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Rating: 
Summary: Newbery Honors well-deserved!
Review: I am astonished by the strong, negative reactions to May. The book is delightful! The characters are lively and believable--from headstrong, tomboyish, yet romantic May; to her stern but practical and loving father, who's trying to hold things together in a tough environment; to Grandmother Patience, who rings so true to me that I can only guess that the last reviewer has never had experience with such a selfish, spiteful person--believe me, they do exist. All of these petty complaints about the style (no quotation marks, the capitalization, etc.) just shows me how very small so many people's minds are. Complaining about that is like complaining about the speech patterns, punctuation, and spelling of the narrator of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." As for hearing more about May's aunt the "kept woman"--I mean, come on...this is a kid's book, after all! Ms. Holm has filled the turn-of-the-century Pacific Northwest--a setting heretofore unexplored in literature--with life, delightful characters, wonderful anecdotes, and real heart. I feel very happy knowing that this Newbery winner will stay in print forever, and that children will be able to read this wonderful story for generations to come.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing!
Review: I know this book won a Newbery and is supposed to be for kids, but I have to say I loved it too, and I'm a grown-up. May Amelia is drawn with such a clear vision that she leaps off the page and into your heart from the very beginning. She's sharp and witty and likeable and won't stand for any guff from anyone who wants her to be something she's not. Now I have to strongly disagree with the reviewer who didn't like the format: I loved the format for two reasons 1) it conveyed an immediacy and directness which is what May the character is all about, and 2) it helped remind me, as I was reading, that May is the child of immigrants and thinks in Finnish. It's so rare to find a writer who can tell a great yarn and can be a real artist with form too. Faulkner could do it; and I predict a bright future for this author too. By the way, this book is not just for girls either -- I was really moved by May Amelia's struggles to find her place in the world. Anybody (boy or girl, young or old) who has ever felt that everyone around them wants them to be something they are not will be deeply moved. I can't wait for the author's next book!
Rating:
Summary: Our Only May Amelia
Review: I read a book called Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm. This is a DCF book for 2000-2001. This is one of my favorite books of all times, because the girl, May Amelia, is like me. May acts a lot like me. After you read my response, go to your local or school library, try to find this book and read it! This book isn't just for girls. It's for boys, too. This book is about May Amelia Jackson and all of her actions and activities. She had to deal with people who didn't like her very much, but loved her. This book is about May Amelia Jackson, who acts like a boy, because she had seven brothers and is the only girl in Nasel, Washington. May is the Miracle, which you'll find out about if you read this book. I think this book teaches about survival and how to survive being a girl. Another main idea in the book was miracles. Miracles I like best, because they're God's way of showing he cares for us. May was the miracle of the family, because she was the only girl. (I think she was the miracle because she was the only girl. The book really didn't say.) I would recommend this book to anyone, because it teaches that just because you're a girl doesn't mean you can't do what boys do. Girls of today do what boys do, but back in the late 1800's a girl had to be a proper young lady. Some people might just like the book and have no reason why. This book is excellent, so why shouldn't I be voting for it. If you wish to see why I like this book so much, read the book, Our Only May Amelia, today.
Rating:
Summary: It's a tough life out there but nothing Amelia can't handle
Review: OUR ONLY MAY AMELIA
May Amelia lives on the Nasel River in Washington. May Amelia has seven brothers and one cousin, Kaarlo, who lives with them. Amelia and Kaarlo have some clashes when she plays some trick on him. Then she gets throne in the pigpen. Other frightful events happen that are like that Her mother is going to have a baby and May wants it to be a girl so bad because she's the only girl on the Nasel. Her closest brother Wilbert always sticks up for her and goes on adventures with her to places: Baby Island, Astoria and swimming in the Nasel. He even teaches her how to shoot a gun. Will everything change when cruel Grandma Patients who hates every living thing? I totally enjoyed this book because it's marvelous to read books where girls have lots of spunk. For me the best scene in the book is when she stands up to her mean old granny. Even when she knows that the consequences are terrifying. I like this scene best because it takes lots of courage to do that. I also live in Washington and it's interesting to go to the spot where this took place. I felt so honored and special that I could be to that very place. Kids and gown-ups that have lots of spunk should read this.
Rating:
Summary: Ms. Rossum brings an unforgettable character to life
Review: While agreeing with all the positive comments of the other reviewers, I'd like to recommend the *audiobook* version of this wonderful story. Emmy Rossum's reading has just the right ring of tomboyish flair and derring-do, while managing to also convey a tremendous heart. (Ms. Rossum was spot-on perfect in the film "Song Catcher" and added important layers in it just as she does to this book. I mark her as an interpreter to watch.) Using her voice so artfully, "our only" May Amelia begins to win her way into our hearts. What an unforgettable character. Rossum's pacing and idiosyncratic turns of speech seem unselfconsciously natural, and her authentic-sounding rising vocal inflections paint indelible word pictures in the mind. Although a rebellious rascal, May Amelia is actually behaving in the only way open to a curious, intelligent, imaginative girl in turn-of-the-century Northwest. This kind of character, as May Amelia, will forever live in the voice of Ms. Rossum, to me. I could even detect flavorings of the woman she (the character) would become. Whatever problems a reader might have with the misspellings and quirky typography of the printed version, this audiobook will naturally overcome. Makes it a perfect choice for problem readers, to get them interested in books and hooked on their imaginations. Also great as a travel companion on long trips. Importantly, the audiobook is an unabridged version of this captivating historical, semiautobiographical (based on real diaries) novel, with an afterword by the author in her own voice.
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