Snap

Rating:
Summary: *THANK YOU, McGHEE, FOR THAT OUCH !*
Review: *Snap* goes the rubber band, followed by a grimace of regret. Eddie thinks she needs that reminder to help quit habits such as tipping back in chairs, or squirreling away food in her cheeks. Wearing rubber bands and making LISTS help her move in the right direction, and liven her friendship with Sally.

This summer they avoid discussing Sally's vibrant grandma & her illness. Their friendship seems to call for dancing around the subject but Eddie finally demands that they talk about the possibility of death - and eventually the bond between the girls is strengthened.

Sally and Eddie are beautifully described: girls who are real in a sometimes surreal world, who continue to *be there* for each other when problems loom as large and dark as their neighboring Adirondack mountains. This is the story of a budding childhood friendship that grows into true affection as the girls enter their teens.

*SNAP* is sure to find wide and unexpected? popularity among young girls as well as older ones who remember sharing a secret shack or a meandering stream. It receives four enthusiastic stars from REVIEWER mcHAIKU who asks, "Why can't there be more books in this vein for intelligent, sensitive boys?"

Rating:
Summary: might be challenging for YA readers
Review: I understand that I'm not the target audience for this book, but as a fan and supporter of the work of Alison McGhee, I want to give everything she writes a chance. This is a young adult novel aimed at the late elementary/junior high school age. "Snap", though written for a younger audience, is just as good as McGhee's full length, adult novels.

Edwina Beckey is eleven years old. She makes lists for everything: herself, her friends, things she likes, her school day. This is how she makes the world understandable. She also wears rubber bands on her wrist to remind herself of things she wants to remember (don't tip back on your chair, don't cover your mouth when you laugh), and she snaps them whenever she needs a reminder. She is friends with Sally Hobart. When something changes in Sally's life, it changes how Edwina looks at hers and why she makes lists and snaps her rubber bands.

Having read McGhee's other novels, it came as no surprise to see how powerful this story was and how real the emotions McGhee describes feel. This may be a challenging book for a YA reader because of the issues dealt with in the book, but it is a very well written book with believable characters who react in believable ways to the events of the novel. Like McGhee's other novels, this one is also set near Sterns by the Adirondack Mountains and references are made to characters from her novels.

Rating:
Summary: might be challenging for YA readers
Review: I understand that I'm not the target audience for this book, but as a fan and supporter of the work of Alison McGhee, I want to give everything she writes a chance. This is a young adult novel aimed at the late elementary/junior high school age. "Snap", though written for a younger audience, is just as good as McGhee's full length, adult novels.

Edwina Beckey is eleven years old. She makes lists for everything: herself, her friends, things she likes, her school day. This is how she makes the world understandable. She also wears rubber bands on her wrist to remind herself of things she wants to remember (don't tip back on your chair, don't cover your mouth when you laugh), and she snaps them whenever she needs a reminder. She is friends with Sally Hobart. When something changes in Sally's life, it changes how Edwina looks at hers and why she makes lists and snaps her rubber bands.

Having read McGhee's other novels, it came as no surprise to see how powerful this story was and how real the emotions McGhee describes feel. This may be a challenging book for a YA reader because of the issues dealt with in the book, but it is a very well written book with believable characters who react in believable ways to the events of the novel. Like McGhee's other novels, this one is also set near Sterns by the Adirondack Mountains and references are made to characters from her novels.

Rating:
Summary: Well-written, but not for her intended audience
Review: Snap is incredibly written. McGhee has great insight into what goes through a person's mind when faced with the imminent death of a loved one. But I'm not convinced that a 10-year-old will be as moved by McGhee's writing as a middle-schooler might be.

Eddie and Sally are real kids- inquisitive, emotional, and fragile at times, while being active and content and even silly at others. The characters are a highlight of the book.

The resolution of the story strays from the more predictable options McGhee could have taken, and ends with a nice twist.

I would recommend this book, but not to a casual reader. This is a book for kids (girls, more likely) who are avid readers, and who aren't afraid to grapple with difficult issues.

Rating:
Summary: Well-written, but not for her intended audience
Review: Snap is incredibly written. McGhee has great insight into what goes through a person's mind when faced with the imminent death of a loved one. But I'm not convinced that a 10-year-old will be as moved by McGhee's writing as a middle-schooler might be.

Eddie and Sally are real kids- inquisitive, emotional, and fragile at times, while being active and content and even silly at others. The characters are a highlight of the book.

The resolution of the story strays from the more predictable options McGhee could have taken, and ends with a nice twist.

I would recommend this book, but not to a casual reader. This is a book for kids (girls, more likely) who are avid readers, and who aren't afraid to grapple with difficult issues.