story is well crafted and moves at a good pace.—Laura Amos, Newport News Public Library, VA
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Review

"The main characters are engaging, and the teens' actions and emotions realistically show the struggles that come with adolescence." --School Library Journal

"Frank depicts education in its purest form--an unencumbered, joyful quest for knowledge." --Horn Book

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Dial (July 9, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803732309
• ISBN-13: 978-0803732308
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,919,039 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unlike anything I've read before!, August 19, 2009

By 

Reader McRead (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Homeschool Liberation League (Hardcover)

This is a great story for anyone who has ever questioned how they learn best. Sometimes school is just right, sometimes it's not. Meet Katya, a popular 8th grader who loves science (which is NOT popular in junior high) and decides she wants to try homeschooling. Her decision leads to adventures, choices, new friendships, and even romance. A great read!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting take on liberty and freedom in education., October 29, 2009

By 

Salix67 - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Homeschool Liberation League (Hardcover)

I thought this was an interesting and well-written book. I did not find the passage a previous reviewer thought was inappropriate to be so, I thought that it was at a level that thirteen to fourteen year olds would understand. In this book, the main character is on a merry-go-round of sorts concerning her education. She spends a month doing "school-at-home" with her parents. They clash frequently over their ideas of education versus hers, while trying to come to a resolution that works for everyone. While I didn't find this book to be perfect, I felt it was well-written and examinated several viewpoints besides the main character to make you understand how and why it came to the conclusions it did for the various characters. I'm very interested in the homeschooling and unschooling movements and this is a book I'm hoping for my fiance to read, since many of his objections mirror Katya's parents objections and concerns.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Long live the Homeschool Liberation League!, April 20, 2010

By 

J. Prather (IN USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Homeschool Liberation League (Hardcover)

Katya is a great character. She learns a lesson during the summer before her 8th grade year that a lot of kids have forgotten or never learned. She realized that learning was fun and that it should be fun, and that it should never be boring, and that as a kid with an inquiring mind, she should never have to settle for less than what her inquiring mind could absorb. Katya is so on fire with her passion for learning and her new found interest in nature and the sciences that on that fateful first day of 8th grade, she turns around and goes back home and begins her plan to convince her parents to homeschool.

What Katya really wants is Unschooling and if there was ever a kid perfect for unschooling it's her. I have met many kids like Katya who always seem full of facts and are eager to correct the adults in their lives when they find mistakes. There is much to admire in Katya; her unrelenting persistence, her intelligence and her growing empathy. She is portrayed in this story warts and all, so by the end you can really see the growth she has achieved.

This story is at times a condemnation of the public school system, a classic coming of age story and an examination of early teenage girls and their sometimes inexplicable behavior. The author writes with a narrative voice that rings so true that if you are an older reader like me, you will instantly find yourself transported back to middle school!

This book is an easy recommend for any 5th through 8th grade girl. Katya meets a boy Milo who enables us to examine some of Katya's problems from the other side of the fence. They make a cute couple in that they are so opposite. They engage in a couple of "spine shivering" kisses but that's about it. There are no language issues here, and aside from the aforementioned kisses, no sexual situations. Finally, let's hear it for the parents! They are portrayed as kind and caring people who want the best for their daughter and finally do a great job of paying attention and listening to her! Yeah! I love good parent characters...

So, Bravo to the Homeschool Liberation League and all the kids out there who decide they no longer want to play the game and all the parents who listen.