Customer Reviews

Sights

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

At our school, we are encouraged to read all the American Library Association nominations for Best Young Adult Book. Sometimes they are predictable or written more for children than high school students. Sights was written for smart kids that identify more with the stuggle to grow up than with try outs for cheerleader. Baby Girl is just an awesome person who makes friends with the town window-peeker and general rebel, Selda. I couldn't get enough of these two and the adventures of their eveyday life. I hope Susanna Vance writes a dozen more novels for readers like me.

MY SISTER LET ME READ THIS BOOK. SHE'S IN HIGH SCHOOL AND I'M IN SEVENTH GRADE. SHE LOVED IT AND SO DID I. MY MOTHER IS GOING TO READ IT NEXT. TERRIBLE THINGS HAPPEN TO BABY GIRLS BUT SHE JUST ROCKS ON. IF I HAD TO MOVE TO A NEW SCHOOL OR HAD A DAD LIKE HERS, SHE'D BE MY MODEL FOR HOW TO SURVIVE. SHE'S COOL LIKE MY SISTER. SHE RULES!

Baby Girl has an unusual name and unusual ability to see the future, and her mother dotes on her. When they flee her abusive father to begin a new life, Baby Girl finds new talents to take her to a new school, friends, and a beginning which offers new challenges as well. An unusual, unpredictable story line.

Baby Girl and the town of Cot will stay with you forever. I've never read anything like this. It's fantastique.

This is a book about a girl who has a terrible father and a good mom. The girl and the mom move to a town where no one likes them. The girl starts a band that really rocks. A short boy in the band gets tall and she goes out with him. The mom makes friends too. The dad shows up and there's big trouble. ....

Wonderful book! Fast-paced, full of adventure/suspense, and the voices were superb--this is a must for reading aloud! Baby Girl is an unlikely heroine, but her supreme confidence in herself is inspiring--I want to be more like her! My only complaint is the cover art--the hardcover isn't so bad, but the photo for the paperback looks atrocious! C'mon, this is one of the best books I've seen for teens--why can't they make it look a little more appealing?

This is a funny book, but sad and harsh as well.The kids in my english class all had to read it, but we loved it any way.

Baby Girl has never doubted that she was special. Even before she was born, she knew it, and her mother did too, which accounts for her unique name. Just how special is she? Well, Baby Girl has the sight --- she can see everyone's future...except her own.

But she doesn't need sight to see that her own father wants her dead. He's jealous of how close she is to her mother; Baby Girl even looks just like her, which is a good thing, since her father looks like a walrus. She just wishes she could tell what he will do to her next. Then one night Baby Girl and her mother sneak out, run off, and the future seems more uncertain than ever. Now, Baby Girl must use her sight to help them survive their new lives.

Settling in a far away town, Baby Girl can't wait to start school and meet new friends who will love her like everyone at home did. But things are different here: kids tease her about her size and say she doesn't look at all like her mother. Not only is she totally unpopular, she doesn't even have one friend. For the first time, Baby Girl begins to doubt herself. Worst of all, she falls in love. Will anyone love her back? Not even she can tell.

SIGHTS is a sad novel about the harsher side of life. Baby Girl shows remarkable strength against the huge odds she faces. Besides dealing with being different, she has to worry about her father, not having enough money, and alienation --- and sometimes her gift feels more like a curse. Everyone can relate to the desire to fit in, although Baby Girl is right: she's special, and there's no way she'll ever be average. What happens to Baby Girl is pandemic. As little kids, everyone knows they're wonderful, but once they grow up a little, they begin to have self doubt. It's too bad that people lose that feeling, and it's tough watching Baby Girl go through it.

The ending of SIGHTS really sneaks up on you. It's graphic and a little disturbing, but like the rest of the novel, the author doesn't cut corners when it comes to portraying violence. After reading this novel, you'll agree that Baby Girl really is something special.

--- Reviewed by Kate Torpie

I haven't read an unpreditable book for young adults in a lot of years. Have I ever? Good writers opt to write for adults. Usually. Vance writes a character driven tightly plotted funny/upsetting story with universal appeal. Put it on your Christmas list. Read it yourself. Highly recommended.

How to get kids to read more literary books? Find the ones that are fun! Susanna Vance tells a story like Tennesse Williams crossed with John Irving. She'll make you laugh, cry, and shudder at her vivid passages(a la Robert Cormier). SIGHTS is fun, fast and so well written. It's a read-aloud favorite at our parent/teen book club.