Search This Blog
Love reading challenges? Check out my other blog:
2023 Bookish Books Reading Challenge
20 Books of Summer 2023
2023 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama (2)
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona (2)
- Arkansas (1)
- California (16)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut (3)
- Delaware (1)
- Florida (2)
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho (1)
- Illinois (1)
- Indiana (1)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas (1)
- Kentucky (1)
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (4)
- Maryland (3)
- Massachusetts (4)
- Michigan (4)
- Minnesota (1)
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri (1)
- Montana (2)
- Nebraska (1)
- Nevada (1)
- New Hampshire (1)
- New Jersey (1)
- New Mexico (1)
- New York (15)
- North Carolina (4)
- North Dakota (1)
- Ohio (3)
- Oklahoma (1)
- Oregon (1)
- Pennsylvania (1)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota (1)
- Tennessee (2)
- Texas (4)
- Utah (1)
- Vermont (4)
- Virginia (2)
- Washington (6)
- West Virginia (1)
- Wisconsin (2)
- (1)
- Washington, D.C.* (1)
International:
- Australia (3)
- Barbados (1)
- Canada (9)
- Chile (1)
- England (25)
- France (2)
- Ireland (2)
- Italy (1)
- Nigeria (1)
- Norway (1)
- Scotland (3)
- South Korea (1)
- Sweden (1)
- The Netherlands (2)
- Ukraine (1)
-Vietnam (1)
2023 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
Booklist Queen's 2023 Reading Challenge
2023 52 Club Reading Challenge
2023 Build Your Library Reading Challenge
2023 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge
2023 Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge
2023 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge
Children's Book Reading Challenge...For Adults!
Monday, April 17, 2017
New Spinelli Novel A Poignant, Thoughtful Tale
9:21 PM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Cammie O'Reilly knows what it's like to have a caretaker, but not a mother. Hers died 12 years ago when Cammie was just a baby. For as long as she can remember, it's been her and her father, who works as a warden at the local prison. Since the O'Reillys live in an apartment above the entrance to the facility, she's always had one of the female inmates—a prison trustee—as a housekeeper and Cammie-keeper. Which is all well and good, but this is a pivotal time for Cammie; she wants a mother of her own to help her through it.
There are plenty of women in the Hancock County Prison from whom to choose. Maybe they're not the most ideal candidates in the world, but Cammie's not all that picky. Boo Boo, a flamboyant shoplifter, would be a fun mother. Eloda, the current Cammie-minder isn't exactly the warm and fuzzy type, but she would do. Cammie just has to do a little scheming to make all her mother-shaped dreams come true.
Of course, procuring a mother isn't that easy. Neither is growing up, as Cammie is finding out the hard way. Between her determined mom-scheming, her friends acting strangely, the discovery of an unlikely new pal, and the arrival of an intriguing inmate, her emotions are running high. It will be a summer full of startling revelations—truths that will change everything for one "Cannonball" Cammie O'Reilly.
I've never read anything by Jerry Spinelli, so when a copy of his newest—The Warden's Daughter—arrived at my kids' school library, I jumped at the chance to read it. The jail setting caught my attention, as did Cammie's endearing plight. While I didn't end up loving the novel, I did find it a thoughtful and poignant book that tells a sad but intriguing story. Overall, I did like the tale, which reminded me a lot of the old Rolling Stones adage "You can't always get what you ... you get what you need."
(Readalikes: Reminds me of the Al Capone series [Al Capone Does My Shirts; Al Capone Shines My Shoes; and Al Capone Does My Homework] by Gennifer Choldenko)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for brief, mild language (no F-bombs)
To the FTC, with love: I borrowed a copy of The Warden's Daughter from my kids' elementary school library.
1 comment:
Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.
P.S.: Don't panic if your comment doesn't show up right away. I have to approve each one before it posts to prevent spam. It's annoying, but it works!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(Atom)
Reading
Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center
Listening
Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr.
Followin' with Bloglovin'
Followin' with Feedly
-
-
November Reading Wrap Up 20231 hour ago
-
-
Time Travel Thursday4 hours ago
-
-
-
-
A Review of A Winter’s Night8 hours ago
-
My Tel Aviv Table By Limor Chen9 hours ago
-
-
The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill11 hours ago
-
Shades of Death by Angela Ransom12 hours ago
-
November Reflections15 hours ago
-
On the Run 920 hours ago
-
WIP Wednesday for 29 November 202323 hours ago
-
-
The Fourth Rule - Jeff Lindsay1 day ago
-
-
-
-
Nonfiction November: New to my TBR1 day ago
-
-
-
-
-
I have been reading...3 days ago
-
Sunday Salon: November 26, 20234 days ago
-
-
-
2024 Motif Reading Challenge1 week ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?1 month ago
-
Reading Recap August 20232 months ago
-
-
6/25/23 Extra Ezra5 months ago
-
-
Dotty Beanie with Ears6 months ago
-
-
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
Grab my Button!
Blog Design by:
Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ▼ 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
I think this one sounds just unique enough to try. I'm such a sucker.
ReplyDelete