Review: Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski

SUMMARY FROM GOODREADS.COM:

The land was theirs, but so were its hardships.

Strawberries -- big, ripe, and juicy. Ten-year-old Birdie Boyer can hardly wait to start picking them. But her family has just moved to the Florida backwoods, and they haven′t even begun their planting. "Don′t count your biddies ′fore they′re hatched, gal young un!" her father tells her.

Making the new farm prosper is not easy. There is heat to suffer through, and droughts, and cold snaps. And, perhaps most worrisome of all for the Boyers, there are rowdy neighbors, just itching to start a feud.

MY TAKE:

I'm a fan of Newbery Medal books so I grabbed this title immediately when I saw it on NetGalley.

The book centers on the life of Birdie Boyer and her family and their relationship with their neighbors. It provides a detailed look at farm life and what goes into running a farm. Of course, this was set in the olden days, so farm life is probably easier now, but still, there's a lot of work that goes into maintaining a farm.

Reading this was slow going at first because I had to sound out the dialogue in my head. For example, one of the characters said "bed-kiver" instead of bed cover. As the story wore on and started to engross me, however, the phonetic spelling stopped bothering me. The story was able to bring out my emotions, but I felt that the resolution of the story came too easily.

Thanks to NetGalley and Open Road for providing an e-copy.

THE GOOD:

1. Detailed look at what farm life was like in the late 1800s to early 1900s.
2. You feel Birdie's emotions easily.
3. It's a Newbery Medal book.

THE BAD:

1. I got a bit disoriented when there was a change in the character focus very early on.
2. Resolution came too quickly and easily.

FAVORITE QUOTE/S:

It was nice to be a new girl in a new school and sit in the side row by the open window.

READ IT IF:

1. You're curious about farm life.
2. You're curious about what life was like in the 1900s.
3. You're looking for a book that will make you feel all sorts of emotions.

RATING:



SOUNDS INTERESTING?