33 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful Story of a Wonderful Character, August 29, 2003
This review is from: Pictures of Hollis Woods (Newbery Honor Book) (Hardcover)
Pictures of Hollis Woods is the very moving story of an abandoned girl who has difficulty fitting into foster homes and is constantly getting in trouble for running away. What we get in this novel are two narratives: one in the present as Hollis tries to fit in with Josie, an older woman slowing succumbing to dementia; and one in the form of flashbacks told through description of pictures Hollis has drawn which tells the story of the previous summer when Hollis thought she had finally found a home. Slowly, these two stories are drawn together as Hollis tries to protect herself and Josie as well as come to terms with the events of the previous summer.
All in all, Ms. Giff has written a wonderful novel. The switching between the two plots in handled well and Hollis is a beautifully drawn character. She is difficult and introverted, but she is an artist and is ultimately able to overcome her defensiveness and become part of a family--even an extended family. I would highly recommend this novel to young and old alike.
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24 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Richie's Picks: PICTURES OF HOLLIS WOODS, October 3, 2002
"This picture has a dollop of peanut butter on one edge, a smear of grape jelly on the other, and an X across the whole thing. I cut it out of a magazine for homework when I was six years old. 'Look for words that begin with W,' my teacher, Mrs. Evans, had said.
"She was the one who marked in the X, spoiling my picture. She pointed. ' This is a picture of a family, Hollis. A mother, M, a father, F, a brother, B, a sister, S. They're standing in front of their house, H. I don't see one W word here, young lady.'
"I opened my mouth to say: How about W for wish, or W for want, or W for 'Wouldn't it be loverly,' like the song the music teacher had taught us?
"But Mrs. Evans was at the next table by that time, shushing me over her shoulder."
PICTURES OF HOLLIS WOODS is one of this year's most beautiful and most well-crafted tales. With the piles of new books I have waiting for me to read, it is rare for me to read a book twice, no less twice in successive days. But that's how strongly this one has affected me.
"...'Drawing is what you see of the world, truly see.'
" 'Yes, maybe,' I said, not sure what she meant.
" 'And sometimes what you see is so deep in your head you're not even sure of what you're seeing. But when it's down there on paper, and you look at it, really look, you'll see the way things are...' "
Hollis Woods is an artistic foster child whose troubled past has been marked by a succession of stops:
"There was the green house where the door didn't quite close; the wind blew in and up the stairs, rattling the window panes. The white house: crumbs on the table, kids fighting over a bag of Wonder bread. The yellow house: sooty, a long-haired woman with braids, no rugs on the stairs, the loud sound of feet going up and down..."
But Hollis Woods dreams of having a family. And she nearly got her wish thanks to the Regans--the Old Man, Izzie, and Steven--who had taken her in for a summer in Upstate New York.
Then something destroyed that perfect picture, and Hollis, who has now been placed in the home of the beautiful, old artist, Josie Cahill, is trying to come to terms with what happened last summer...and trying to deal with the secret of why Josie might have to be taken away from her, too.
"I frowned. 'Look at a picture one way and you'll see one thing,' I said. 'Look again and you might see something else. That's what the Old Man...' I shook my head. 'A friend of mine said that once.'
" 'Ah, yes,' Beatrice said, sketching in an eye, bushy eyebrows, sharp lashes as she spoke. 'But that's the world, isn't it? You have to keep looking to find the truth.' "
PICTURES OF HOLLIS WOODS is a poignant story of family and how those without traditional families frequently fall prey to The System. It includes the mystery about the summer's tragedy, and a love story about water. The author, who grew up around the corner from my Dad's family in Queens and not far from the community of Hollis Woods, sketches vivid landscapes of the woods and the water--the Atlantic Ocean and the Delaware River. Both simple and deceptively complex, this book could be taught to high school students as well as older grade school kids.
Patricia Reilly Giff also fills her canvas with some of the most memorable people you'll ever meet, and who you'll certainly want to stay in touch with long after finishing the book. In fact, I'm not near ready to put this book down--it promises to be my first Lunchtime Read Aloud, once school resumes in September.
Richie Partington
http://richiespicks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pictures of Hollis Woods- " a book that you never want to put down", April 30, 2007
A Kid's Review
Pictures of Hollis Woods is a book about inspiration, hope, and finding out who you are as a person, and what place in this world is meant for you.
Hollis Woods is a kind, caring, and artistic eleven year old orphan who is trying to figure out who she is. At the same time, Hollis is trying to find a stable family, maybe a family who she can picture growing up with.
This book takes place in a house in Upstate, New York, in the woods and countryside, in the 1980's. It also takes place in Long Island, New York at a small house in the suburbs. Hollis has been in and out of many foster homes, and finally finds a family that wants to take her in and have her become their daughter and sister. Without hesitation, Hollis agrees. Later in the story, a tragic event happens, leaving Hollis scared and unsure of what she wants and what to do next. As a result she decides she wants out of her new family, the Regan's, and she runs away. After running away, the social workers find her, and relocate her to live with an elderly woman named Josie. From the very first friendly hug Josie gave Hollis, Hollis knew she would love living with Josie. They have a grand time living together until a problem occurs, leaving Hollis with no other choice but to run away and take Josie with her. But what happens when social workers and Hollis' past catch up to her? Find out by reading this book.
This book is an easy but touching read. The first twenty pages are slow, but it soon speeds up. This book is slightly confusing at first, because every chapter alternates, from present to past, using Hollis' flashbacks. A word of advice to people who are going to read this book: Notice that the writing in italics are her flashbacks, and the regular print is the present. Parts of this book are slightly cheesy and unrealistic, but all in all, this is a very moving book, and I would recommend it to anyone in search of a short, well done, and touching read.
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