From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8-On the first day of summer vacation, Alma starts her day by writing a fan letter to her favorite singer, Jovita. Later, as she listens to the radio, she hears the news that the performer has been killed in a drive-by shooting. Coupled with the recent death of her beloved abuela, the incident causes the 11-year-old to be beside herself with grief. Her family is struggling-her mother is working two jobs and her brother is working toward a life of crime with his gang. To find peace and quiet, Alma is drawn to her neighbor's house. Mrs. B. is a music teacher and has many CDs to which Alma enjoys listening. She also has a guitar that the girl begins teaching herself to play. The problem is that Mrs. B. is not aware that the child is spending her days in her house. When her brother follows her inside and burglarizes the house, Alma calls the police. She is forced to confess to Mrs. B., who is rightfully horrified that her home has been invaded. In the end, Alma receives a response to her fan letter that Jovita penned just before she was killed, Mrs. B. forgives her trespassing, and hope is rekindled for Alma. This is a realistic novel that doesn't provide pat resolution. Instead, it leaves readers earnestly wishing that Alma can find and stay on the right track. Her rite of passage will ring true for many young people. A good choice for those looking for a novel with fully realized contemporary issues.
Elizabeth Fernandez, Brunswick Middle School, Greenwich, CTCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"When most people hear 'large-print book,' they immediately think senior citizen. But large-print editions of popular children's books -- from the powerhouse
Harry Potter series to timeless classics like
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer -- are now making their way onto the shelves of the Children's Department at the Canton Library. . . . Although large-print editions are targeted to the visually-impaired or dyslexic child, they can also be used by standard-vision readers. So Kershner [Children's librarian at the Canton Public Library] has decided against creating a special section in the Children's Department (as exists in the Adult Department) opting instead to intersperse large-print books on the shelves with the regular print versions of the same titles."
--
The Observer and Eccentric (October 2000) (
The Observer and Eccentric )
"Thorndike Press has helped me not only find books I want to read, but they also look like regular books. That's important when you're a kid and you can only read Large Print, you want your book to look like all the other books. I'm reading a lot more now that we have found Thorndike Press."
-- Jim Bernardin, Islamorada, FL
"Everyone loves to read, there's nothing like curling up with a good book. We're a reading family, so when our son was diagnosed with Stargardt's Disease and only able to read Large Print, it was particularly difficult. Books on tape are wonderful but they don't fill the void of actually reading a good story. Large Print books have been around a long time for older people, but to find a good novel for a young person in Large Print began to feel nearly impossible. The books that Thorndike Press publishes have truly made a difference in my son's reading life. He can enjoy current novels as well as some of the classics that he missed reading when it became too difficult with regular print."
-- Sara Bernardin, Islamorada, FL
