Plain City [Paperback]

Virginia Hamilton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1997

Twelve-year old Buhlaire Sims, a racially mixed child who feels out of place in her community, struggles to unearth her past and her family history as she gradually discovers more and more about her long-missing father. SLJ. K. PW.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

ISBN 0-590-47365-4 In a starred review, PW said, "With exceptional grace and honesty, Hamilton sketches a vibrant portrait of a gifted 12-year-old of mixed race in search of her identity." Ages 12-up. (Mar.)q
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-8-Discovering that her mother and relatives lied about her father dying in Vietnam, angry Buhlaire-Marie Sims, 12, is determined to find and communicate with her dad. When he rescues her during a January blizzard, he leads his daughter to a highway underpass, his space among the homeless of Plain City. Buhlaire learns that her father is a troubled man, estranged from his family because of his mental instability and racially mixed parentage. Although he treats her kindly, she begins to perceive the confusion and unpredictability of his life. Buhlaire has experienced her own ostracization because of her mother's nightclub career, her home among the stilted river bottom "water houses," and her light skin. Although she is loved and cared for, her adolescent sensibilities are aroused when she realizes that her family has shielded her from her own identity. Through candid thoughts, realistic dialogue, and a symbolic blend of setting and self-discovery, Hamilton has created a testimonial on the powerful bonds of blood and "back time," or heritage. Buhlaire emerges from her emotional turmoil and quest with an appreciation for the attentions and personal struggles of a classmate; with renewed affection for her family; and, with a compassionate understanding of hard choices that are part of life.
Gerry Larson, Chewning Junior High School, Durham, NC
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks; Rep edition (February 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 059005371X
• ISBN-13: 978-0590053716
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,036,348 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Virginia Esther Hamilton was born, as she said, "on the outer edge of the Great Depression," on March 12, 1934. The youngest of five children of Kenneth James and Etta Belle Perry Hamilton, Virginia grew up amid a large extended family in Yellow Springs, Ohio. The farmlands of southwestern Ohio had been home to her mother's family since the late 1850s, when Virginia's grandfather, Levi Perry, was brought into the state as an infant via the Underground Railroad.

Virginia graduated at the top of her high-school class and received a full scholarship to Antioch College in Yellow Springs. In 1956, she transferred to the Ohio State University in Columbus and majored in literature and creative writing. She moved to New York City in 1958, working as a museum receptionist, cost accountant, and nightclub singer, while she pursued her dream of being a published writer. She studied fiction writing at the New School for Social Research under Hiram Haydn, one of the founders of Atheneum Press.

It was also in New York that Virginia met poet Arnold Adoff. They were married in 1960. Arnold worked as a teacher, and Virginia was able to devote her full attention to writing, at least until daughter Leigh was born in 1963 and son Jaime in 1967. In 1969, Virginia and Arnold built their "dream home" in Yellow Springs, on the last remaining acres of the old Hamilton/Perry family farm, and settled into a life of serious literary work and achievement.

In her lifetime, Virginia wrote and published 41 books in multiple genres that spanned picture books and folktales, mysteries and science fiction, realistic novels and biography. Woven into her books is a deep concern with memory, tradition, and generational legacy, especially as they helped define the lives of African Americans. Virginia described her work as "Liberation Literature." She won every major award in youth literature.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A book about the akwardness of growing up and the heart ache, October 1, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Plain City (Library Binding)

It's a book about a girl going through the akwardness of adolesences. This reminds me of my life. Teens and children alike should read this book to understand that they are not alone in this metamorphisis on life. It gets confusing at first but then you won't want to put it down.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wow, March 1, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Plain City (Point signature) (Mass Market Paperback)

As I read this book call Plain City I feel very sorry about this girl who struggles a lot. Her hair is like a straw-colored, made even lighter by last summer's sun. Summer or winter, her hair rimmed her heart-shaped face in golden Rasta twists. She is aware of their discomfort. She is very brave, she spend most of her time with her father. She accepts that her father was called Missing in Action, but she doesn't know who told her that. She thinks it's hard growing up as a twelve year old and walking from a deep sleep. I know she sometimes feel lonely.