From School Library Journal
Grade 7–10—It's 1986 in St. Paul, MN, and Erin is about to turn 16 when her father announces that he's marrying his girlfriend. Her brothers are thrilled, but what the teen really wants is for her dad to talk about her mother, who died when she was a baby, and whose dog-eared copy of
To Kill a Mockingbird has inspired the girl to become a writer. When her dad surprises her with her mother's diary, Erin learns that she, too, had wanted to be a writer. Angry that her father kept the diary from her until now and feeling out of place in her evolving family, she makes the sudden decision to take a one-way bus trip to Monroeville, AL, to talk to Harper Lee. This is a slender book, interesting in its journal-styled layout but short on character, background, and plot development. While there are some moments of identifiable teen emotion, Erin and her father are as one-dimensional as the helpful characters the teen meets on her trip. Readers who haven't read
Mockingbird will wonder what the fuss is about, and those who have may feel that Ellsworth's book doesn't quite do it justice. Occasional '80s details add some nostalgic flair, but the choice of this period seems wholly unnecessary. Ultimately, this book fails to draw readers into real emotional connection to Erin or her rather superficial journey. The happy ending, in which she has a chance run-in with the author in a diner and makes up with her father, is pleasant enough, but predictable. A thin read that falls short of a promising premise.—
Riva Pollard, The Winsor School Library, Boston Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Reeling from her dad's announcement that he is engaged, Erin decides to run away from St. Paul, Minnesota. Her plan? To search for Harper Lee, who was her late mother's favorite author. Erin won't be 16 until the next day, so her escape vehicle is a Greyhound bus headed south to Monroeville, Alabama, Harper Lee's hometown. In this light, contemporary quest story, set in 1986, Ellsworth paints a portrait of an unhappy yet talented teenager caught in a male-dominated family. Erin meets a variety of interesting characters along her journey, including large, redheaded, twentysomething Epp Gobarth, who listens and, out of concern, joins her on her mission. Ellsworth's story shows just how easily poor communication with adults can sidetrack and endanger teens, and how clear talk and caring can rescue them. Suggest this as a follow-up to Lee's classic novel.
Frances BradburnCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
