Customer Reviews

The Liberation of Gabriel King

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I loved reading this book. I read all the time and have lots of favorites, now the Liberation of Gabriel King will join them. I had to read a book for 5th grade that was set in the same time period and covered the same topics but it was definately not as interesting. I'm going to tell my teacher she should have her class read this book instead. The characters determination and perseverance was amazing. It was funny reading about the ways Frita conquered Gabriel's fears. I liked it so much I read it in one sitting. I highly recomend this book to anyone 9-13. I think adults would even enjoy it.

I read this to my 7 and 9 year old boys. We couldn't put it down. It now ranks among our favorites with Tale of Desperaux and Ida B. A true treasure of a book.

Although this book is targeted at young people in the 10-14 age bracket, I enjoyed it very much as an adult. I purchased it for my grandson and he has called me up to tell me "what happened next" two nights in a row. Engaging characters and an important life lessons are neatly woven into an adventure tale of two young people in a little town over a hot summer. If you buy it for your children or grandchildren, read it first. You'll enjoy it.

I bought this book for Christmas for my 10 year old (4th grade). He will read a chapter and then come find me and read it to me all over again because he thinks it is so funny. He has to read 1/2 hour everyday for school requirements and he will continue to read this book for over an hour. Gets him away from the computer and GameCube games. Hurray.

KL Going does it again - a spectacular book geared for kids, but appeals to all ages. Going addresses difficult issues in ways that kids can understand without oversimplifying. I was moved to tears and laughter both times that I read Liberation. I look forward to seeing what comes next from Going's pen ...

THE LIBERATION OF GABRIEL KING is a timeless story of friendship set in a small Georgia town during the summer of 1976. Frita Wilson decides that she needs to liberate her best friend, Gabriel King, from his fears.

A disastrous end-of-fourth grade Moving Up Day ceremony where Gabe is bullied by some classmates is the catalyst for Frita's brilliant plan. She decides that she and Gabe need to list all of their fears and spend their summer methodically trying to overcome each one of them. Gabe's list of fears is long and includes spiders, loose cows, Frita's basement, and most of all, fifth grade. Frita's list is shorter, but since she is the only black child attending a white school, she may have the hardest fears to overcome.

Ms. Going seamlessly weaves in a subplot about the upcoming Presidential election of Jimmy Carter, a peanut farmer from Georgia. When Gabe tells stories of Mr. Carter's peacemaking and non-tolerance for prejudice to Frita's family, it helps cement their friendship even further. This story, told in the first person by Gabe, is about courage and the meaning of true friendship.

K. L. Going lives in Beacon, New York. THE LIBERATION OF GABRIEL KING is her second novel. She is also the author of FAT KID RULES THE WORLD, an ALA best book for young adults. Currently she is writing from home and working part-time at Merritt Bookstore in Cold Spring, NY. She likes for her characters to experience a range of emotions, and she tries to capture the good and bad feelings of young people in her novels.

Fear is a feeling that all readers, both young and old, can relate to. Readers can connect to Gabriel King and may even learn a thing or two about conquering their own fears by reading THE LIBERATION OF GABRIEL KING.
[...]

I am a middle school language arts teacher and I read just about every new title that gets any hype. This book did not disappoint! The plot is well developed and the characters are endearing...Frita is so spunky while Gabe is a quirky scardy-cat afraid of his own shadow. Both Frita and Gabe learn a great about life, love, fear, racism and the nature of hate the summer before they enter fifth grade. In the end they realize that fear is a part of life - bravery is feeling the fear and forging ahead despite it. Great read HIGHLY recommended!!!

On vacation our family read this book out loud for our library's book club. My husband and I (40+ years old) and my two boys- 10 & 6 both adored this book. In the span of 160 pages we all had the opportunity to learn life lessons, grow to be more brave, laugh and most importantly learn about how love will always conquer hate. We do not live in a very diverse area of the country and this book was a wonderful way to introduce to our children the stuggles that African Americans have had to deal with and why civil rights are so important in this country. I had a lump in my throat when the book discussed how the Bicentennial was being celebrated and not all Americans were still being treated as Free. It isn't a book I would have ever had known about without our wonderful librarian and it will be one that none of us will soon forget. Don't be deterred by some of the serious subjects dealt with in this book, there were far more laughs than most books have. It was entertaining and a joy to read. It is a great book for parents and children.

(one last thought...I would not have liked my son to read this book without us because he would have never fully understood why there was such hate for a 10 year old black girl and why grown men dress in sheets. As disgusting as it is that people practice such hateful acts it is a reality that exists and children who are old enough to understand should not be sheltered from truth. The sooner we can educate our children about equality the better this world will be. )

I bought this book because I loved the front cover and the blurb on back. The cover depicts a jar of something yellowish-green, reminding me of "The Secret Life of Bees." Perhaps I should not tell this about myself, but I will--I did not "see" that spider until after I completed the book and looked at the cover again to decide how the picture fit into the story. Then I saw the spider and the green color (grass through the jar). Wow. I decided then that the story really is about fear. Fear of spiders was near the top of Gabriel's list of fears. Frita convinces him to adopt this spider as his pet.

The blurb on back summarizes the story as a friendship between two fourth-graders moving up to fifth grade, two unusual fourth-graders, one white boy and one black girl. Then I thought about the book again. Not fear. The book seems to be about fear, and it is, but the real intangible character is integrity. The book is about integrity.

Frita Wilson is the only African-American in their small school in Hollowell, GA, not far from Plains, where Jimmy Carter hails. The story takes place during the summer of the campaign for president in 1976, a time when integrating is taking place all over the South and racial strife is evident.

Gabriel King misses his Moving Up graduation to fifth grade because some racist bullies physically prevent him. As a result, Gabriel decides he will not go to fifth grade housed in a separate wing, fearing the bullies. He will just stay in fourth. Frita makes it her summer's goal to liberate them of their fears. Even in victory over various levels of fear, Gabriel "knows" all along that his fear of bullies will not be liberated and he is not going to fifth grade.

They defeat some fears on the list and some fears win. The saddest loss occurs near the end and becomes the impetus for winning the big one. Not willing to be a spoiler, I ask you to read this most enjoyable book. Friendship is a big winner. Family love and unity are big winners. But the biggest winner is integrity. So are Gabriel and Frita because they have this integrity all along.

Having written all this, I feel I must voice my one misgiving about the book. Although it really is a cool story with racism and specific racists taking hits (in a law-abiding way, not through violence), I cannot help but question this friendship between Gabriel and Frita. No matter how I look at it, I just cannot see it happening. Not because of skin colors, but because of age and sex of the children. Boys and girls in the fourth grade just aren't best friends. They certainly don't spend the night with each other in the same room. Parents just would not allow this closed door thing with a boy and a girl of this age. Having stated these things, I still endorse this book--with four stars, not five.

Service was great, delivery was speedy, and the book was in very good condition. I would recommend this company to other parents whom are in need of books for their children.