Like Sisters on the Homefront [Mass Market Paperback]

Rita Williams-Garcia (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1998

When Gayle gets into trouble with her boyfriend, her mother sends the street-smart 14-year-old--and her baby, Jos--down to Georgia, to live with Uncle Luther and his family. There's nothing to do, nowhere to go, and no one around except kneesock-wearing, Jesus-praising cousin Cookie. Then Gayle meets Great, the family matriarch--and her stories of the past begin to change how Gayle sees her future. Williams-Garcia has surpassed herself.She has set these fictional characters firmly in the real world while still allowing them to rise from the pages and into readers' hearts and imaginations. --The Horn Book, starred review

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A streetwise teenage mother goes to live with religious relatives in Georgia in this "unusually perceptive, streetwise novel," said PW in a starred review. "The emotions ring true, as does the portrait of contemporary black culture." Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up?This is a wonderful book about going home again, about the strength of family love, and about the power of friendship. Gayle is a black 14-year-old mother who, when she becomes pregnant again, is sent South to do some growing up among relatives she doesn't know and doesn't particularly like. Streetwise, sullen, disrespectful, and angry, she gradually comes under the spell of her wise and very old great-grandmother. Great is feisty, quarrelsome, soils herself, and never leaves her room, but with her dying words gives Gayle the gift of both the past and the future. Gayle comes to know her aunt and uncle, and especially her cousin, but she also discovers what her mother must have been like as a young woman. This knowledge allows her to better understand the importance of family and friendship. Beautifully written, the text captures the cadence and rhythm of New York street talk and the dilemma of being poor, black, and uneducated. This is a gritty, realistic, well-told story that will make an excellent addition to YA fiction collections.?Carol Jones Collins, Montclair Kimberley Academy, NJ
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (February 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140385614
• ISBN-13: 978-0140385618
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #489,876 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Like Sister's on the Homefront, May 11, 2003

By 

"lorfs331" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Like Sisters on the Homefront (Mass Market Paperback)

Rita Williams-Garcia's Like Sisters on the Homefront is the tale of a fourteen-year-old girl who is sent by her mother to live with her Aunt and Uncle in the south after getting pregnant for the second time. Gayle Whitaker, the protagonist in the story, compares her stay at the relatives as 'being sold into slavery'.(Williams-Garcia. 23)
This link is constantly being made throughout the story by Gayle, a girl who seems to lack any kind of regard towards anyone or anything except herself and three friends. The reader has a hard time connecting to her because she appears so self-centered which although common among young teenagers is hard to accept from a girl who seems older than her years as a result of her experiences. It is only through Gayle's interpretation of the world that one can see how vulnerable she is and realize that her lack in concern is directly related towards her age and development.
Gayle's lack of any type of emotion is clear from the beginning of the book when the reader discovers she is pregnant. To the reader it seems as though her regard to her situation is without concern. Her response to the abortion was more a sense of annoyance than any type of loss or even understanding about consequences. When the Doctor tries to offer some sympathy and encouragement during the procedure Gayle responded with, "Oh, Doc, it ain?t nothing to cry about."(Williams-Garcia. 8)
The inconsistency Gayle expresses shows how she can still easily be taken advantage. Throughout most of the book she tries contacting her boyfriend Troy with no success. Instead of realizing he has moved on she places the blame of his lack of response on everybody else but him. Yet the flight attendant on the plane causes Gayle to feel suspicious. "Gayle didn?t trust her. She was to nice." (Williams-Garcia. 21)
Although she seems experienced and often the reader forgets her age, comments Gayle makes throughout the book often expose how young and unexposed to the world she really is. While flying over New York, Gayle notices the landmarks like a wide-eyed child. "Jose! Look. There go that Freedom Lady and her torch. See! And those two giant buildings be on postcards. Look!"(Williams-Garcia. 22)
Upon meeting her relatives at the airport, Gayle refuses to show any emotion towards her cousin Constance. Although she is aware the 'insolent' response to her cousins 'sympatric look' causes Constance to feel rejected and reveals this by justifying her unfriendly behavior to herself. "How can I smile at you? Smiling means we know the same thing, and you don't even know what I'm feeling. Cootie still sore fore the abortion. Ears still ringing from the plane ride. Back fit to split wide open from playing the mule, but I?m s?posed to be grinning at you?"(Williams-Garcia. 27)
Many readers may have a hard time relating to this book. The main character seems shallow. Taking a closer look though shows depth to Gayle and allows a great deal of maturity and growth throughout the book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Like Sisters on the Homefront, February 4, 2004

By 

Tiana (Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Like Sisters on the Homefront (Mass Market Paperback)

What if your mother sent you away to Georgia because you kept getting into trouble? Gayle Whittaker, an impertinent 14-year-old girl, is very disrespectful toward herself and her elders. Her view on life is misunderstood because she thinks school is not needed. In addition, she has a baby, Jose, but gets pregnant again and her mother forces her to get an abortion. Her mother realizes that if she doesn't take action Gayle will get even more disrespectful toward everyone. She decides to send Gayle to Georgia to live with her uncle. At first Gayle thinks that sending her to Georgia is a waste, so she doesn't cooperate with her uncle and his family. Gayle starts to realize how important life is once she meets her great grandmother, who knows all about the power of her family.
Rita Williams-Garcia, the author of Like Sisters on the Homefront, used a lot of details to get her message across. I felt as though she expanded on certain subjects where she needed to and left some things to the imagination. She made it seem like you were the character. In comparison to other authors I think she used fewer details, but that didn't take away from the book.
I would recommend Like Sister on the Homefront to young females between the ages of 12 and 16 because it speaks to people who are confused about there purpose in life. I would also recommend this book to people who like realistic fiction because it teaches you that there are unexpected obstacles that are thrown at you in life, but you just have to make wise decisions when you reach those obstacles.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read For All Young Adults!, December 22, 1999

By 

-Stacy (Baltimore, Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Like Sisters on the Homefront (Mass Market Paperback)

I've read this book 3 times over! It has a great plot and it captures the readers attensions from the very begin (which is a good thing to keep a young person interested). Me being a young adult myself, I could relate to characters, and it is as just a great book focused on and for the African American youth.