Customer Reviews

Yankee Girl

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Mary Ann Rodman hasn't forgotten what it's like to be eleven, when the longing to fit in sometimes conflicts with doing the right thing. Her re-creation of childhood is timeless, although the setting of the fifties rings true in subtly-woven-in details that anyone who lived through the era will recognize but that younger readers will not find intrusive.

Rodman creates three-dimensional characters with realistic problems and personalities. There are no easy answers as Alice Moxley, the book's heroine, struggles with big issues like integration, smaller issues like finding a date for the Class Day party, irritation with her parents who are so caught up in their worries and stresses that they forget that sixth grade is just as stressful as adult life.

Young readers who have to walk the narrow line between doing the right thing and fitting in with their peers, whether the issue is integration or any other problem, will find much to relate to in Alice.

Highly recommended.

Mary Ann Rodman's Yankee Girl is one of the most powerful novels for young people I have ever read. I literally could not put it down. I think I would have felt the force of this book even if I didn't know that the author actually lived this story in 1964 Mississippi - and even if I had never been in Mississippi myself one summer to visit my wife's relatives where I actually felt that "thick syrupy air that smelled of pine sap and cut grass." 1964 was a year of racial turmoil, especially in the Deep South, and Alice Ann Moxley's father, an FBI agent, is sent from Chicago to Jackson, Mississippi, to help deal with the crisis. That means that Alice Ann and her mother are also thrust into an "alien" culture. It's especially difficult for Alice Ann because she has to contend with the students in her sixth-grade class which is just about to be integrated. Mary Ann Rodman has captured, pitch perfect, the clash of cultures: Alice Ann's Chicago life and the life of children of Southern parents who don't want "Yankees" telling them how to deal with their "nigras." The author doesn't try to sanitize any of the language or any of the incredibly mean and hateful behavior toward African-Americans of the time. This is a book which has received a lot of recognition, winning many state awards. It is also a book which has angered a lot of people, but those are people who didn't want their deep-seated racial prejudices exposed. America will never solve its racial problems unless more people like Mary Ann Rodman lift all the rocks and dead tree branches under which bigots hide not only from the light but also from enlightenment.

Thank you, Mary Ann Rodman, for sharing your first hand knowledge of the time and place described in this book. I appreciate your use of authentic dialogue and not insulting the intelligence of your youthful (and not so yourthful readers) by resorting to the political correctness that is such a plague in our society today. I could feel the turmoil in Alice's mind and heart as she struggled with her conflicting desires to be accepted and popular and true to her own heart. You have a rare gift for characterization. I look forward to your future books.

I compliment Mary Ann Rodman for the excellent job she has done writing Yankee Girl. I remember these turbulent years, and am impressed with the accuracy reflected in this author's work.

Moving from the North to the Deep South, Ms. Rodman's young protagonist, Alice, is not prepared for the conflicting experiences she must come to terms with.

Though her parent's beliefs are deeply ingrained in Alice, her actions do not always reflect them. While her parents face their own challenges, Alice yearns for social acceptance from her southern classmates.

Mixing subtle humor with deadly serious social circumstances requires a careful hand. Mary Ann Rodman has done a fine job accomplishing this goal. I believe that upon finishing this entertaining page-turner readers of any age will leave the world of Yankee Girl better equipped to deal with life's inequities and more willing to help resolve them fairly.

Without flinching the author embeds the reader in her authentic portrayal of the plight of a Northern 11 year old suddenly finding herself ensconced in the deep South at the time of the Civil Rights movement. Alice, the all too human protagonist is caught in the customs of the locale where she desperately wants and needs friends, despite the negative of her concealed empathy for Valerie, upon whose shoulders has fallen the mantle of integration in Alice's new school.
Despite the heavy subject, the story sparkles and entertains with wry humor and attention to detail of the '70s through the human frailties of adults and classmates alike.
Alice learns by experience and practice what theory has provoked during those dangerous and unsettling times. The story is touching as Alice comes to terms with her own deficiencies and climaxes finally with her action.

I can definately tell the character Alice Moxley in the book Yankee Girl Is good at making extremely difficult choices. For example, Alice moves to a new town and is having trouble making new friends. Nobody will give her the time of day, or even say two words to her, and they are not they best words in the whole wide world. When she finds out that their is a new girl coming to her school, she is happy to know that someone else is going to need a friend also. But when she finds out the new girl is colored, she has to choose between being stuck up popular and rude, or being a good friend and doing what is right! I give this awesome book 5 stars!

I couldn't put it down and couldn't stop thinking about it when finished. Excellent read!

I can identify to the character, Alice Moxley, in the book Yankee Girl when it comes to making choices. For example, Alice moves to a new town and is struggling to make new friends; in fact it seems to her that nobody will give her the time of day. When she finds out that a new girl besides her is coming to her school, she is happy to know that someone else is going to need a friend too. But when she finds out the new girl is black, she has to choose between popularity and the decision that she knows is right.